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Internships

Career Center's Internship Program

CSU, Chico's Internship program links the University to business, industry, and government by giving students an opportunity to combine classroom study with career related work experience. The program helps students define their educational goals and prepare for their careers by exploring the realities of the working world.

Valuable teaching and learning can occur outside the classroom. In recognition, the Internship Program has formed a partnership with business and government which provides students with the opportunity to gain academically related work experience prior to graduation. These practical learning experiences extend the walls of the University, permitting students to blend theory and practice at an early stage in their professional growth.

The program provides an excellent source of energetic, highly motivated employees and enables employers to evaluate interns under actual working conditions and assess their performance as prospective employees.

Internship opportunities are essentially limitless, bound more by the imagination than geography or type of work. Work experience opportunities exist throughout the nation and world in a spectrum of subjects from agriculture to the fine arts. Through the Internship Program, students have interned with a vast list of agencies and corporations including CIA in The Washington, D.C. area; Hewlett-Packard, Intel, Chevron, Deloitte, The Sacramento Kings and KPMG in the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento; Target Stores and Distribution, Enterprise-Rent-A-Car, and many social service agencies in Chico and the North Valley.

A maximum of 15 internship units (courses numbered 389, 489,) may be applied to a bachelor's degree at CSU, Chico.

Internship Services

The University's internship programs are coordinated by the Career Center. The office assists students, employers, and academic departments in developing and improving academically related work experience programs and matching students with employers. The Internship Program offers the following services:

  • The Wildcat Career Connection, a database highlighting hundreds of local, national and international opportunities.
  • Overall coordination of departmental co-op/internship programs.
  • Counseling and placement.
  • Referral to departmental internship programs.
  • All the counseling/advising services offered by the Career Center.

Internships cover the broadest spectrum of experiential education. The University also has active departmental internship programs to assist employers and students. Each departmental internship program has its own requirements, and it is advisable to consult the department directly.

The Cooperative Education Program (co-op) is also administered by the Career Center. Co-op positions are paid and can be full time or part time. The work periods are typically from January-June,and June-December; however, summer-only work sessions may be arranged. The salaries for co-ops range from $1,000 to more than $4,000 per month and depend upon the student's major, year in school, and the company. Many co-op students receive permanent job offers from the companies participating in the co-op program.

What Employers Are Saying

The internship experience is so valuable in part because of the great companies who employ Chico students. See some of the feedback the University has received for our exceptional students:

"Chico Students are great communicators. They listen well and ask great questions. They show motivation and are eager to know more about our business," Balboa Capital Corp.

"Chico students work very well in a collaborative team environment, have solid exposure to SAP and typically have strong PC skills," Chevron.

"Chico students receive excellent preparation through real-life simulation projects with a focus on teamwork," Bearing Point.

"It is obvious that Chico State students bank tremendous experience in education, activities and social experiences. Couple those experiences with the unparalleled attention students receive through the Career Center, and a great candidate is born," Federated Insurance.

Catalog Cycle:11