Maverick Student Employment Career Connect

The University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) offers many unique work experiences on campus that help build upon what students are learning in the classroom.

On-campus employers play a vital role in providing students with experiential learning opportunities that help with student retention and career readiness.

What is an Internship?

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), an internship is a form of experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional setting. Internships give students the opportunity to gain valuable applied experience and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career paths; and give employers the opportunity to guide and evaluate talent. Along with this definition, below is a set of criteria that defines a work experience as an internship.

• The experience must be an extension of the classroom: a learning experience that provides for applying the knowledge gained in the classroom. It must not be simply to advance the operations of the employer or be the work that a regular employee would routinely perform. The experience does not need to be associated with a specific class.
• The skills or knowledge learned must be transferable to other employment settings.
• The experience has a defined beginning and end, and a job description with desired qualifications.
• There are clearly defined learning objectives/goals related to the professional goals of the student’s academic coursework.
• There is supervision by a professional with expertise and educational and/or professional background in the field of the experience.
• There is routine feedback from the experienced supervisor.
• There are resources, equipment, and facilities provided by the host employer that support learning objectives/goals.

For Students

Students apply for on-campus internships, just like any student employment position. You can find internships on Handshake. Make sure you use the on-campus filter.

Benefits

• Enhance their career-ready skills
• Build upon and practice knowledge, learned in the classroom
• Gain professional mentors and more connections on-campus
• Convenience of working on campus and having a supervisor that understands that they're a student first

For Employers

Does your on-campus department offer an internship or a position that could be reexamined to be an internship? In the spirit of Career Connect, Maverick Student Employment is advertising an on-campus branch of Career Connect to highlight the fantastic opportunities we offer to our students that help develop their career readiness.

In addition to the definition of an internship, departments should consider the following questions:

• What professional area, competencies, or skills could a student gain experience in working in your office?
• How would the internship experience build upon what a student may be learning in the classroom?
• What meaningful activities, work experiences, or shadowing opportunities could an intern complete in your office?
• How will you structure time in the internship for you to follow up and discuss career-ready skills with your intern?

To have your position included, please follow the steps below:

1. Review the following documents: MSE Career Connect_Summary and Position Description Example
2. Fill out this participation form
3. Send a copy of your position description in a word document to Garrett Gassman at ggassman@unomaha.edu