Deepening SMSU's relationship with the community helps SMSU fulfill its mission as Missouri's public affairs university. This document describes the SMSU offices that help coordinate student involvement in the community. 417 836-4135 Cooperative Education provides students the chance to obtain academic credit as they also obtain work experience related to their career interests. Co-op placements vary as much as the students who fill them. Most are paid positions, although some are not.
Some students work in Springfield on a part-time basis as they also attend classes.
Others prefer an alternating program where they work full time for a semester and then go to school full time the next semester. Still others intern for only one semester or work during the summer months. All of these experiences give students a taste of the work world and an opportunity for personal and professional growth. Departmental Internships, Practica, Field Work More than 30 SMSU academic departments have degree programs that require majors to complete field work placements, such as a practicum, internship, clinical experience, and so forth, as part of the degree program. Students receive academic credit for these experiences and, in some cases, cannot be certified professionally without the field experience.