In order to be eligible for this opportunity, you need to:

1. Be a current VCU undergraduate student
2. Have already accepted an internship for the semester in which you are applying for this course
3. Have discussed this with your academic advisor and determined the number of credits you are requesting (0-3 cr. options)

In addition:

1. Your internship should involve professional work related to either the 8 NACE Competencies, your career interests or academic major.
2. Your internship has a clearly defined duration, appropriate to the number of credits. (See guide for further details)
3. A professional staff member from your internship employer will supervise you.
4. Your internship can be paid or non-paid.
5. Your internship should be located and completed in the United States. Remote internships based in the U.S. are eligible.

Please Note: These guidelines are being used by VCU’s Academic Internship Office to determine whether academic credit should be granted for an internship and to provide criteria to assure the integrity of an internship. These guidelines exclude departmentally-based internship programs operated as part of an approved degree.

Application Process

1. Review the eligibility criteria above to see if you and your internship are eligible.
2. Determine if getting credit for your internship is the right option for you.
3. Fill out the application form below completely TBD (incomplete submissions will not be approved). The application link is at the bottom of this page.
4. Your submission will be reviewed and approved or denied within one week of submission, unless notified otherwise.
5. If approved, you will be emailed the next steps for enrollment.

Students who are approved will be enrolled in REAL 399 by a date to be determined.

Enrollment Process: To enroll in REAL 399, students must apply and submit an Integrated Learning Plan (ILP) for approval to the REAL office using the online application portal.  

The online application requires: 

1. Identification of an supervisor in at your internship by providing: 
• the name and contact information of the person who will serve as your supervisor at the placement site and 
• documentation (an email, for example) that they have agreed to host your experience.  
2. Identification of the number of credits for which you wish to register (0-3). 
3. Internship position/title
4. A completed Integrated Learning Plan, or ILP:  
• Integrated Learning Plan worksheet 

Course Number: REAL 399

Course Title: Relevant Experiential and Applied Learning

Instructor(s): Qualified VCU Faculty or Staff member

Units: 0-3

Grading: Pass/Fail

Dates: TBD

Description: This course supports student completion of a self-directed experiential learning project in one of the five REAL learning domains: academic discipline, skills and knowledge; professional identity and career preparation; community or civic identity; diversity and inclusion; and global knowledge. The student’s satisfaction of the course requirements is determined by a VCU faculty/staff supervisor. In cases where the project engages an external partner (an employer or community organization, for example), an evaluation from that partner may also be administered to determine satisfaction of course requirements.

Students are encouraged to consult with their academic adviser to see which major/minor or breadth requirements this course may fulfill.

Questions?

Reach out to real@vcu.edu

Will be released soon!