University at Buffalo (UB)
Internship Description Guide
What is an Internship?
Internships offer an affordable method of recruitment and training while helping students make important decisions about their future careers. Well-designed internships provide projects through which students practice and learn, while building professional competencies and skills.
What is the timing for posting an internship?
Effective recruitment occurs at least one full semester before your start date, and as early as one year. Timely postings allow us to effectively promote your opportunity to students and schedule your potential on-campus or virtual programming to build brand recognition.
Do I select my own interns?
Yes; students apply to your posting as instructed; you interview and make offers. Students who accept your offers are required to report their internships to our team using BizLink.
Do I pay my intern(s)?
Paid internships demonstrate the value your organization places on interns and will attract more qualified applicants. Students in paid internships can focus their time on your organization instead of working a second job to make ends meet. Paid interns can also earn academic credit by request. Almost all for-profit employers who recruit with us pay their interns.
- Undergraduate students: $16.00 - $25/hr., depending on industry. Beginning January 2025, minimum wage is $16.00/hr.
- Graduate students: $18 - $35/hr., depending on industry (highly technical roles pay competitively).
What if I cannot pay?
All unpaid interns are required to earn academic credit. When offering an internship strictly for academic credit, consider covering costs and creating specialized perks to build a favorable value proposition:
- Exclusive access to mentor and C-suite executives within company and network
- Remote or hybrid arrangements to optimize cost control
- Full or partial tuition assistance for summer internships, when tuition is most expensive
- Transportation, parking, and/or meal assistance; (housing assistance, if relocation is needed)
- Membership in professional organizations; relevant licensure or certifications
- Class levels: Graduate (MBA, MS) and undergraduate students (sophomore, junior, senior) in good academic standing are eligible for internship participation in fall, spring or summer semesters.
- Required hours: Our standard internship requires 150 minimum hours of active participation.
- Paperwork: Our required Management by Objectives learning agreement (MBO) signifies an understanding between the student, employer and the University, acknowledging the experience as an internship. An online confidential evaluation link is provided at the end of the internship for feedback.
How can I create an internship that gets attention?
Students participate in internships mainly to learn; and respond best to postings that are clear, focused on real-world projects, and balanced between your opportunity and their professional goals. Aligning your internship projects with our concentration areas is a good place to start (see next page for our helpful checklist).
- Accounting
- Data Analytics
- Financial Analysis
- Healthcare Management
- Human Resources Management
- International Business
- Management Information Systems
- Marketing / Market Research
- Operations and Supply Chain Mgt.
- An intern cannot work independently 100% of the time. An individual within your organization, with established expertise, must mentor the intern in order to differentiate the position from an employee.
- Approve, allow, and encourage time for your internship supervisors to mentor their interns.
- What projects can you design to teach an intern about your company / industry / challenges / goals?
- By the end of your internship, what will the student have learned?
- Have you given your intern purpose and value?
We exclusively serve sophomore, junior and senior undergraduates; full-time MBA students and MS programs in the UB School of Management. Click the class level to learn about our degree programs.
- What other colleagues can your intern meet and/or shadow?
- Are there any related initiatives that need attention and will teach your intern additional skills?
Can I select an international student as an intern?
Yes! International students bring dynamic, global perspectives and experience to your company.
- We arrange work authorization, called Curricular Practical Training (CPT), at no extra cost to you.
- International students must always earn academic credit in order to obtain CPT.
- Summer internship tuition is costly for international students; $3,000+.
- International students can earn wages after securing an SSN.
How can I post my Internship to UB School of Management students?
Enter your posting directly into our online recruiting system, BizLink.
- Create or request an account and complete your profile.
- Post your internships. All postings are pending until reviewed by our director.
- Be sure to balance the position description to include what you are seeking as well as what you can offer your intern(s) in regard to their professional development.
- Set a realistic deadline to receive applications; typically, 3 - 4 weeks from posting date.
- Send your posting by email tomgt-internships@buffalo.edu
- We will review and get back to you within 48 hours.
Internship Description Checklist
The following components are vital to the creation of a robust internship description that will attract the best applicants. Need help? Sample internship descriptions can be found on our website.
Give your intern an actual title that reflects their department and/or project work. A title provides a professional identity internally and helps clarify the intern’s role.
Describe the main project or initiative on which your intern will participate, including, how this project came about, who is involved, and the purpose. Identify objectives and any milestones to reach during the semester. As a reminder, your intern is required to participate in your internship for a minimum of 150 hours.
Keep your intern busy! In addition to their main project, add opportunities for your intern to network internally, shadow other departments, contribute administratively, conduct research, attend staff meetings, participate in trainings and more ‐ especially if your job requires you to leave the office periodically.
Describe all desired skills as well as your preferred academic background. Include any soft skills / professional qualities; and hard skills like technical programs and prior relevant experience. Remember: students participate in internships to learn. An internship must differ from a full‐time job.
Describe the meaningful knowledge your intern will gain from participating in your internship experience. Learning objectives can be very specific; can be reflective of industry practices; or can be general. For example:
- Learn about auditing procedures and practice-audit selected work papers.
- Gain first hand, guided exposure to regulations within financial markets.
- Learn about the process of making strategic decisions, as well as managing impact / consequences.
- Observe appropriate behaviors necessary for successful client meetings.
- Learn what it means to function successfully in a professional environment, i.e. pivoting, agility, humility, etc.
- Learn about the operational impact of a model created in Excel vs. hypothetical situations.
- Expand understanding of the application of skills in a diverse and socially engaged organization; gain an understanding of the nonprofit industry at a deeper level.
- Gain a deeper understanding of corporate law and management in the context of economic development in both private and public sectors.
- Enhance understanding of different Human Resources functions. Learn how to implement a new Human Resources provision in an employee handbook.
- Learn how to capture, analyze and interpret data regarding customer trends and needs.
- Gain hands-on experience studying the relationship between retail and supplier, pertaining to costs.
- Learn how a company decides what products to sell and how to project inventory during a given period.
- Experience a full range of supply chain methodology and help solve bottlenecks that arise.
We have adopted the National Association of Colleges and Employers’ (NACE) Career Readiness Competencies as described below. Students seek to develop soft skills and leadership abilities while on the internship. Choose from the list below and/or add your own. Provide your interns with a framework from which to succeed.
- Critical Thinking / Problem Solving
- Digital / Technical Application
- Global / Diversity Mindset
- Leadership
- Oral / Written Communication
- Professionalism / Work Ethic
- Self-Management / Adaptability
- Teamwork / Collaboration
Thank you for recruiting with us!