Internships & Experiential Learning

Before exploring opportunities, take 5 minutes to identify what you want to gain from the experience.

Examples:

• Build your resume
• Explore a new industry
• Gain hands-on skills
• Grow your professional network
• Transition into a new career field

Complete the Preferences Identifier to figure out the skills and experience you want to gain. This will help you find opportunities that meet your needs and career goal.

• Review the Comparison Tool to compare common ways to gain experience and select opportunities that meet your needs.

AI Boost

Ask an AI tool like ChatGPT to suggest options that match your goals and preferences.

Sample prompt: “My career goal is [goal or target role], I want to build [these skills], I can spend [X hours/week], and I prefer [remote/self-paced]. Which experiential learning options would fit best?”

Find out if experiential learning is part of your program. Examples include capstone projects, clinical/field experience, industry projects, case studies, and simulations. To learn more, check your course descriptions and program guides on your degree page or ask your program mentor.

Review the Internship & Experiential Learning Guide to explore each experiential learning pathway and discover where to find opportunities.

We encourage you to look for a variety of experiential learning opportunities. These can include: internships, micro-internships, volunteering, apprenticeships, fellowships, and more! You can start your search here:

Find Experiences

Find experiences such as internships, micro-internships, and simulations

WGU Handshake

Find internships, fellowships, and volunteer opportunities on WGU Handshake.

LinkedIn

Use LinkedIn to find a wide variety of experiential opportunities.

Your Network

Reach out to your network to discover opportunities.

Use our AI Guide to write messages that get responses.

Due to the burden of unpaid internships, WGU strongly encourages students to consider paid internships as completing an unpaid internship may cause significant financial challenges which may impact your ability to complete an internship. WGU only approves paid internships on Handshake.  

Additionally, according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), research has revealed that paid internships lead to more job offers post-internship. In fact, students who completed an unpaid internship had the same number of job offers as students who did not complete any type of internship. This data demonstrates that being financially compensated for your internship may have an impact on your future career prospects and job offers.  

Experiential learning opportunities can be highly competitive. Treat each application with the same care and preparation you would for a professional job.

Download and use the Career Success Checklist to get the most from your experiential learning, so you can learn more, make a good impression, and stand out to employers.

Download and use the Career Growth Toolkit to reflect on your experiences, showcase your accomplishments, and grow your network.

Practice Interviews with AI

Ask an AI tool like ChatGPT to help you review résumé bullet points and interview talking points.

Sample résumé prep prompt:

• “I completed a [project or internship] where I [briefly describe what you did]. Help me identify my key accomplishments, the impact of my work, and possible metrics or results I can include. Then, help me write 2–3 strong résumé bullet points in results–action format, where each bullet begins with a past-tense action verb, leads with the result, and ends with the action I took to achieve it.”

Sample interview prep prompt:

• “I’m preparing for an interview for a [job title] position. I completed a [project or internship] where I [briefly describe what you did]. Help me identify 1-3 key stories I can use in the interview. For each one, outline: The situation and challenge I faced, the actions I took, the results or impact of my work, and how this experience connects to the skills or qualities employers look for in this role.”

Remember that feedback from a human is incomparable to help from an artificial assistant!