Internships

The Economics Department at Lewis & Clark College offers academic credit for internships with business, government, and other organizations. The internships provide opportunities for well-prepared students to put economic concepts to work in real job environments. In the recent past, our students have completed internships with Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, Oregon Environmental Council, Bonneville Environmental Foundation, Oregon Center for Public Policy, American Express Financial Advisors, and Puma AG. The internships provide students with practical experience in the business and policy worlds, and help make their Lewis and Clark course work relevant to their careers. In addition, students make contacts that may be useful when they enter the job market.

Academic credit is provided in two courses, Econ 244 and Econ 444. The prerequisite for Econ 244 is Econ 100 (Principles of Economics), and the prerequisites for Econ 444 are Econ 301 and Econ 302 (Intermediate Microeconomic Theory and Intermediate Macroeconomic Theory). The idea is that students in Econ 244 apply economic concepts from the principles course in the internship, while the students in Econ 444 apply the concepts from intermediate theory. Internships can be arranged for either Fall or Spring Semester, and also for the summer. Students who wish to receive credit must register before beginning the practicum or internship.

Set up an Internship

A student sets up an internship and gets academic credit in the Economics Department by following four steps.

1. For general information about internship opportunities, read Internship Information for Students, a document from the Career Center that discusses (i) the benefits of an internship, (ii) various strategies to find an internship, and (iii) how to get academic credit for an internship.

2. Complete the Internship Preparation Worksheet

3. Complete the Internship Learning Agreement. This agreement must be completed before the activity starts and before the add/drop deadline.

  • For the faculty internship sponsor, list Arthur O’Sullivan.
  • The grade type is Credit/No Credit.
  • A grade of CR will be assigned to a student who submits all the paperwork (described below) to the Faculty Sponsor: midterm evaluation, final evaluation, tracking sheet, and final paper.
  • For the description of the internship, answer #4 with “I will get informal feedback from my site supervisor on a weekly basis. My site supervisor will complete a formal midterm evaluation and a final evaluation.”
  • For the description of the internship, answer #5 with “I will submit a final paper (8-10 pages) that describes the internship activities and relates them to my education at Lewis and Clark. The paper is due on the first day of final exams in the semester of credit.”
  • For the description of the internship, answer #6 with “I will submit bi-weekly emails to the faculty sponsor with a brief update on the progress of the internship.”

Do the Internship

There are several types of paperwork and electronic work associated with doing an internship.

  1. Over the course of the internship use the Tracking Sheet to track your hours and receive informal feedback from your supervisor.

  2. Send bi-weekly emails to the faculty sponsor.

  3. At the mid-point of the internship have your supervisor complete the Midterm Evaluation Form and email it to the Internship Coordinator.

  4. At the end of the internship:

    • Have your supervisor complete Final Evaluation Form and email it to the Internship Coordinator.

    • Send your Tracking Sheet to the Internship Coordinator.

  5. No later than the first day of final exams, submit your final paper. Here are some questions you should answer in the essay.

    • What did you learn in your Lewis and Clark coursework that was applicable to your internship experience?
    • What did you not learn in LC courses that would have been helpful in the internship?
    • What did you learn in the internship that broadened or deepened your understanding of the basic concepts of economics?
    • If you were to address one of our current classes (in principles, intermediate theory, or applied economics), what new insights into real-world economics would you pass on to students?

For additional information on the Economics Department internship program, contact Arthur O’Sullivan (arthuro@lclark.edu).