Student Engagement
Student Engagement & Career Development
Student Engagement & Career Development will support students as they engage in experiences that expand their capacity to make an impact on authentic challenges facing businesses and communities and to lead, to develop in-demand employable skills within and beyond the classroom and to design and implement a career plan aligned with personal strengths and values, for a lifetime of opportunity and well-being.
See Handshake for on campus jobs as well as internships and full-time opportunities with employers looking to #HireaWildcat
Engagement Courses and Non-Credit Experiences
The Student Engagement Record tracks each student's participation in UA approved engaged learning experiences. Each of these experiences challenges students to work through unscripted problems and to reflect on their learning and the competencies and skills they have gained through this experience.
To view your Student Engagement Record from Student Services Center:
- On the Student Center tab, Find the Academics section
- Click on the dropdown menu and choose Student Engagement
- Click the arrow to go to View Student Engagement
- You should see an entry for each UA approved Engaged Learning Experience you have completed
- The Print button will allow you to print your record to support development of your resume, job or internship applications, etc.
Successful completion of a UA-approved engaged learning experience earns a student the notation Engaged Learning Experience Completed on their official UA transcript.
Check you department's website for additional opportunities.
Internships for Credit
Internships, whether for university credit or not, give students an opportunity to apply lessons learned in the classroom to an experience set in a professional practice-oriented environment, with the intern’s work overseen by a professional.
Internships provide a valuable opportunity to learn about a field of interest to support career planning. In addition to providing an opportunity to apply technical skills and knowledge within a professional environment, internships also offer an opportunity to test and develop skills in team work, collaboration, communication, and professionalism. A student with examples of how she or he has applied these skills in a real work environment will have examples that provide the supporting evidence that can distinguish the student's resume and interview performance for entry level professional positions.
Internships for credit (hyperlink to the section of the catalog with policy around internships for credit) provide students with work experience within an academic framework that carries with it official course credit from The University of Arizona. The assignments associated with these courses help students situate their internship within the context of their academic discipline and facilitate student reflection on the experience and the feedback received from the intern supervisor. The course instructors can support students enrolled in the course to successfully make the most of this opportunity with their employer.
- Consult with your Academic Advisor to learn more about how an internship may meet your specific degree program requirements
- Visit your College and department website to learn about specific internship requirements and placement opportunities
- Make sure to complete required forms in time to register for your desired internship course
Wildcat Joblink lists internship opportunities, many of them paid, with employers interested in hiring Wildcats.
Take care when considering opportunities offered by for-profit companies that charge a fee for placement of student interns. Make sure to ask for and carefully evaluate evidence of what you will learn, the tasks you will perform and the level of mentorship or supervision you will receive before paying any fee.
When accepting an unpaid internship, also seek clear understanding with the host organization to ensure your expectations align with the host organization's as far as the educational benefits you will receive in exchange for your work. See Internship Programs under the Fair Labor Standards Act for more information about legal requirements of unpaid internships.
Consult with your Academic Advisor for Internship opportunities and registration.
Study Abroad
Where is your classroom? The UA offers hundreds of study abroad opportunities around the world, during the semester, year, summer and winter. There's a program for every student.
Think you can't afford it? Think again. Studying abroad can be quite affordable for the students who plan ahead and take time to research costs and scholarship opportunities. There are numerous programs that cost the same or less than a semester in Tucson.
Undergraduate Research
UA undergraduates prepare for graduate school and careers in research by stepping outside of the classroom to collaborate with faculty, graduate students, technical staff and peers to develop new knowledge and technologies. Students can earn credit for research experiences by enrolling in directed research or independent study units (hyperlink to the section of the catalog with house numbered course info and policies).
These links will get you started with exploring programs to support undergraduate research.
Students in any discipline also often find such opportunities by building relationships with faculty members with whom they have taken courses or whose research interests align with the student's interest.
To learn more about UA faculty and their research interests, visit UA Vitae