Course: Finance 46192
Credit Hours: 3 Semester Hours

This is a controlled admission class for students who are interested in obtaining career-relevant experience. The student must meet the criteria listed below to the satisfaction of the Chairperson of the Finance Department. The student is responsible for securing an appropriate internship, although aid may be provided by the Department or by Career Planning and Placement.

1. A G.P.A of 2.85 or better overall and 3.0 or better in Finance.

2. Completion of Business Finance (36053), Intermediate Business Finance (36054) and at least one of the following: Financial System (36058) or Investments (36059) or International Business Finance (46064).

3. Demonstration of the ability to work independently and an understanding of the meaning of an internship experience.

1. Responsibility for obtaining the position lies with the student. However, assistance may be obtained from the Finance Department chairperson, faculty, or the Career Services Center.

2. The position should be with an organization which typically hires college graduates into entry-level positions. That is, the responsibilities, supervision, and training provided to the intern should be comparable to that which new hires in this organization typically receive.

3. The employer can be either a profit or a non-profit organization. It must have an individual knowledgeable about finance who is willing to function as the intern's supervisor.

4. The student should work a minimum of 12-15 hours per week for approximately 10 weeks. The normal expectation is that the intern should be paid at least the prevailing minimum wage, although non-profit organizations may be exempted.

5. A supervisory representative of the employing firm must provide, in writing, confirmation that he or she is willing to evaluate the intern's performance (see the attached evaluation form).

6. The student should obtain the Chairperson's approval prior to commencing employment, as not all positions will be approved.

1. THE PROCEDURE: To obtain admission to register for Finance 46192, the student must submit to the Chairperson of the Finance Department a COMPLETED Request for Permission to Register for Finance Internship form AND a typewritten two-page proposal for the internship. The proposal must detail the job description and the specific conditions of the job, including the number of hours per week to be worked, the salary agreed upon, the reporting relationships, and how the position is expected to enhance the student's career objectives. The proposal must include the name and phone number of both the student and the prospective supervisor.

2. THE PAPER: At the conclusion of the internship, you are required to submit a detailed written report (10-15 pages plus figures and/or appendices, typed, double spaced). The report must include the following sections:

Section I -- The Internship Experience

A. This section of the report presents a detailed description of the internship duties, work assignments, and projects completed. Include, as Figures or in Appendices, samples of projects worked on or completed (e.g., brochures, questionnaires, public relations releases) during the internship. Be certain to provide information about your internship "job title," the time period (dates) of your internship, and the number of hours per day or week that you spent on the internship.

B. In addition to the description of "what was done" (from the material above), you must demonstrate an understanding of the significance of the work. Why/how were these tasks important to the organization? What "motivated" the assignments?

C. Finally, you must (where appropriate) report on the "results" or the "success" of the efforts. For example, if a survey was done, how good was the questionnaire, how was the data analyzed, what were the results (if the company allows this to be reported), what did the results contribute towards "solving" the problem? If you were engaged in prospecting or sales or fund raising, how successful were these efforts? By what measures?

Section II -- Finance Courses and the Internship.

A. In this section of the report, you must discuss, in detail, what each Finance course you completed contributed to the intern work assignments. What principles, ideas, or elements of these courses were helpful in the internship experience. Discuss this on a course by course basis.

B. Discuss knowledge or concepts that you did not learn from your Finance courses that would have been useful to you during the internship. Describe any such material that you think should be included in the Finance curriculum. In this connection, try to distinguish between topics that you think should have been included in courses you have actually taken and topics that you think may be covered in courses that you have not taken..

Section III -- The Internship and Career Goals. The final section of the report must contain an appraisal of how the internship contributed to your career goals.

3. GRADING OF THE REPORT: The report will be graded on three criteria. The first criterion is the CONTENT. The report must fulfill the requirements for the three sections detailed above. Be sure that you have read and understand these requirements. If you have any questions, talk with the person in the Finance Department who will be grading your internship paper. The second criterion is writing STYLE. The report must use proper spelling, grammar, and proper sentence structure. The third criterion involves the PRESENTATION of the report. The report must be neat, any tables, diagrams, figures, or Appendices well formatted, etc. The assignment you turn in should be a product that you would be able to show to a potential employer as a demonstration of the quality of your work.

4. THE FINAL GRADE: The course grade for Internship is either S (Satisfactory) or U (Unsatisfactory). Your grade for the internship will be based on both the written report and on the supervisor's evaluation of your job performance (i.e., the Internship Evaluation Form and a written letter of evaluation). The sealed evaluation MUST be turned in WITH the report (i.e., not before the report is turned in and not afterward).