Internships

The Economics Internship Program allows students to earn upper-division credit by working a contracted number of hours in an approved organization. Students may earn 1 credit for every 50 hours of internship work. Internship projects must provide an opportunity for the student to apply the economics theories learned in the classroom to a formal work setting, and must be approved by the ECON 185/285 instructor.

Upon successful completion of this program, students will submit a 5-page Internship Paper and should be able to provide theoretically informed evaluations of the economic environment, and to communicate more effectively in organizational settings. Additionally, students will have gained practical work experience.

• Economics undergraduate and graduate students
• Undergraduate economics majors must have junior standing and a GPA of 3.0 in the major.
• Economic graduate students must have completed a minimum of 12 units of graduate courses with a GPA of 3.0 in those courses.
• Enrollment in economics courses appropriate to the internship (coursework may be taken concurrently with the internship)
• For more information about the internship program, please consult the Economics Internship Program FAQs sheet. [pdf] 

We strongly recommend you begin the application process a few months prior to the semester in which you wish to be enrolled in the class.

• Students submit the Economics Internship Program (EIP) Learning Plan [pdf]. Download the form, save as, fill and save again, email the completed form to economics@sjsu.edu.
• Students submit a PDF of your Offer Letter along with your EIP Learning Plan to economics@sjsu.edu.
• International students you must submit the CPT form to ISSS and follow up with them in order to ensure that you also receive approval from USCIS.
• If your EIP is approved, an instructor will give you an add code in order to enroll in ECON 185 or ECON 285 for class credit.

• Before leaving the company, please submit a letter from your supervisor on company letterhead which certifies your satisfactory work and completion of the required hours to economics@sjsu.edu
• Complete a 5-page writing assignment, as described in these guidelines. The paper must be turned into the instructor prior to the last instructional day of the semester in which you are enrolled in ECON 185/285

Internship Paper Guidelines

To complete your internship for credit, you must submit a 5-page paper describing the economics aspect of your position. Please consult with your ECON 185-285 instructor about the topic of your paper for guidance.

• 5 pages (not including the title page), double-spaced with 12-point font. 
  Title Page: Your name, class (ECON 185 or 285), date, title of your paper, name of your position, and the name of the company where you performed your internship.
• The paper is due on the last instruction day of the semester in which you are enrolled in the class. The paper may be turned in early, if desired.

For questions or further information, please contact:

Alex Tejeda
Economics Department Analyst
408-924-5403
alex.tejeda@sjsu.edu
DMH 147