PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND INTERNSHIPS
The College’s Professional Development and Internships staff are here to help students explore, experience, and evolve as they think critically about potential careers and professional ambitions.
Throughout their journey in the College, students can take advantage of networking events with alumni, one-on-one mentoring relationships, experiential learning opportunities—including internships and immersion programs. A broad array of one-credit professional development courses enable students to identify strengths, explore possibilities, and develop the skills necessary to prepare them for a successful and meaningful career post-Villanova.
INTERNSHIPS AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
The College’s robust internship program helps students identify, apply and succeed in professional internships which can also be used for academic credit.
89%
OF STUDENTS SEEKING AN INTERNSHIP PARTICIPATED IN AT LEAST ONE
Our students land internships at organizations including:
- Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
- Nationalities Services Center
- Pfizer
- The Philadelphia Justice Project for Women and Girls
- Penn Medicine
- SAP
The Vatican Internship: Villanova University is the only institution of higher education in the world with an internship program in the Vatican. Learn about internship opportunities for Computing Sciences students and Communication students.
The Office of Education Abroad: Internships that are part of a study abroad experience are administered by the Office of Education Abroad.
The College partners with the University Career Center on three immersion programs:
- Villanova on the Hill in Washington, D.C.
- Villanova on Set in Los Angeles
- Villanova at the Agency
Students may apply to earn academic credit for an internship by completing our application form. The University cannot retroactively award academic credit for an internship, so students must apply to participate in the internship-for-credit program before the start of their internships.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSES
OUS offers one-credit courses helping students with fundamentals like resume creation, networking, and preparing for an interview. Other courses provide important life skills and several explore opportunities in specific career sectors. Courses are taught by faculty and staff throughout the University and often feature guest alumni speakers.
Course topics include:
- The Legal Profession
- Professional Communication
- Networking for Career Success
- Creativity and Innovation
- Personal Finance
- Professional Skills & Strengths
- Introduction to Data Analysis
- Public Policy Paths
- Management Consulting
- The Professorial Life
- A Life Well Lived
- Adulting 101
- Preparing for Careers in Financial Services
- Understanding Financial Reports
- Preparing for Health Careers
- Charting Your Course in the Sciences
PEER CAREER COACHING
The Peer Career Coaching Program offers peer-to-peer career, internship, and professional development support to College of Liberal Arts and Sciences students who seek it. Our coaches meet students where they are on their college-to-career journey and offer personalized guidance to support students as they strive to achieve their professional development goals.
The Peer Career Coaching Program aspires to empower all College of Liberal Arts and Sciences students to chart their own unique paths. Our coaches aim to partner with all CLAS students to make their educational and professional goals a reality.
The team offers a wide variety of appointments, including in-person/virtual and 30-minute/60-minute options. Current CLAS students should log into Handshake and then follow these prompts to schedule an appointment:
- Select CLAS Professional Development as your appointment type.
- Choose a 30-minute or a 60-minte appointment.
- Select the date, time, and coach that is available.
- After you make your appointment, you'll receive a confirmation e-mail from Handshake with all the details.
BRIDGE SOCIETY
The BRIDGE Society in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences builds relationships between students and alumni—inspiring both student professional development and alumni engagement and providing a forum for students to gain the experiences necessary to forge their future careers.
- Provide liberal arts and sciences students opportunities to explore potential career paths and meet alumni and employers in their fields of interest.
- Host numerous mentoring and networking events throughout the academic year to help students learn about a wide variety of careers.
- Provide an opportunity for students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to identify with the College, in addition to their major.
- Create opportunities for student leadership within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
STUDENT RESOURCES
The Internships Professional Development CLAS Students organization on Blackboard is dedicated to providing professional development and internship support for CLAS students. Students, faculty, and staff can self-enroll into this Blackboard organization to gain access to these resources using the instructions below:
- On the homepage of Blackboard, scroll to the bottom under “Organization Catalog.”
- Select “Browse Organization Catalog.”
- Search for “Internship” and find "Internships_Professional_Development_CLAS_Student" under Organization ID.
- Select the gray arrow next to the organization name and click “Enroll” to gain access to CLAS Professional Development resources!
The Career Center provides high quality, comprehensive career services, empowering members of the Villanova University community to choose and attain personally rewarding careers.
Career Connections is the bridge that links the Villanova community with high-quality career education content. "Connections" was built on the basis of empowering the community to choose and attain personally rewarding careers.
Handshake connects students to relevant internship and job opportunities based on their profile, interests and search activity. They can apply for positions, explore companies and sign up for career fairs and workshops, all in one place. All students have a Handshake account, which they must activate with their Villanova username and password.
The Nova Network is Villanova's social and professional networking platform. It offers the CLAS One-to-One Matched Mentoring Program, which is designed to connect Liberal Arts and Sciences undergraduates with dedicated alumni who want to guide, support and mentor students as they journey from college to career. Parents and students can join!
CLAS ALUMNI-STUDENT MENTORING PROGRAM
The Office for Undergraduate Students in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences is delighted to offer to alumni and students the opportunity to be matched one-to-one in an alum-student mentorship pairing.
Mentoring consists of a long-term relationship focused on supporting the academic and professional growth and development of the mentee. The goal is to provide mentees with a supportive network that they can depend upon to seek guidance, develop professional skills and receive recommendations that will prepare them for the future. Mentorship offers many opportunities—to promote career and scholarly success, help in career exploration and build important, lasting relationships with others. – PeopleGrove Mentoring Handbook Online
By participating in this program, alumni mentors:
- Gain joy in sharing knowledge and experiences with students.
- Achieve personal fulfillment through meaningful connections.
- Grow more familiar with the new generation entering the workforce.
- Strengthen active listening and communications skills.
- Build enhanced leadership skills by developing their abilities to motivate, guide, and encourage.
- Give back to the University in a very meaningful way.
By participating in this program, student mentees:
- Develop valuable skills in communication, critical thinking and professionalism.
- Learn how to accept and grow from mentor feedback.
- Expand their professional network.
- Get firsthand knowledge of an industry, department and role.
- Gain an advocate who will encourage career exploration and goal achievement.
If you are an alum who is interested in getting involved in this program, please complete this brief form.
If you are a student interested in getting involved in this program, please complete this brief form.
Alum-student pairings are created each semester: August (for the fall semester) and January (for the spring semester). You’ll receive an email message to confirm your participation and to introduce you to your alumni mentor or your student mentee. We strive to match all interested alumni and students, but sometimes we are unable to honor all requests.
If you have any questions, please contact Kate Szumanski, Director of Internships and Professional Development.
Thank you to Villanova’s PeopleGrove partner for much of the content related to effective mentoring.
FUNDING FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Through the generosity of many donors to Villanova who recognize the importance of professional development opportunities for undergraduate students, the Office for Undergraduate Students is able to help fund student experiences that emphasize professional and career exploration and growth.