Duke University Internships and Credit Policy
While direct academic credit cannot be given solely on the
internship experience, students may seek approval from the
appropriate department for an independent study course that would
include learning derived from the internship. Credit is then
awarded by the supervising professor and will become a part of the
student’s academic record. This arrangement has been successful for
many students and is supported by the academic sector of the
University. Since internships may take place outside the university
environment, Duke has no blanket policy on them. It does, however,
take a variety of positions on different kinds of internships,
depending on their purpose and sponsorship.
Required or Recommended Internships
Duke encourages and supports internships that are required or
recommended components of disciplinary curricula. Departments and
programs establish their own criteria for such internships and the
academic credit that may be earned for participation. Recognizing
the value of this kind of experience, the university attempts to
facilitate the student participation in these internships.
Independent Study Credit for Internships
Duke also encourages and supports internships that entail
independent or directed study in which a student collaborates with
a faculty member to distill from an internship a certifiable
academic experience that qualifies for course credit within the
faculty member's department or program. The faculty member is the
sole judge of the work necessary to meet these course requirements.
Students will normally find appropriate faculty members for such
collaboration within their major department, most often with a
faculty member with whom they have already done coursework or a
faculty member who has an interest in the topic to be considered.
But it is also possible to identify and solicit faculty members in
non-major fields. The sole criterion is that the faculty member
finds the independent study or directed study to be sound
academically and that the faculty member is willing to work with
the student to achieve the goals of the course they design.
[Link to Trinity College
Page Addressing Internships for Credit]