Internships

Job openings including internships are posted in Handshake
and can be accessed from the pages of the Career Development Center. 

Eligible Cotsakos College of Business students have the opportunity to complete an internship to gain valuable on-the-job experience and build their resume. The program's anticipated results include:

  • Valuable, hands-on experience working in a professional environment;
  • Increased scope concerning requisite skill sets in the profession;
  • An enhanced understanding of, and familiarity with, proprietary technology utilized in the field;
  • Numerous networking opportunities with professionals in the discipline of choice; and
  • In-depth exposure to the daily operations in the occupation of interest.


Internships Encourage Success

The benefits of this unique partnership between the Cotsakos College of Business and employers are broad and numerous for all who participate. The program places interns who meet academic standing prerequisites and who want the opportunity to apply the skills and theories learned in the classroom into real-world settings.

Qualified students gain by securing valuable knowledge concerning the workplace, job requirements, and corporate culture; increasing networking opportunities; developing a good work ethic; sharpening career objectives; and becoming acquainted with the job market.

The employer who takes in a William Paterson University student gains by:

  • pre-screening potential employees;
  • reducing training costs;
  • receiving a short-term employment windfall.


Diversity Defines Corporate Sponsors

The Cotsakos College of Business is pleased to announce that internships are available in a wide array of disciplines. Further information on contacting corporate sponsors is available from Charisma Thomas of the Cotsakos College of Business.


Resumes Guide the Way to Successful Business Recruitment

Resumes are one's entrée to the business world. Therefore, all students should have a current resume. Resumes should be appropriate to the profession, stylistically contemporary, and grammatically sound. It is recommended that all interested students attend a Resume Writing for Cotsakos College of Business majors workshop.

Students who pursue their internship through the Career Development Center should have their resumes approved by the Center, and should submit their resumes at the earliest possible date for review. Resumes should be approved by the center within one month of the beginning of the semester (prior to the semester for which an internship is desired) for the purpose of having it placed online in Handshake. Resume preparation and review assistance is provided by experienced counselors in the Career Development Center.


Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for an internship, a student must have:

  • Completed the core course requirement in the requested area:
    • Accounting: ACCT 2120
    • Economics: ECON 2010 and ECON 2020
    • Finance: FIN 3200
    • Financial Planning: FIN 3600
    • Global Business: either ECON 3700, FIN 4000, MGT 3090, or MKT 3160
    • Management: MGT 2000
    • Marketing: MKT 2100
    • Professional Sales: RPS 2050
  • Identified a faculty sponsor in the respective department,
  • Attained a GPA of at least 2.5 both overall and in the major,
  • Attained junior status (59 earned credit hours)


Applying and Registering for an Internship:

Students who are interested in pursuing a Cotsakos College of Business internship and meet the eligibility requirements should proceed to:

  • Identify a faculty sponsor by either:
    1. Contacting Charisma Thomas at ThomasC3@wpunj.edu or (973) 720-3706.
    2. Contacting the department chairperson. This option may be chosen if the student has either identified a potential corporate sponsor or would like to explore identifying a corporate sponsor with the assistance of the faculty sponsor or department chairperson.
  • Complete the necessary forms, which can be obtained from Charisma Thomas. 
  • Construct an "Internship Plan", in consultation with both the chosen faculty sponsor and corporate sponsor. This plan represents a well thought out action plan that delineates:
    1. The job-specific learning objectives of the internship,
    2. The work requirements (please note that the internship requires a total of 120 hours of work at the corporate sponsor), and
    3. The linkage between the anticipated work experience and the specified learning objectives, among other things. The Internship Plan must be word processed on letterhead of the corporate sponsor, be written in a style that is both professional and stylistically sound, and be initially approved by both the faculty and corporate sponsor.

All internships are subject to the final approval of the respective department chair and the Cotsakos College of Business Dean.