BEM Internships

Overview

The Business & Enterprise Management (BEM) Internship Program is designed to provide students with an opportunity for a meaningful career-related experience in a variety of organizational settings.

BEM Internship Requirements

The Undergraduate Business Program’s BEM Internship Program is designed to give students unique learning opportunities to gain valuable experience, apply their skills, and make business contacts. Students are expected to seize these opportunities and to maximize the internship’s learning potential.

Students must realize that their performance reflects on the University and the School of Business, and may affect the availability of future internship opportunities. Each student’s work ethic and professionalism will impact future Wake Forest students. In accordance, students must act professionally, which includes being punctual, performing work effectively and efficiently, and demonstrating interest in the sponsoring company’s work. At the conclusion of the internship, every supervisor should say, “Please send me another intern just like this WFU intern! My WFU intern was GREAT!”

The intern will simultaneously serve in an employee role and in a student role. As an employee, the intern must perform assigned duties satisfactorily. All company regulations, health and safety conditions, and legal requirements apply, and any company policy violations should be handled as they would be for any employee. The intern is subject to all applicable university regulations.

Prerequisites

• Students must be accepted BEM majors; and
• Students must complete 15 hours of undergraduate School of Business credit, including BEM 211 and 287

Requirements for Internship Approval (BEFORE beginning work)

• Students seeking credit for BEM 389 must submit all required paperwork;
• Gain approval for their internship; and
• Attend an Internship Orientation

Internship Requirements (during employment)

Student Responsibilities

The student will:

• Work a minimum of 200 hours over a minimum of five weeks;
• Prepare job responsibilities and outcomes for the internship, which should be developed cooperatively with input from the Director of Internship Development and the Supervisor;
• Compile reports as scheduled with a status report/journal;
• Compile a final report/narrative reflection.
• Prepare a professionally-oriented Internship Portfolio that showcases the student’s work; and
• Maintain contact with the Wake Forest Internship Advisor as appropriate, throughout the internship.

Note: No internship credit will be granted for work already in progress or completed.

Employer Responsibilities

The supervisor will:

• Approve job responsibilities and intended learning outcomes, which the student intern has developed cooperatively with the Wake Forest Internship Advisor and the supervisor;
• Provide ongoing, informal feedback to the student about the student’s work performance; and
• Complete an initial and final evaluation of the student’s internship using a form provided by the School of Business. The evaluation should include a face-to-face meeting between the supervisor and the student intern, and a copy of the evaluation form can be sent to Wake Forest (optional).

To promote a mutually beneficial relationship, the student, the WFU Internship Advisor, and the supervisor should maintain contact throughout the semester. If questions or concerns arise, then the supervisor should communicate with the Wake Forest Internship Advisor. Such contact is welcomed and appreciated.

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How to Find an Internship

Internship Resources

BEM Internship Program Database

The BEM Internship Program database contains contact information for companies that have expressed interest in hosting WFU interns or that have hosted WFU interns in the past.

CLICK HERE to access the BEM Internship Database (login required – use your WFU username/password)

Additional Resources:

• Office of Career & Professional Development
• Market Readiness & Employment
• Handshake (Registration required)
• Housing Resources

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Submit Internship for Approval

Once students have confirmed details for their proposed internship, they should complete the form (linked below) and click “Submit.”

CLICK HERE to Submit Internship for Approval

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For Alumni and Employers

Bringing the BEM curriculum to our students is an ambitious undertaking that requires the proactive involvement of forward-thinking companies and alumni. Having one or more BEM candidates as an intern in your organization for a minimum of five weeks will provide you with:

• Bright, dedicated interns who have a strong work ethic, desire to learn, and drive to succeed;
• An inside track on new-talent screening and recruitment;
• Valuable input and fresh perspective on tough company issues;
• High-quality deliverables for a relatively low cost;
• An opportunity to make a big impact on the development of these talented business students and to help them fine-tune their professional direction; and
• A new way to be involved with the Wake Forest academic community.

