Internship for Credit

The purpose of our internship program is to provide academic credit for work experiences in laboratory, clinical, or field settings.  Students can earn 1 credit for every 45 hours of work as an intern.  A maximum of six internship credits may be accrued toward the minimum number of 30 credits needed for the major. Credits from IPHY 2910 Practicum (freshman and sophomores only), IPHY 4930 Internship, IPHY 4940 Clinical Internship, and IPHY 4950 Global Internship will all count toward the maximum of six internship credits. Note: students can earn a maximum of 3 credits through IPHY 2910. This maximum policy is in place so that you will have the opportunity to do an upper division internship when you are an upperclassman and earn 3 additional internship credits.

Recent openings are posted on the internship and employment opportunities page. You can also consult the list of organizations approved for IPHY internship, which may or may not have openings at the present time.  See the Internship FAQ page for answers to frequently asked questions about internships.

Students may earn academic credit through both paid and unpaid internships.  Note: This applies only to IPHY 4930 and 4940.  Students in the IPHY 4900 Public Health/Contact Tracing course must choose either payment or academic credit, not both.  Also note: This policy is not retroactive, so you may not apply to earn credit retroactively for a past internship.  Also note that a job is not an internship.  The differences may be in the level of pay, and length of work.  Internship pay may be lower than that of a job; and an internship has a specific length.  Also, an internship experience usually involves some kind of training and/or supervision. The internship and employment opportunities page distinguishes among unpaid internships, paid internships, and jobs.

Eligibility and Specific Requirements

1.     IPHY 2910: Freshmen and sophomores are welcome to apply

2.     IPHY 4930: Juniors and seniors are welcome to apply; Any internships include clinical internships that do not require affiliated agreements.

a.     Have a cumulative GPA of at least 2.0
b.     Have completed at least two upper division (i.e., 3000 or above) IPHY courses

3.     IPHY 4940: Juniors and seniors are welcome to apply

a. You must identify a clinical supervisor and confirm the internship requires an Affiliation Agreement with CU Vlogƽ. If you cannot find that information, contact Dr. Jia Shi at jia.shi@colorado.edu. Affiliations currently exist with:
 
Adventist Health System
Banner Health
Vlogƽ Community Health
Centura Health Corporation
Children’s Hospital
Clinica Family Health
Denver Health
HCA-HealthOne
InnovAge
National Jewish Health
Peak Form Medical Clinic

b. If an Affiliation Agreement is required and is in place, find out the documentation requirements from your clinical supervisor. These will vary according to the clinic or hospital, but will commonly include proof of insurance, evidence of specific immunizations, HIPPA training, infection control training, criminal background check, and drug test.

Find an Internship

  1. Students can review the list of organizations approved for an IPHY internship here: Organizations Approved for IPHY Internship
    1. Please note: Internships must include an academic component that is related to the concepts the student has learned in the classroom
    2. If you are interested in an internship that is not on the approved list, please contact Dr. Jia Shi (jia.shi@colorado.edu) to see if it can be added to the list
  2. Contact an organization approved for an IPHY internship to see if an internship is possible
  3. Once you have found an interested organization, discuss and agree on roles and responsibilities, number of hours to work each week, and the total number of hours to work. Have an email exchange with the internship supervisor to confirm this information, and also indicate whether the internship is paid or unpaid—save the email. 

Apply for IPHY Internship

1. Important information before starting application:

  1. The faculty sponsor will be Dr. Jia Shi
  2. You must be ready to include the internship supervisor email address (it is very important that all email addresses be correctly entered)
  3. You must be ready to attach the email exchange with your internship supervisor
    Note the Following Conditions:
  • Students will pay reduced fees for summer internships.  For the spring and fall semesters, students will be charged regular tuition for internships. 
  • Students may not sign up retroactively for an internship that has already started or been completed at an earlier time.
  • Students will only get credit for the hours worked within the academic semester they are applying for. Students can begin internships at any point in the semester, so long as they complete their credit hours by the last day of classes. (Students need to be enrolled in the Internship by the Monday before finals.)
  • Note: It is preferred that you submit your internship application before the Add deadline.  However, you can still apply after the Add deadline.  If in doubt, contact Dr. Jia Shi -- jia.shi@colorado.edu.

2. Submit Internship Application

  • Use this link to submit your internship application.  It should be used for all applications for IPHY 2910, 4930, or 4940 (the form will ask you to specify which one).
  • The application leads to a link to DocuSign, which will auto-forward to all parties who need to provide a signature.
  • Once all parties have signed the agreement, the department will enroll you in the internship for credit and you will receive a confirmation email. 

Conduct the Internship

  1. Develop a plan to complete the requirements of the work. This is done in collaboration with your internship supervisor.
  2. Agree to work in professional manner and observe the required dress code.
  3. Maintain a weekly journal that records your day-to day experiences
  4. Keep a time log of the hours spent at the work site; this log must be signed by your internship supervisor each week or at the intervals determined by your internship supervisor.  

Grading the Internship is based on the following components

  1. An evaluation from your internship supervisor; three weeks before the end of the internship they will receive an email containing the survey link from iphyinternships@colorado.edu.
  2. A final essay you submit via the Canvas course page “Assignments” that analyzes your experiences (2 pages/credit for IPHY 4930 and IPHY 4940. e.g. 6 pages/3 credits; 1 page/credit for IPHY 2910). Your essay must include at least the following:
    1. Reflections on what you have learned,
    2. How the internship complements your studies in IPHY, and
    3. How the internship supports your career goals.
  3. Your completed weekly journals and supervisor signed time logs
    1.  Journal should be ½ page a week at 1.5 line spacing
    2. All assignments must be submitted by the last day of classes

IPHY 4950 Global Internship

These are 8-week summer internships and are customized placements based on your skills, area of study, and interests.  To learn more about the IPHY global internships, please contact Steven Rose at Education Abroad (Steven.Rose@Colorado.EDU).  .  To provide academic context to your experiential learning you will be enrolled in 6 credits of IPHY 4950 with Dr. Shi.

Applications for Specific Internships

See the internship and employment opportunities page for current internship opportunities. Internships that recur in fall and spring semesters will be listed below, and you should find them on the opportunities page if they are currently available.

More Information

The Internship FAQ page answers a variety of questions about internships. The video below shows a presentation by Dr. Jia Shi, the IPHY Internship Coordinator.  She explains what internships are, the benefits they offer for your career, the requirements for enrolling and for successful completion, how to find internships, and some of the different types of internships available.