How to apply for GEN ST 350

All Handshake Experiences applications must be in progress by the end of the second week of the quarter

1. Log in to Handshake using your UW NetID. 
2. Click on the Career Center link from the menu of options
3. Click on the Experiences link.
4. Once on the Experiences page click on “Submit an Experience” on the top right hand side of the page. 
5. Once on the page, click the drop down menu for “Experience Type”
6. For Distance Learning select “Gen St 350 C/D (Distance Learning)”
7. Fill out the application and click the green button at the bottom that says “submit an experience”.
8. Once you have submitted the application you will receive a confirmation email. 
9. At this point your internship supervisor will receive an email asking them to approve your position. Please reach out to them and let them know to fill out that approval as when they receive it. 
10. Once your internship has been verified,  you will receive an email asking you to review your experience one last time and ask you to fill out FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) protected information that WILL NOT be made available to your internship supervisor.
11. When your internship is verified by your internship supervisor, and you have provided all requested information, we will send you an add code for GEN ST 350 C (Public Sector) or GEN ST 350 D (Private Sector).

Internship Eligibility

Do my internship dates have to match the dates of the UW Quarter when I am registered for credit?

Your internship needs to overlap the quarter in which you are registered for GEN ST 350 credit by a minimum of 70%. This is equivalent to seven weeks during ten week quarters or six weeks of the nine week summer quarter. It is fine if your internship starts before or continues after the academic quarter. (Though international students should check in with International Student Services if this is the case.)

How do I know if my internship is eligible for GEN ST 350? Can I receive credit for my part-time job?

Most internships, paid or otherwise, are eligible for the GEN ST 350 course as long as the academic work is suitable. You cannot receive credit for a part-time job you are working, but you may want to investigate how you might arrange an internship at your workplace, completing a different set of tasks or projects than those that are in your current job.

Can I register for GEN ST 350 with an internship I have already completed?

No. The GEN ST 350 course is intended to grant students credit for academic work done concurrently with an internship experience, not the internship itself, so retroactive credit is not possible.

Can I register for the same internship for my department credits and GEN ST 350?

Generally a single internship may only be registered for one credit-bearing course. However, it may be possible to make exceptions if the number of hours on site will be quite high throughout the quarter. If enrollment in more than one credit-bearing course makes sense, you will need to submit unique academic work for each course.

Can I earn GEN ST 350 credit if I am doing an internship abroad?

You must complete the online GEN ST 350 application prior to your departure, including verification of your internship supervisor. Please note that students will need internet access in order to engage in distance learning assignments for this course. Students should consult with the CELE Center prior to departure regarding how to best move forward with demonstrating learning from an internship abroad. 

Credit Registration & Eligibility

How many credits can I register for?

Students may register for less credits than the maximum number (students may choose to request a lower amount of credits than the maximum amount that they are eligible to receive).

Credits	Weekly Hours at Internship	Minimum Total Hours at Internship
1	3	30
2	6	60
3	9	90
4	12	120
5	15	150
6	18	180

How many total GEN ST 350 credits can I earn?

Please note that students may only enroll in GEN ST 350 C/D for three academic quarters total -- for the maximum number of credits allowed for GEN ST 350. A student can register for a maximum of 6 GEN ST 350 credits during one quarter. No more than 18 credits of GEN ST 350 can be applied towards graduation credit requirements.

What am I earning credit for?

Students enrolled in GEN ST 350 receive credit for demonstrating the learning from their internship experience through academic work in our asynchrous distance learning course, not for the internship itself. Completion of the internship is not sufficient to earn credit under General Studies 350. Please note that General Studies 350, regardless of section, is always graded credit/no credit. 

What types of credit can I get for GEN ST 350? What requirements does it fulfill?

GEN ST 350 does not fill any specific requirements, though it may be listed as an approved elective in some majors or minors. Up to 18 credits of the course may be applied towards the 180 total credits that must be accumulated to graduate. Please consult with your adviser for detailed information regarding how General Studies 350 may (or may not) fit into your academic plan.

Deadlines

What are the deadlines? How late can I register for GEN ST 350?