Whether you represent a business or are an alumnus, we are eager to be involved with you in this exciting program. This is a win-win partnership for you and for our students! If you are interested in recruiting Wake Forest BEM majors for potential internship opportunities, then please contact Dana Hutchens at hutchens@wfu.edu or call (336) 758-5246.

Post an Internship Opportunity

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Employer Frequently Asked Questions and Tips

• Are these internships paid?
  • The answer varies by organization. Some internships are paid hourly. Other organizations choose to provide a stipend for the full internship. Some organizations provide housing and expenses. Some internships are unpaid. Some students may only be eligible for paid internships.
• Which are the appropriate dates of the internship?
  • The dates vary significantly, but generally they fall between late May and late August.
• How will student housing and expenses be paid?
  • The students are generally responsible for these costs.

Tips for Employers for Effective Meaningful Internships

1. Students have many talents (e.g., professional skills, enthusiasm, dedication to learning, and an eagerness to work and to do a good job) that benefit employers. A good internship program will ensure the assignment of challenging projects and tasks.
2. Effective assignments should be coupled with adequate supervision to provide an information resource and to ensure that interns are keeping pace. Please use care in identifying a seasoned staff member who “buys in” to the importance of utilizing interns.
3. Please develop a detailed job description for the student intern, and involve the manager who will be responsible for supervising and developing the intern. Please discuss requirements with the student intern.
4. Please ensure that infrastructure is in place to support the student intern, including sufficient workspace (e.g., desk, computer workstation, access to phone, company email, if necessary, etc.)
5. Please discuss “learning objectives” with your student interns and supervisors.
6. Please plan ongoing weekly meetings to stay up-to-date with the intern’s progress.
7. Please provide an orientation to your organization. Introduce the student to the organization, the employees, the physical layout, and the order of responsibility. If possible, have supervisors encourage students to participate in your organization’s training programs as well as cross-department assignments.
8. Please involve supervisors and students in a formal evaluation process. An evaluation form will be provided for you at the midpoint of the internship and at the end of the internship.
9. Please take time to review the evaluation with the student intern. Please give the student interns the opportunities to apply their education and skills. Assign projects that include planning, designing, evaluating and researching.

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BEM Summer Work Fellowship (for students):

The purpose of the BEM Summer Internship Fellowship is to provide financial support to students who might not be able to accept an unpaid or low-paying internship without other financial assistance. If unpaid, all rising BEM seniors are eligible to apply for up to $3,000 to aid in the completion of the required BEM internship. If low-paying, all rising BEM seniors are eligible to apply for up to $1,000.

The BEM Summer Internship Fellowship is intended to fund those internships that you list in the application. Accepting a different internship will require a new application for funding. If after receiving the fellowship, a recipient finds that the position is a paid one, then a new application is required. Decisions about these requests will be made based on the projected net costs that are stated in your application, and decisions are contingent on available funds after all unpaid internship applications have been considered.

Fellowships are intended to help cover living expenses for students who are completing unpaid or low-paid internships during a summer term. Fellowship funds are not intended to cover tuition at other universities, payments to third-party search companies, or other costs not directly related to the completion of a BEM internship.

Questions regarding the BEM Summer Work Fellowship should be directed to Mike Crespi – Director, Market Readiness and Employment, BEM Internship Advisor (crespima@wfu.edu).

Coumantaros Global Exploration Internship Fund:

This fund provides a stipend for students who plan to intern outside their country of residence. Internships that meet the requirements for BEM 389 are eligible for this funding. In addition to the BEM internship requirements, students who are selected are required to complete a one-page reflection on their experience which will be shared with the donors of the Fund.  The stipend is open to all School of Business students with qualified internships, but the financial need of the student and internship compensation may be considered when awarding the Fund.

Please contact Emily Allen (eallen@wfu.edu) for more information or to be considered for the Coumantaros Global Exploration Internship Fund.

Contact Us

For more information, or to discuss potential internship opportunities, please contact:

Mike Crespi
Director, Market Readiness and Employment
Business and Enterprise Management Internship Advisor
Wake Forest University School of Business
Office: Farrell Hall 115
Phone: (336) 758-5814
Email: crespima@wfu.edu

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