The Academic Internship Program

The UC San Diego Academic Internship Program provides an opportunity for undergraduate students to earn course credit for substantive internships related to their academic and career goals. As an academic program, AIP strives to facilitate partnerships that lead to genuine learning opportunities for students, and create value for our community partners.

Identity

The Academic Internship Program was established in 1975 as a professional development resource for Warren College students. Today we are a campus-wide program within the Teaching + Learning Commons that has grown beyond internships to offer a range of credit-bearing experiential education resources available to UC San Diego students, faculty, departments and special programs. In addition to our classical internship model which is aimed at cultivating a balance between theory and practice, we also collaborate with faculty to offer community engagement opportunities that allow students to connect with the various communities that exist beyond our walls.

Philosophy

AIP internships are structured around the concept of educational value as opposed to simply functioning as vehicles for career exposure and growth. The educational value of AIP is demonstrated through a required deliverable in the form of an academic paper or project, student learning objectives, and faculty advisor and internship site supervisor mentorship. Although the primary goal of our program is to enhance academic learning, AIP internships also provide opportunities for personal and professional growth which are an important aspect of our mission.

Mission

The Academic Internship Program provides students with opportunities to EXPLORE the application of academic theory and EXPERIENCE practical learning in professional environments in order to ENRICH their personal development and understanding of their local and global communities.