Academic Credit for Experiential Learning

Get academic credits for your internship or work-study!

Rowan students may receive academic credits for their experiential learning that count toward restricted or free electives. If you are planning to take part in a co-op, internship, or work-study, there are options for receiving academic credit which will benefit your academic progress while enhancing your work and learning experience.

Process for Achieving Credit

To ensure that you can receive credit for your employment experience, you must follow each step carefully by meeting required deadlines and staying on top of possible course requirements.

1. Review the requirements for the course options below to determine which you may be eligible for. If you are unsure, this can be discussed with Professor Chien upon your meeting in step (2).
2. After securing your employment opportunity, but between 2 and 4 weeks before course registration opens for the semester in which your work experience will take place, schedule an appointment via RSN-Starfish to meet with Professor Chien to discuss the technical merits of the employment and, if eligible, you will be granted an override so you can register for the course.
3. When registration opens, register for the course you were granted the override for.
4. Following registration, complete your work opportunity while at the same time ensuring you are compliant with all applicable course requirements in order to achieve credit. Examples of possible coursework are listed below.
5. Upon successful completion of the work experience and the coursework, your academic transcript will include the course that may count as your restricted or free elective.

Two Options for Credit

Recognizing that not all work opportunities are the same, we offer two distinct courses that tailor to different types of experiences which allows students to receive credit for broader types of opportunities. There are two courses that students may be eligible for: CS 99.300 Computer Field Experience (3 restricted elective credits) and INTR 20.399 Internship in Applied Liberal Arts (2-6 free elective credits). In general, the Computer Field Experience course is for more rigorous internships that are more technical in nature If you are not eligible to earn restricted elective credits from the Computer Field Experience course, you may still be eligible to earn free elective credit from the Applied Liberal Arts internship course.

Computer Field Experience Course:

• The course will provide an opportunity for CS students to receive restricted elective credit for experiential learning, working in a professional environment. The course will be offered annually in the Fall semester as 3 credits for internships with a minimum of 400 hours worked.
• Prereqs: Completion of PDS or DSA, and permission of instructor.

Internship in Applied Liberal Arts Course:

• The course will provide formal opportunities and guidance for liberal arts students seeking to explore the wide variety of careers open to students with degrees in the humanities and social sciences. This program will allow Rowan students to explore careers in the corporate, non-profit, and public sectors. The course will be offered annually. To receive 3 credits, the student must commit to a total of 130-150 hours at the internship site. To receive 4 credits, the student must commit to a total of 175-200 hours at the intern site. To receive 5 credits, the student must commit to a total of 220-250 hours. To receive 6 credits, the student must commit to a total of 260-300 hours.
• Prereqs: Pending.

Coursework

After fulfilling the requisite number of hours worked, the coursework required is at the discretion of the instructor and may be subject to change. Potential assignments and activities could include:

Computer Field Experience Course:

• Weekly logs and/or journal.
• Supervisor's evaluation letter of performance.
• Technical report or reflection summary.
• Presentation or talk in a forum of peers.

Internship in Applied Liberal Arts Course:

• The following assignments are required:
  • Reflection Papers (3)
  • Elevator Pitch Statement Recording
  • Ongoing hours logs
  • List of References
  • Revised Resume
  • 8 Discussion Questions (students choose 6)
• Students must choose two of the following assignments:
  • Focus 2
  • Informational Interview
  • Electronic Job Search Exercise
  • Ethics Case
• Students must submit an Application for Credit to be enrolled in the course.