Internship Guide
For a video overview check out the following recordings from our How To Secure An Internship Series:
- Undergraduate Students Spring 2026
- Handshake: Getting Ready for Fall 2025 Recruitment
- International Students (Session from Fall 2024)
We encourage students to seek internships for the following benefits:
- Apply your strengths, coursework and group experiences into real world applications
- Gain training and connections in a particular field, industry, and organization
- Enhance your professional experience and identify mentors in your areas of expertise
- Access potential pipeline for future roles and full-time employment post-graduation
To get started, consider:
- Exploring options
- Making connections (with the industry/field/job function/geographic location)
- Applying for internships (part-time/full-time internships during the fall/spring/summer)
Most organizations are looking for candidates to fill an immediate opening. This typically means you should be applying the semester prior to the anticipated start date. Similarly, most internship recruitment occurs a semester in advance. However, depending on the industry/organization you are targeting, you may have to apply even earlier. Refer to the guide below for a general timeline. (Note: This may not apply to every organization, so please do your research!)
The process for securing an internship takes time and can involve many steps. We suggest speaking with:
Peers: Consider scheduling an appointment with an Industry Insider Intern
Faculty: take advantage of office hours to talk to your professors about their academic/industry expertise
USC Alums (Through the Trojan Network and LinkedIn, you can ask for informational interviews) to gain more insight into their career launch and professional experiences as you pave the way for your chosen path.
Need a headshot or looking to gain an overview of LinkedIn to start this process? Check out our Headshots to Handshakes program.
Internships are offered each semester (fall/spring/summer) for at least 6 weeks/term. Most students choose to work between 8 – 20 hours to balance coursework and other obligations. During the summer, many students opt to intern full-time (40 hours/week) when not enrolled in classes.
Course Credit If an employer requires course credit (speak with the HR department or supervisor for clarification), USC offers several courses for internships year round and MDA 250 is open to all students, in all majors. You must already have secured an internship to obtain D-clearance.
When to apply?
Internship recruitment varies by industry. The chart below represents the application, interview, and offer periods for USC students who accepted internships for Summer 2025 based on industry. The data can be referred to as a general timeline regarding some of the most competitive roles during the a recent hiring cycle.
Please refer to Handshake for available internships in addition to individual company websites/ job descriptions for specific deadlines.
Where to look?
Students can find internships promoted at events hosted during On-Campus Recruitment and posted online.
Internal Resources
We host career fairs during fall and spring semesters. Employers participate in career fairs to recruit for full-time and internship opportunities.
Our OCR program attracts companies from a variety of industries looking to hire for entry-level positions and internships. It is a convenient opportunity for you to interview on-campus in our interview rooms.
Employers share information about their organizations and provide students a chance to network with recruiters and alumni. To learn more review What is a Trojan Talk?
Through this online portal, you can connect with employers hiring for internships, part-time, and full-time roles. Handshake provides you insightful information about numerous career paths by exploring roles, industries, and salary information.
The Career Center has compiled a list of opportunities affiliated with USC colleges, research institutes, and more!
External Resources
Forage is a platform providing virtual job simulations and short courses to build real-life skills for real-life roles, offering a window into company and a preview of their day-to-day. Job sims are 100% free, open access and self-paced.
Parker Dewey provides micro-Internships, short-term, paid, professional projects which are open to all college students and recent graduates of U.S.-based institutions.
Next Steps?
The following are additional tools to aid you on your internship journey.
USC Career Center Impact Scholarship: provides $2,500 to selected, continuing undergraduate students pursuing unpaid summer internships (minimum 6 weeks).
Check out a visual guide with tips on how to dress professionally
Industry Insiders is the USC Career Center’s comprehensive program to educate and support undergraduate Trojans interested in securing internships through three supplementary initiatives: Industry Insights, InternshipSC, and Peer-to-Peer Networking.
