Career Services Launches Billiken Horizons, Billiken Career Launch Internship Programs

05/20/2021

 Saint Louis University will seek to bolster student career success by establishing the Billiken Horizons Internship Program, Billiken Career Launch Internship Program, and a modified tuition schedule for undergraduate credit-bearing internship courses that are not required as part of a degree program.

The importance of a paid internship has been illustrated by numerous studies including NACE’s Class of 2019 Student Survey which found that 66.4% of students with a paid internship received job offers while only 43.7% of graduates in unpaid internships were offered jobs. The benefits of working on-campus have been shown to benefit retention, but first-generation students are less likely to hold such opportunities.

Billiken Horizons Internship

The Billiken Horizons Internship Program will launch this coming academic year. Career Services is asking for 10 campus partners to help launch the program this summer. The internship program is designed for students who qualify for the SOAR Program. Qualifying students will be placed according to their career interests in paid, on-campus internships with supportive supervision and supplemented with an assigned career mentor within the hosting department. 

Those interested in establishing a Horizon Internship (funding for which is provided through the Federal Work Study at no cost to the host department) and serving as a Horizons Career Mentor, should complete this Google Form. This program is made possible through the cooperation of Career Services, Student Financial Services, and the SOAR Program.

Billiken Career Launch Internship

Next, to help prepare ALL Billikens to successfully complete internships and other experiential learning opportunities, the online Billiken Career Launch Internship program will open this Fall 2021. A series of 10 modules guide students through application for internships, co-ops, practicum, and research internships. Each module requires students to complete a deliverable such as an updated resume or submit a reflection on their experience. The current pilot of Billiken Career Launch Internship Program has 29 students and will expand to 100 places in August 2021.

Finally, to reduce some of the financial burden that can be incurred by students when taking an undergraduate internship course for credit, a modified tuition scheduled for undergraduate credit-bearing internship courses ($150/cr. hr.) was created. Again, these rates would apply only to internships courses that are not required as part of degree program. These courses are usually coded as "3910" and "4910." 

For more information about these internship programs, and additional updates check out the Career Services website or contact Jeffery L. Jackson, associate provost for career development.