Students majoring in Sustainable Food and Farming in the Stockbridge School of Agriculture are encouraged to gain practical experience related to their career path by participating in an internship/practicum. There is a requirement for 3 credits of internship or independent study work in the A.S. degree. It is encouraged for the B.S. degree.
The first step toward an internship is finding one that fits your educational and career goals. We maintain a list of search engines to local, national and international internships on our “Finding Good Work” page. Finding an internship is your responsibility.
Once you have identified a potential internship, you need to fill out a simple contract with a faculty sponsor for your internship. Practicum classes may be taken pass/fail or for a letter (A, B, C, etc.) grade. Often students make a commitment to post a weekly blog as partial evidence of their learning for a grade. You can see a few examples of student blogs here:
The number of credits earned on the internship will be determined with your faculty sponsor but are generally based on a time commitment as follows:
- Part-time internships: one credit = approximately 3 hours per week over the spring or fall semester (some weeks may be more than 3 and others less but the total should be 35 to 40 hours per credit) up to 12 credits.
- During the summer; one credit = approximately 35-40 hours/credit up to 9 max.
When you are ready to discuss an internship, please contact your advisor or a potential internship sponsor to discuss next steps.
Internship Guidelines
The Stockbridge School of Agriculture values Levi Stockbridge’s motto of “learn by doing“. If the only skills you learn in college are to write term papers and take tests, well….. you are not going to be prepared for the world after college.
Some Definitions
Independent Study – an exploration of a topic of interest that adds value to your education. Generally includes library research and personal interviews with experts. The result of the study is an academic product that may be graded by a faculty sponsor.
Internship – this is an experiential learning opportunity that contributes to your educational or career goals. It may also include library research and/or personal interviews with experts but more often is focused on a work experience. The grade is based on feedback from an on site supervised as well as an academic product and/or report.
Practicum – another word for internship.
Apprenticeship – generally this is an internship experience in which the student will pay the instructor a fee for instruction and guidance.
Courses offered online by Stockbridge
STOCKSCH 198 and 398B are practicum (or internship or apprenticeship) courses that may be taken for 1-18 credits.
STOCKSCH 396 is our online independent study course that may be taken for 1-6 credits.
Stockbridge Online 