Students speak with employer

It may sound like a bold claim, but with more than 20,000 students, Ball State University provides leading employers with a deep talent pool that many other competing businesses and organizations never have access to.

How Do Employers Benefit from Ball State Interns?

  • year-round recruiting tool to discover highly qualified employees
  • additional assistance with special events, short-term projects, and other projects that keep getting put on the back burner
  • access to fresh ideas and new perspectives
  • development of supervisory skills among staff members who mentor interns
  • exposure and growth of professional brand through exposure on campus
I'm so thrilled to have been able to partner with you. I have five intern job descriptions on my desk right now. Engaging interns has been a real boost to our work.

-Sue Godfrey
Executive Director of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Delaware County

We had some really awesome interns this summer, but the Ball State students were our best-not only based on results, but they were the hardest workers we had in the office.

-Ali Ramslan
Campus Recruiter at WestPoint Financial Group/Mass Mutual

Having had the support of a high-caliber, high-integrity intern like the Ball State student over the past few months has made all the difference at Children's TherAplay. The student has opened our eyes to the value that interns bring, not to mention the value we can provide for them in return.

-Shannon Wade
Marketing Programs Manager at TherAplay

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Ready to Hire an Intern?

Resources

Cardinal Career Link is the platform you'll count on when you're ready to post internship positions (along with full-time and part-time openings).

We have developed this Ball State-specific guide (PDF) to help you navigate the process of hiring interns from our institution.

The Career Center participates with Work & Learn Indiana.This statewide resource, powered by the Indiana Chamber, provides you the opportunity to post internship job descriptions from across the state for candidates to view. You can also use it to sign up for events, such as the Work & Learn Indiana IMPACT Awards Luncheon, and you'll go here to nominate interns, faculty, and companies for statewide recognition.

Appropriate internships include employment of a student in a professional or technical internship position for a limited period of time by a business in Indiana in which the student

  • gains valuable work experience
  • increases knowledge that assists with career decision-making, and
  • assists the business in accelerating short-term business objectives
Sufficient duration will be determined individually for each application and internship description. (Internships that are of a sufficient duration are typically at least 160 hours, but if for-credit, duration varies by academic department.) Internship positions may not take the place of permanent full-time positions.
  • Internships must have at least three meaningful objectives that are related to the student's career goals
  • includes opportunities to develop internship goals related to the professional goals of the intern
  • includes tasks and responsibilities with a purpose beyond advancing the operations of the employer
  • within an industry or business with a significant economic impact on the project area
  • provides compensation at or above minimum wage
  • provides a mentor who will work closely with the intern
  • includes minimal menial tasks
  • provides a diverse learning experience
  • has the potential to grow internship opportunities over time
Internship Stipend

The Cardinal Connect Internship Stipend is intended to assist Indiana employers who have never hired an intern or employers who do not have robust, meaningful internship programs. The program may provide up to eight stipends per year of funding up to $1,000 of internship wages for eligible internships. A business may only receive funding for one intern.

  • Eligible employers are Indiana businesses, including for-profit and nonprofit organizations, that do not have well-established internship programs.
  • Eligible students must be enrolled full-time at Ball State University.
  • Eligible internships are high-quality internship positions that pay at least minimum wage, are of a sufficient duration to allow students to gain valuable work experience, and are approved by the Career Center. The internships can be for-credit or not-for-credit experiences.

Payment for hiring an intern will be in the form of a lump sum directly to the employer of up to $1,000 of the internship wages after documentation that the internship has been completed.

Employers must pay the intern at least minimum wage during the internship and then will be reimbursed up to $1,000 of the intern's wages after the internship has been completed. The student may earn more than $1,000, but reimbursement to the employer is limited to $1,000.

Stipend applications are received on a rolling deadline and will be reviewed as soon as they are received.

Jeff Eads consults with organizations to help establish new intern programs, identify talent pools, and connect with resources and faculty on campus. Contact him for assistance or for help with any questions you may have.

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