Students typically accept internships that most closely relate to their area of study. The work is meaningful and likely project-based, helping students build skills and experiences that will assist in future employment opportunities. Examples include social media marketing, interaction design, user-experience design, digital strategy, front-end programming and junior product development roles.
Most internships are paid; however, a paid internship is not guaranteed. Students that are paid have received compensation of anywhere from $300 to $3000 each month depending on the job responsibilities. Typically programmers receive salaries at the higher end, marketers at the lower end, and designers somewhere in the middle.
Students are expected to work full-time Monday through Thursday each week. The definition of "full-time" may differ by company, but students generally work from 8 or 9 a.m. to 6 or 7 p.m., if not later.
Finding an Internship
We do not guarantee any student an internship, although we do everything in our power to help students find one.
The semester before a student participates in the DIF program, we share student information with industry connections in each participating city; however, we ask that students do not wait for a phone call to begin conducting their own search. Students need to be proactive in searching for opportunities that may be the best fit for them.
Workshops will be held to discuss best practices during the internship search, and program staff will be readily available to assist with the entire process (helping with email wording, interview prep, etc.). Beyond workshops, faculty mentors will help guide students throughout the process.
The number of startups in the pool varies in each city, and students typically do not interview with all of them. We do our best to align student interests with the best opportunities available for them.
Recommended Locations
In Cincinnati, students have had internships located downtown and in various neighborhoods such as Over-the-Rhine, Oakley, Blue Ash and Norwood.
In San Francisco, it is highly recommended that students intern in the city of San Francisco, which is where recommended housing is located. Cities like Palo Alto, Mountain View and Menlo Park can be over an hour away by train, and students who have completed internships in these cities have noted that the commute takes away from their overall program experience.
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Department of Emerging Technology in Business + Design
