In today's global marketplace, employers can choose the most gifted candidates from anywhere on earth, and even graduate degrees no longer guarantee prime positions. One old adage still seems to hold true: "You can't get a job without experience, but you won't gain experience until you have a job."
The Washington Internship Experience – a combination of work and study – coordinates a cohort of University of Mississippi students each spring and summer to gain professional experience in their field of study. Students search for an internship that meets their career goals, but that also fits with their academic and workplace experience. Washington, DC is a vibrant, international city that offers students in all majors exceptional internship opportunities. Local and federal government, international relations, journalism and media, law, engineering, public relations, business, hospitality management, the arts, criminal justice, and the sciences are just a few of the areas of interest in which students can find internships.
Apply Now!According to a 2017 National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) study, today’s employers expect students to be “employment ready” upon college graduation. Typically, students learn hard skills in the classroom, but soft “people" skills such as the ability to communicate, work as part of a team, solve problems, plan, organize, prioritize, and process information are learned through interpersonal collaboration with others. The NACE study concluded that the immersion experience of internships allows students to connect classroom and workplace by requiring students to integrate and refine both hard and soft skills. Participation in the Atlanta Internship Experience provides such an immersion experience.
Students who…
Students work to secure their own internships in Washington, with assistance from WIE’s program director, the UM Career Center, and UM alumni contacts in DC.
Additionally, students should make use of online internship search engines. Below are some that students have found useful:
Pre-Internship:
Students accepted into the summer cohort of the Washington Internship Experience are required to take an internship preparation course offered by the Division of Outreach and Continuing Education.
This course offers Internship Experience participants opportunities to effectively and efficiently
research internships; to improve critical internship application materials; to discuss diversity and
intercultural competence; to navigate networking, social media, and professional etiquette; to
clarify professional and personal career goals; and to foster skills of problem-solving and
interpersonal communication.
During the Internship:
WIE participants must receive academic credit for their internship.
Spring: Students participating during the spring semester are required to carry 12 hours to maintain full-time status. These 12 hours will include 3 to 6 hours of work connected with an internship, and 6 hours of Ole Miss Online or iStudy courses.
Summer: Students participating during the summer term can earn between 3 and 9 credits, which includes 3 hours of internship credit and 3 to 6 hours of Ole Miss Online or iStudy courses, if they wish to complete additional course work.
Below is a list of internship courses from the University of Mississippi academic catalog.* If an internship for your major is not on the list below, you may be able to receive academic credit via an independent or self-directed study course in your department. Some internship courses have pre-requisites or other requirements that might impact whether you can earn credit for the Washington Internship Experience. Contact your academic advisor to find out about your department’s internship credit policies.
AH 308 | Art History Internship |
ART 410 | Art Internship |
BUS 300 | Business Internship |
CHEM 459 | Forensic Science Internship |
CINE 397 | Internship in Cinema |
CJ 490 | Criminal Justice Internship |
C OP 300 | Cooperative Education (Engineering) |
ECON 389 | Internship (Economics) |
ENG 399 | Internship (English) |
ENVS 385 | Environmental Studies Internship |
ES 493 | Internship (Exercise Science) |
ES 610 | Internship in Exercise Science |
FIN 445 | Internship in Insurance & Risk Management |
G ST 497 | Internship in Gender Studies |
HST 493 | Undergraduate History Internship |
HP 627 | Internship in Health Promotion |
IMC 395 | IMC Internship I |
IMC 495 | IMC Internship II |
INST 385 | Internship in International Studies |
ISS 490 | Internship in Intelligence & Security Studies |
JOUR 395 | Journalism Internship |
JOUR 495 | Journalism Practicum |
LA 495 | Internship (Legal Studies) |
NHM 481 | Merchandising Internship |
NHM 484 | Internship in Hospitality |
POL 389 | Internship in Government |
PPL 499 | Internship (Public Policy Leadership) |
PSY 401 | Undergraduate Internship in Psychology |
REL 380 | Community-Based Internship |
SOHE 495 | Society and Health Internship |
S ST 603 | Internship (Southern Studies) |
SRA 401 | Internship in Recreation Management |
SRA 627 | Internship (Recreation Management) |
TC 330 | Internship in Telecommunications |
*Inclusion on this list does not guarantee that the course can be used for academic credit in the Washington Internship Experience program. Confirm all requirements with your academic advisor.
Students live in apartments at The Congressional at 215 Constitution Avenue, NE, which is located across from the U.S. Supreme Court and other historic buildings on the Senate side of Capitol Hill. The Congressional is intern housing affiliated with Washington Internship Student Housing (WISH).
Spring 2019 (January 2 - April 6)
Summer 2019 (May 12-August 10)
Rolling Application for Spring
Summer Priority Deadline: November 9, 2018
Final Summer Deadline: March 1, 2019
WIE Fee | + |
Tuition (3 credits) | |
Spring 2019 | $4,895.00 | + |
$1,023.75 |
Summer 2019 | $4,695 | + |
Summer tuition fees TBD |
The WIE Fee covers pre-departure activities, orientation furnished housing in DC, WIE group activities during “welcome week,” farewell dinner, and WIE administrative fee. Not included in the WIE fee are tuition, travel to/from DC, daily meals, ground transportation, textbooks, and personal spending money. If students elect to take additional coursework through Ole Miss Online or iStudy, they are responsible for additional tuition costs.
Students with a FAFSA on file can apply for a limited number of WIE scholarships.
Contact:
Blake Hemphill
Financial Aid Office
(662) 915-5546
jbhemphi@olemiss.edu