Other students in the College seeking academic credit must look to their major departments. He said faculty members, however, often consider an internship experience less valuable than a semester in class. College Dean Gordon M. Stewart said faculty members are worried about where they might need to draw the line for what deserves credit, if internships are allowed. Students would have as a learning experience something besides the classroom. At the University of North Carolina, students can receive academic credit through a formal internship program.
Students can earn one to six credits.
The internship, however, has numerous requirements before one can earn credit. They probably end up doing more work than they would in most classes. Our role is to be a back-up in case the departments turn them down. Duke University Internship Director John Noble now is looking to create a formal internship program similar to North Carolina's. I think it is a worthy cause, but it will have to get debated for some time before it will be formalized.