Frequently Asked Questions
Please stop by the Career Center to learn more about how you can find, fund, and secure an extraordinary internship!
What’s the difference between an internship, an externship, and a fellowship?
| Internship | Externship | Research | Fellowship | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Objective | Provides direct experience to connect career and academic interests | Provides direct experience to connect career and academic interests | Systematic investigation calculated to develop or contribute to generalizable knowledge; not institutional research intended for use only at and by Carleton employees or students | Provides direct experience or opportunity to conduct research in a chosen area of interest |
| Activity | Maximize participation with ongoing observation; enhance existing skills and abilities and discover new skills and abilities | Maximize observation, with some opportunity for participation, usually in the form of a shorter‐term, focused project | Maximize independent work and personal initiative through research | Maximize independent work and personal initiative, through research, volunteering, and/or travel |
| Reflection | Develop learning goals and engage in reflection activities | Develop learning goals and engage in reflection activities | May or may not involve learning goals and reflections | May or may not involve learning goals and reflections |
| Supervision | Provide close supervision with regular feedback and mentoring between supervisor and intern | Provide close supervision with frequent formal interaction between supervisor and extern | May or may not have a supervising element | May or may not have a supervising element |
| Length | Longer‐term (at least 6 weeks and 240 hours) | Shorter term (1-3 weeks) | Can be either shorter or longer term | Can be either shorter or longer term |
| Timing | Require sustained length of time, often over summer break | Winter Break | Varies | The majority—though not all—are completed during summer or winter break |
| Compensation (from host site) | May be paid or unpaid | Unpaid | May be paid or unpaid | Unpaid |
| Funding/Award Eligibility | May be eligible for Carleton funding to offset associated travel and accommodation expenses | May be eligible for Career Center funding to offset associated travel and accommodation expenses | Projects connected to academic work may be eligible for funding from the Office of Student Fellowships or some academic departments (contact relevant Departmental Administrative Assistants for further information) | Fellowships administered by Carleton are awarded competitively through the Office of Student Fellowships. |
Are internships available on campus?
Yes! A few select on-campus internships are available. Please contact the Career Center to learn more.