Internships

Gain Experience, Earn Course Credit

Internships allow you to apply the knowledge you gain in the classroom to a professional setting. These opportunities are the perfect way to use the concepts you learn from your major to earn experience along with academic credit and/or compensation.

Most internships can qualify for academic credit, which can be earned through our internship courses that run concurrently with your internship experience. To be added to an internship course, you must submit your internship to the Career Center for approval and registration. Students cannot receive retroactive credit.

Internship for Academic Credit Eligibility

Domestic students, non-U.S. students, and transfer students are eligible to intern for credit after completing two semesters.
- Berklee Online students are not eligible to enroll in internship courses managed by the Career Center.
- Berklee Valencia graduate students must contact the International Career Center to discuss eligibility.
- Berklee alumni who have obtained their diploma or bachelor’s degree from the Boston campus are eligible to enroll in IN-299 for the following two semesters (within eight months of graduation). Please note that alumni cannot be currently enrolled at another college or university to register for the course.
Internships for credit must start within the first two weeks of the semester. Internships for credit cannot be added to academic schedules after the second week of instruction.
- Students interning for academic credit must meet CGPA requirements for the internship course they intend to enroll in.
Students registered for an internship course may intern at two different employers during the same semester under the same internship course.
Previously completed internships cannot be awarded retroactive credit.
Students who wish to drop their internship can do so up until the ninth week of the semester. They must contact the Office of the Registrar directly and inform their internship advisor.
All internship courses are facilitated on Canvas and require the completion of assignments designed to enhance learning through critical reflection and evaluation.

International Student Work Authorization - Curricular Practical Training (CPT)

Students who aren't U.S. citizens must receive curricular practical training (CPT) authorization for all internship experiences, paid or unpaid, and can only intern in the U.S. with authorization and by enrolling in an internship course administered by the Career Center. These students are not eligible to intern for CPT until they have completed two semesters.

In order to qualify for CPT, you must meet all of the criteria below:

You are currently in valid F-1 status.
You have been in valid F-1 status for at least two consecutive semesters immediately prior to the internship start date.
You have secured a Berklee-sponsored internship through the Career Center, and you are registered for the appropriate internship course.
You have been lawfully enrolled on a full-time basis for at least a full academic year.

Note: An exception exists for students in graduate studies whose programs require earlier training.

Learn more about curricular practical training, or CPT (login required), and optional practical training, or OPT (login required). You must not begin your internship without authorization on your I-20 (CPT) or until you have received your OPT card. Review an example of the I-20 program end date.