Internship Requirements

Who must complete an internship?

Students of the Food and Nutrition Policy and Programs (FANPP); Agriculture, Food and Environment (AFE); and Nutrition Interventions, Communication, and Behavior Change (NICBC) programs must complete an internship as part of their degree requirements. Students in other programs in the Friedman School are not required to complete an internship, but are strongly encouraged to do so. Students in the Frances Stern Dietetic Internship program must fulfill internship program requirements as stipulated by the American Dietetic Association and the FSNC. The internship receives no formal academic credit, but is necessary to become eligible to take the Registration Examination for Dietitians. The terms and requirements of the Dietetic Internship differ from those of other units of the Friedman School. The amount of time and work done for an internship will vary. All students in the AFE, FANPP, and NICBC programs will be required to complete a minimum of 320 hours to meet the academic internship requirement. An internship can take place at any time during the degree process but often occurs over the summer after the student’s first year of study, lasting from 10 to 12 weeks.

Students doing internships that merit academic semester hour units may develop a Directed Study Course Proposal based on their internship work and submit a Directed Study Course Proposal form to the Office of Student Affairs to be enrolled in the course in SIS. Students may receive a maximum of six semester hour units toward their degree requirements as Directed Study courses based on internships. Directed Study courses based on internships are graded on a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading basis. Refer to Internship Policies and Procedures for more information.

Internship Contract

Once you have secured an internship, you must complete an Internship Contract. You will include details of the internship including location, responsibilities, and objectives. The 2025 Internship Contract can be found HERE. Please submit the contract prior to the start of your internship. You will need written (email) approval from both your Academic Advisor and Internship Supervisor. You will upload the emails when submitting your contract. Please schedule a meeting with your advisor to discuss your internship status/plan/ideas.

Requirements and Next Steps

Select internship site and establish an institutional contact.

Submit a completed Internship Contract (approved by the Academic Advisor and the Internship Institution Supervisor) to the Coordinator for Student Services before beginning the internship. The link to the internship contract will be shared with students via email.

Apply for Internship Scholarship Funding (optional).

Complete the internship.

Submit the Internship Completion Form and Completion Report to the Office of Student Affairs, the Academic Advisor, and the Division Chair. It is optional to send the report to the Internship Site Supervisor. The Internship Completion Form includes basic information about the internship and the Completion Report, which is a description of the work done, a self-evaluation of how well the student was able to meet his/her objectives, an assessment of the value of the internship, and advice for future interns.

Share the details about your internship experience with the Friedman School community. Students will receive information on the format and deadline.

Post-Completion Requirements will be sent to students via email.