This course follows all University of Washington registration deadlines. Please calibrate these deadlines with business days/hours. Remember that while a UW registration deadline may be on a Sunday evening, all steps in the course registration process (including input from your internship supervisor via the Handshake platform) will need to be completed the Friday before 12 p.m (noon). The same is true when the registration deadline is on a weekday; all steps in the process must be complete by noon on the registration deadline date.

Students will receive an add code from CELE Center staff upon receipt of a completed online application and completed internship supervisor verification. This process takes a minimum of three days -- and can take up to two weeks when internship supervisors are delayed in responding! Please plan accordingly/ahead.

As with all courses, students must register by the end of the first week of the academic quarter to avoid an additional fee. The last day to add the course is three weeks after the beginning of the quarter; this means you must have completed all steps in the Handshake Experience submission process before this date! Late Add Petitions will NOT be considered for GEN ST 350.

How will GEN ST 350 affect my tuition costs? Does it count towards full-time student stats for financial aid qualifications?

This course will affect your tuition costs, financial aid eligibility, and scholarship status in the same manner than any other University of Washington credits would. Please consult the Quarterly Tuition Rates made available by the Office of Student Fiscal Services for more detailed information regarding any possible tuition costs that may accompany your GEN ST 350 registration.

I have an X credit for GEN ST 350 and it’s holding up my financial aid?

Contact your GEN ST 350 instructor to see what is holding up your grade. If having an Incomplete or ‘X’ credit will affect your financial aid, make sure that you are monitoring your grade well before the financial aid deadline.

International Students

International students are eligible to take GEN ST 350 and must receive Curricular Practical Training (CPT) authorization from the International Student Services office prior to starting their off-campus internship experience.

First, you must enroll in GEN ST 350. The course enrollment process can take up to two weeks. Once you are registered for GEN ST 350, you can submit a CPT application. Confirm you are eligible for CPT before requesting an add code for GEN ST 350 or submitting the CPT request. Instructors for GEN ST 350 will act as the academic adviser for CPT approval and you should list genst350@uw.edu as the contact email. You must obtain CPT authorization before your internship start date.

Please note that your internship start date can not be later than the third week of the quarter in which you are registered for GEN ST 350. Your internship end date can not be earlier than week seven of the academic quarter in which you are registered for GEN ST 350. This ensures that you are completing academic work concurrent with your internship experience.

Is academic credit legally required for an unpaid internship?

Some employers may require a student to earn academic credit for an internship. This requirement is fully within their right, but may also be worth checking in with them about if earning academic credit will not be beneficial toward earning your degree. The employer may just be looking for confirmation of student status that could be demonstrated in another way. The employer may also think that these credits will be beneficial to the student–if this is not the case, and you will be paying for credits that will not advance your degree, you may want to let the employer know. Some employers are also just trying to maintain legal employment practices. While it is not legally required for an unpaid intern to earn academic credit, the Department of Labor does have guidelines to determine whether an intern is considered an “employee.” Employers are supposed to make sure that what they are asking their interns to do are legitimate learning experiences, and not just a way to get free labor without paying benefits, taxes, etc. If they cannot match these criteria then the “employee” and “employer” are subject to the monetary provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act. That means that the interns in for-profit companies are entitled to minimum wage and overtime compensation. Courts have used the “primary beneficiary test” to determine whether an intern or student is, in fact, an employee under the FLSA.  Courts have identified the following seven factors as part of the test:

1. The extent to which the intern and the employer clearly understand that there is no expectation of compensation. Any promise of compensation, express or implied, suggests that the intern is an employee—and vice versa.
2. The extent to which the internship provides training that would be similar to that which would be given in an educational environment, including the clinical and other hands-on training provided by educational institutions.
3. The extent to which the internship is tied to the intern’s formal education program by integrated coursework or the receipt of academic credit.
4. The extent to which the internship accommodates the intern’s academic commitments by corresponding to the academic calendar.
5. The extent to which the internship’s duration is limited to the period in which the internship provides the intern with beneficial learning.
6. The extent to which the intern’s work complements, rather than displaces, the work of paid employees while providing significant educational benefits to the intern.
7. The extent to which the intern and the employer understand that the internship is conducted without entitlement to a paid job at the conclusion of the internship.

If an employer would like to know more about these legal guidelines, you could refer them to the following articles:

• The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)