Internship Seminar UNIV099

1. Visit www.careers.umd.edu and click on the “Handshake” link in the top right corner or directly visit the Handshake log-in here. Log in using your UMD credentials. If you have not used Handshake before or have not signed in this semester, you will be asked to update your information before you can access the application. 
2. Once logged into Handshake, on the left side of the screen, you will see a website menu list. Click “CAREER CENTER” and then “EXPERIENCES”.
3. Click “Submit an Experience” and fill out and complete the experience form in its entirety. Please read the questions carefully and provide all required information for approval. At the end of the form, you will be provided with a statement and terms and responsibilities as a student in the course. You will be prompted to read the agreement and print your name electronically, which serves as your official signature.
4. Once you have completed, signed and submitted the EXPERIENCE form via Handshake, please remember to attach your official offer letter and job description from your host organization to complete your experience request for UNIV099 approval.  When you are in your newly submitted experience you will see a section titled “Attachments” and a blue button that says “New Attachment.”  This is where you include your offer letter and job description if the job description is not included in the offer letter.  If you do not include your offer letter as an attachment, your experience will be denied in the system.
   
   The offer letter must include the following:
   • Company/Organization letterhead.
   • Statement that specifies that this experience is an internship and how it connects to your academic coursework.
   • Internship start date and end date.  If you are an international student, these dates need to fall within the beginning and end of the semester for which you are applying.
   • Exact number of hours per week (internship must be 75+ hours total to pass course).
   • Physical address of the workplace (only having the address listed in the letterhead DOES NOT meet this requirement). If this will be a virtual internship, a supervision plan must be included in your offer letter (weekly check-ins on projects, etc).
   • Name of your internship supervisor.
   • Internship Position description.

We also have a walkthrough video with step-by-step guidance!

Checkout the sample offer letter.

1. SUBMIT EXPERIENCE FORM: Once you submit a UNIV099 experience form via Handshake, you will receive an email from Handshake that confirms your submission has been received and is pending review.

• After submitting the experience, don’t forget to upload and attach your official offer letter by clicking on the button that says “New Attachment” on your confirmation screen in Handshake.

2. UNIV099 APPROVAL PROCESS BEGINS: The UNIV099 instructional team will review your request and begin the experience approval process for UNIV099.
    
3. SUPERVISOR REVIEW & APPROVAL: Your supervisor will be sent a link via email to review the information and documents on the experience form submitted for your experience and acknowledge the internship supervisor’s responsibilities. Your supervisor can approve or deny your experience and provide reasoning for the approval or denial.

• We advise that you inform your supervisor that they will receive a review and approval request from Handshake. They will have 3 business days to respond to the supervisor’s review and approval request.
   

4. UNIV099 REVIEW: Once your supervisor approves your experience form, the UNIV099 instructional team will be notified and review your experience request for all required information and documentation.
    
5. UNIV099 REGISTRATION ON TESTUDO:
   If an experience is approved, you will receive an approval email via Handshake with directions on how to register for UNIV099.

• Register for UNIV099 on Testudo after you have received an email from the University Career Center saying that you have permission to register.
   
• If you are an international student seeking CPT, please follow this link for further instructions. 

If an experience is declined, click the “comment and activity” tab on your experience submission to review reasoning for an experience that was declined. The next steps will be included in the “comment and activity” tab.

6. MAKE THE PAYMENT ONLINE: The bill will post to your student account. The fee for the Spring/Fall is $60 and for the Summer/Winter is $30. Contact billtalk@umd.edu or 301.314.9000 with payment questions.
    
7. F-1 INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS: After registering for UNIV099, you now must apply for CPT authorization through ISSS. Visit iTerp to begin your application for CPT. 

You will have to upload the following PDFs to iTerp. Combine PDFs if needed:

• Your offer letter (may include additional documentation, such as supplemental job description, emails, etc.)
   
• Your Experience Form (go to your Experience request in Handshake and right-click on "Survey Response". Click "Print" and under "Destination", choose "Save as PDF" to save your whole form as a PDF)
   
• Your supervisor's signature (the UNIV099 instructional team has uploaded your supervisor's signature under the "Attachments" section of your Experience. Download this pdf).

ISSS processes all requests for CPT as quickly as possible and typically within 3-5 business days. Enrollment in UNIV099 does not guarantee that you will be granted CPT authorization for this experience. Do not begin working until you have received a new I-20 with the CPT endorsement on the second page.

If you have questions about CPT authorization, please chat with ISSS or schedule an appointment with an ISSS advisor.

Course Information

• UNIV099 is offered Fall, Winter, Spring & Summer semesters.
• Students can repeat UNIV099, unless the student receives an F for not completing the course requirements in a previous semester.
• ATTENTION:
  • Business Graduate Students, including Full-time MBA: Enroll in BMGT099
  • Engineering Students: Enroll in ENCO099
  • *Doctoral students in the research phase of their dissertation should register for 898/899*

Registration Requirements

• Complete a MINIMUM of 75 hours at your internship site by the end of the internship.
• GPA Requirement: Minimum of 3.0 for graduate students; minimum of 2.0 undergraduate students.
• Click here for more information about UNIV099 course requirements

How do I register for UNIV099?

• Please read this step-by-step guide on how to gain permission to enroll in UNIV099 via Handshake!
• This one page document provides internship supervisors with course requirements and information.

International Students on F-1 Visa:

After registering for UNIV099, you now must apply for CPT authorization through ISSS. Visit iTerp to begin your application for CPT. 

You will need to upload the following PDFs to iTerp. Combine PDFs if needed:

1. Your offer letter (may include additional documentation, such as supplemental job description, emails, etc.)
    
2. Your Experience Form (go to your Experience request in Handshake and right click on "Survey Response". Click "Print" and under "Destination" choose "Save as PDF" to save your whole form as a pdf)
    
3. Your supervisor's signature (the UNIV099 instructional team has uploaded your supervisor's signature under the "Attachments" section of your Experience. Download this pdf).

ISSS processes all requests for CPT as quickly as possible and typically within 3-5 business days. Enrollment in UNIV099 does not guarantee that you will be granted CPT authorization for this experience. Do not begin working until you have received a new I-20 with the CPT endorsement on the second page. If you have questions about CPT authorization, please chat with ISSS or schedule an appointment with an ISSS advisor.

Questions not addressed in the links above can be sent to UNIV099@umd.edu