Internships and career opportunities at Willamette

Colleges and Universities A-Z Willamette University
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<p>I know some families are currently weighing whether to attend a small liberal arts college like Willamette or a large public university, and I thought I'd provide a bit of information about the importance of choosing a college that provides access to a range of internships. It's not always the first thing that comes to a high-school senior's mind as he or she wanders about the campus.</p>

<p>Willamette offers a wide range of internships. It's situated right across from the state capital and within two blocks of a large hospital. Perhaps more importantly, the Career Office at Willamette sends email updates to students on a nearly weekly basis about these opportunities, and they're also posted on JobCAT, the online bulletin board:</p>

<p>Career</a> Services: Internships | Willamette University</p>

<p>CLA</a> Catalog: Academic Overview: Programs of Special Interest: Internships | Willamette University</p>

<p>Many internships for liberal arts majors (English, art, music) are unpaid, and this is where Willamette is especially useful. The college offers in-house scholarships and grants that will cover a large chunk of the costs of the internship. Additionally, the college will allow students in an unpaid corporate internship the opportunity to receive credit, and since that credit can be added to the semester's courseload, the credit does not entail paying additional money. The Career Office did this for my son, who has an upcoming summer internship with a public relations firm in San Diego and required proof of credit -- Willamette added an internship course to his list of courses this semester, and he will complete that internship course over the summer, receiving credit months from now. Here is the link to the grants and awards information: </p>

<p>Student</a> Academic Grants & Awards: Willamette Programs - Full List | Willamette University</p>

<p>Right now, you may be asking, "But don't the large public universities offer this too?" Not necessarily. Last week a friend and I were talking about our college-age children, both English majors, both sophomores. Her daughter choose to attend UC Davis over Willamette, and there are so many thousands of undergraduates there looking for internships that the amount and quality of support for students is far below the level provided by Willamette. Moreover, internships for English majors are rarely paid (unless the student is a rising senior), and the UC campuses don't have the funding to offer students grants and awards to subsidize any unpaid internships.</p>

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<p>Thank you. This is great stuff!</p>

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<p>CalAlum–thank you for the excellent, useful information. The more we “get to know” Willamette, the more excited we are getting. My son is most likely going to be a theatre major but wants to explore other interests such as creative writing, and who knows what else he will discover during his time there!</p>

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<p>Thank you CalAlum. Very useful information that I will be sharing with my son, who is planning on an English major. As a matter of fact, we were at Davis today trying to make the decision of LAC vs. big University. One question, with such a small campus, does your son ever feel constrained? Is there enough for him to do outside of class? Does he spend much time in downtown Salem?</p>

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<p>^ I answered this question in a new thread, since it’s a different topic, and perhaps other folks familiar with Willamette will chip in.</p>