Internships

The School of Art offers BFA, BHA and BSA Art majors the opportunity to earn elective credit (9 units) for an art-related internship. An internship is a supervised professional work experience with clear links to a student’s academic and/or career goals. Junior and senior art students in good academic standing are eligible to receive academic credit for an internship.

Students usually network for their own internship opportunities. They can also consult bulletin boards, CMU Career Center Services, and/or campus email announcements. Most local arts organizations welcome CMU art students as interns.

Only one internship for credit is permitted. It will be counted as one of the two required "unspecified academic electives."

In order to count as a nine-unit course (the maximum permitted), the student must work 120-150 hours at the internship.

Grading is pass/fail only.

A student may earn both credit and pay for an internship.

The University’s liability insurance for students does not cover a student while he or she is doing an off-campus internship.

How to earn credit for an Internship:

Meet with Mark Cato. Students who wish to earn credit for an Internship should consult with, the Assistant Head and undergraduate academic advisor.

Obtain a site and supervisor. The student contacts the organization and makes arrangements for the internship.

Complete the Internship Agreement Form. The student must complete the Internship Agreement form with a clearly written proposal for the internship and obtain the signature of the Site Supervisor. The student should give the completed form to the Assistant Head for processing. Students may not register online for an internship. After the form is processed, the student will receive two copies of the signed form in their CFA mailbox. The student should give one copy to the Site Supervisor.

See that the Site Supervisor submits an evaluation for you. The Site Supervisor is required to send a final Performance Evaluation to the Assistant Head. This evaluation must be received before the last day of classes in order for a passing grade to appear on the student’s grade report.

Write a three-page Summary Report. The student is required to submit a final Summary Report to the Assistant Head. This report should describe the internship experience in detail. It must be at least three word-processed pages. In order for the grade to appear on the student’s semester grade report, the summary must be handed in before the last day of classes.

Image Credit: Art mascot by Kelly Schmal; installation by Nicholas Pozek; detail of painting by Ryan Murray; all BFA Class of 2005. Back to Top