VSB’s students looking for information on internships, externships, Co-Op program, and international internships look no further. All of these opportunities are great ways to learn about potential careers paths by doing and getting the first-hand experience. Students can explore options without any binding contracts in order to figure out what they enjoy doing and what field they may want to pursue.
Externships can be for as long as a day to a three-week program. They are open to freshman and sophomores and are not for credit but are great for professional development and networking. You can find opportunities on the clay center website and Handshake website.
Handshake is a great source for job exploration and looking for places to gain experience.
Internships are longer than externships, lasting for a few weeks to a few months. They are most commonly done over the summer. However, there are part-time opportunities in the fall and spring. Internships can also gain you credit as well as come with a wage. Good ways to get exposure to internship opportunities is through Handshake, occasional recruiting that happens on campus, the career center offers an interview program, and the business societies often know of most internships.
The Co-Op program lasts even longer than internships and can last up to six months. Despite their length, you can still remain on track to graduate on time. In order to do this, however, you may have to take summer classes but the Co-Op is worth six credits. These programs are very immersive and provide a more in-depth look into the given field. Examples of companies that offer them are Morgan Stanley, Johnson and Johnson, and SAP. These Co-Ops are so good because they often can lead to a full-time job offer.
The O’Donnell center (website linked below) is a particularly good resource when looking for internships, externships, and other programs in general. The office helps students manage internship opportunities, can help you search for internships, help with business-specific career programs, provide information on student business societies. Best of all they have drop-in hours so you can even just walk in with a question without setting up an appointment.
https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/business/undergraduate/careerdevelopmentresources.html
Business Dynamics 