For Students: Would you like a chance to apply your education, initiative, and creativity to important strategic challenges?  Would you like to work under the guidance of a company’s top leaders?  Then consider an internship in a small, entrepreneurial business.  The experience you gain from applying your knowledge and talent to challenging problems will serve you well in both entrepreneurial and corporate careers (corporations love entrepreneurial employees!).

UCF’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation has partnered with UCF’s award-winning Experiential Learning office to create the Enterprising Interns Program.  This program seeks to connect small businesses, such as those who are clients of small business support agencies residing in the Disney Entrepreneur Center (e.g., UCF Small Business Development Center, UCF Technology Incubator) with UCF students from all academic disciplines .  Opportunities exist for both undergraduate and graduate students, and may focus on either business or technical challenges.

We encourage you to learn more about becoming an Enterprising Intern by exploring the information below.

What are the typical benefits of being an Enterprising Intern?
How does an internship work?
Do I qualify to become an Enterprising Intern?
How do I apply?

What are the typical benefits of being an Enterprising Intern?

• Working closely with a company’s owner and other company leaders
• Working on strategic assignments or special projects critical to a firm’s success
• Enjoying substantial responsibility and discretion to conduct competitive research and develop creative solutions
• Creating experiences that provide you with compelling stories to tell during interviews that illustrate your ability to add value and exercise leadership in business settings.

How does an internship work?

Internships are academic courses that allow students to apply classroom theory in a practical work setting and gain personal, academic and work competencies.  Internships are:

• One semester, usually toward the end of the student's academic program
• Major-related
• Off-campus
• Usually for credit
• Paid or unpaid
• Structured for learning

Do I qualify to become an Enterprising Intern?

• In order to be eligible to register for the experiential learning program, you must

  • Be a full-time degree seeking undergraduate or graduate student at UCF
  • Have completed a minimum of twenty credit hours at a post-secondary institution.
  • Be available to work at least two consecutive semesters prior to graduation, excluding the semester in which you apply for co-op or one complete semester for an internship
  • Maintain a 2.5/4.0 overall grade point average

How do I apply?

You can start the application process by completing the Experiential Learning’s application.  After you complete this form an experiential learning counselor will create an account for you and email you within two (2) business days to let you know that your application has been processed and provide you with additional instructions on how to proceed.  For Experiential Learning's resources to help you create a winning resume and prepare for interviews, click here.