By combining the class room and the work place, a scientific internship in an industrial setting allows our students to apply skills which they are still in the process of mastering and reinforce their knowledge which they have just learned in the classroom. This real world experience also allows students to test their career goals, to build their professional foundations, and give them a competitive edge in the job marketplace. At Rider University, we have established contacts and partnerships with many local chemical and pharmaceutical industries to facilitate the placement of students from our chemistry program through internships.
Internships can take two forms.
This course has a variable credit assignment of up to 3 credits per semester dependent upon the amount of contact time. Prior to the initiation of the internship, a proposal will be prepared by the student in cooperation with the sponsoring faculty member and the mentor from the participating organization. This proposal will include an introduction, summary of methods and materials, what results are expected, how to evaluate the project results, and a timetable for completion of the project. Specific evaluation criteria will be developed by the faculty member and provided to the student for inclusion in the proposal before initiation of the internship. It is reasonable to assume that different projects, different interests and different opportunities will require differing modes of evaluation.