Policies and Procedures

 

Student participation in this Program is voluntary and will delay graduation by one year.

To qualify for enrolment, students must be registered full-time in their third year of the Geography Program with a minimum academic average of 70% and a clean academic record and must attend mandatory information and preparation workshops (see Minimum Qualifications).

Students wishing to participate must enrol (see How to Apply).

NOTE: Enrolling does not obligate you in any way; it is an expression of interest and determination of eligibility to participate.

Most Internship placements occur by competition, using the process of posting job descriptions, submission of applications and interviews between employers and students.

Internship job descriptions are posted on the Career Centre @ Western Web Page and interviews arranged through Career Centre @ Western (see How to Apply).

NOTE: Job Postings will go on the website beginning November 2009.

All job offers are made through Career Centre @ Western.

CAUTION: Consider your acceptance of an offer with great care. Once you accept, you are committed to the employer unless there are unforeseen circumstances. Also, once an offer has been accepted you may not apply for other positions.

Any student who is approved to participate in the Internship and who receives several offers and turns them down without cause will be withdrawn from the course and not permitted to apply for any additional postings.

Students are permitted to find their own jobs but these jobs must be approved by the Internship Course Coordinator in order to ensure that the position qualifies as suitable Internship Employment.

Work during the Internship period is full-time and is considered productive work.

An internship period should not be shorter than 8 months.

NOTE: Employment Start Dates - Typically early May or early September

Students who have accepted an Industry Internship position are required to sign a contract with Career Centre @ Western.

For the benefit of the employer and student, a 3-month probationary term is provided (see Termination Options).

A student must notify the Career Centre @ Western in good time prior to terminating employment prematurely, within the 3-month probationary term.

Career Centre @ Western registers a student who has accepted an Internship position and has signed a Student Contract. The student is required to pay an Industry Internship Fee of $700 (see Internship Fee).

Students must obtain special permission from a Geography Undergraduate counsellor to enrol in courses while participating in the Geography Internship Course. All interns will be limited to enrolling in 1 course per academic term (for example – in a 12 month IIP, a student may enrol in a maximum of 1.5 credits – 3 terms x 0.5 credits). CAUTION: You must have at least 3.5 credits remaining to complete at the end of your Internship in order to maintain your Internship status.

The employer supervises a student’s performance on the job and does an employment evaluation at the end of the period.

Employer evaluations will be part of a student’s university record.

You will be required to complete a work report and a presentation.

Internship students act as emissaries of The University of Western Ontario and the Geography Program and are expected to conduct themselves while in industry in a professional manner.

To see the course outline click on the Course Outline.