Working with BYU

Become an Approved Internship Provider

1. Contact the department internship coordinator

First, select the BYU department that best fits your internship opportunity. (i.e. A media relations position= The Communications Department). Contact the appropriate department internship coordinator with the proposed internship. (i.e. Nicole Norris = Internship Coordinator for the School of Communications). The department coordinator determines if the internship opportunity is compliant with the Internship Policy and department guidelines for a student to enroll in an internship course.

2. Sign an Internship Agreement

If the internship opportunity meets the departments criteria for academic merit, the coordinator will ask you to sign the Internship Agreement to indemnify the internship provider, BYU, and the student. The signed agreement should be sent to the Experiential Learning Office (they sign and file the all the internship agreements for BYU). All the active internship agreements can be found in the IMA Database Search.

3. Advertise the opportunity

Head over to handshake.byu.edu and create a post for your company that will be available for all BYU students to see. Some department coordinators can also advertise to students in their departments per request.

Responsibilities of Internship Providers

The Internship Provider must agree to the Internship Agreement, or an acceptable modification thereof designed to indemnify all parties involved in the internship process. (Internship Provider, University, and Student)
The Internship Provider must also agree to provide a quality internship while helping the student achieve his or her learning objectives, and evaluate student progress by making regular reports to the Department Internship Coordinator.
- Progress reports should include attendance as well as qualitative assessments of student learning. Most departments choose to fulfill this responsibility by having the Internship Provider evaluate the student twice during the semester or term.

Internship Programs under the Fair Labor Standards Act

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) released Fact Sheet #71, “Internship Programs Under the Fair Labor Standards Act," regarding unpaid internships. The DOL indicates unpaid internships are acceptable as long as they meet the following seven criteria.

The extent to which the intern and the employer clearly understand that there is no expectation of compensation. Any promise of compensation, express or implied, suggests that the intern is an employee—and vice versa.
The extent to which the internship provides training that would be similar to that which would be given in an educational environment, including the clinical and other hands-on training provided by educational institutions.
The extent to which the internship is tied to the intern’s formal education program by integrated coursework or the receipt of academic credit.
The extent to which the internship accommodates the intern’s academic commitments by corresponding to the academic calendar.
The extent to which the internship’s duration is limited to the period in which the internship provides the intern with beneficial learning.
The extent to which the intern’s work complements, rather than displaces, the work of paid employees while providing significant educational benefits to the intern.
The extent to which the intern and the employer understand that the internship is conducted without entitlement to a paid job at the conclusion of the internship.