Internships to expand at UB with new SUNY funding

UB will use more than $1.3 million in new funding from SUNY to expand internship opportunities for undergraduate students, allowing them to get paid while conducting research or exploring potential careers.

The UB Career Design Center will begin the process of implementing the new initiative during the spring semester, working with academic departments to determine how best to expand opportunities and better support internships already offered. The Career Design Center helps students prepare for life after college by uncovering their interests and connecting them with employers to increase job and internships opportunities.

“Students today are encountering an evolving landscape in higher education and increased competition in the workforce,” says Brian Hamluk, vice president for student life.

“The University at Buffalo has always placed high value on career preparation and outcomes, and will utilize the SUNY internship funds to further promote student success and continue to increase equity for students exploring internship opportunities,” he says.

UB students are committed to supplementing their curriculum with experiential opportunities. Among them were nearly 500 students who enrolled in an internship course between summer 2022 and spring 2023, and some 300 students who took part in research programs last summer.

The goal is for some 1,500 additional UB students to benefit from the new funding, whether it’s offering additional internships or simply meeting with staff to explore the possibilities.

More specifically, UB will allocate these funds to:

• Strengthen internships for undergraduate research. The Office of Undergraduate Education and the Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development will partner with the Career Design Center to create paid opportunities for undergraduates to conduct research alongside faculty.

Funds may cover student stipends, grants for supplies and the cost to communicate internship opportunities to students. Career Design Center staff will work with the two offices to create research internships starting in 2024.

• Develop internship pathways. An internship pathways program will be created to provide students with paid internships that explore career possibilities.

Roughly 80% of students will change their major at least once during their college careers, according to the National Center for Education Statistics, so the pathways experience is designed to help students select the best major for their career aspirations.

• Better support diversity, equity, inclusion and justice: Student Life will use the fund to support underrepresented, underserved or marginalized students who may have accepted unpaid internships with nonprofit organizations. Pay can be a limiting factor in a student’s ability to secure a desired internship.
• Create an Internship Fund. Modeled after the UB Student Emergency Fund, the Internship Fund will allow students to apply for funding to help cover personal costs of an internship, such as transportation.
• Add staffing: Three new staffing positions in the Career Design Center will be created to administer the new internship programs, provide guidance to student interns, and track funding and outcomes.

Student Life will continue to work with academic departments and other campus stakeholders to finalize requirements and qualifications for students to apply. The goal is to have students be able to start applying in 2024 through their academic departments or the Career Design Center, depending on which area of support they are seeking.