The BBA Career Management team is dedicated to assisting BBA students in all phases of the internship search, from resume and cover letter writing to suggesting tactics for a successful interview. There are numerous resources to assist you in securing an internship; however, it is ultimately your responsibility to find an internship.

Once you secure a professional internship, apply to enroll in the internship course on RecruitMcCombs.

None of the hours/weeks you may have worked prior to receiving approval to enroll in B A 353 will count toward earning course credit. You should apply to enroll in B A 353 as soon as you receive your offer.

Applications to enroll in B A 353 evaluated on a case-by-case basis. Credit cannot be given for an internship you have already completed.

How you can get started:

• Attend workshops, events, specialized programming and career advising.
• Attend the McCombs Career Expo (held each Fall and Spring semester) along with other Career Week events to help you prepare for your internship experience.
• Search RecruitMcCombs and HireUTexas.
• Use your networking skills to explore possible opportunities; remember to speak with family members, friends, former employers, etc. to see if they know of any opportunities you’d be interested in or a good fit for.

If you’re having trouble finding an internship, schedule an appointment with your BBA Career Coach.

To enroll in B A 353 while working at an internship, you must:

1. Fulfill the prerequisites

• Successfully complete 45 hours of college coursework.
• Complete or be enrolled in B A 324 or B A 324H.
• Take the internship course at least one semester prior to the semester you intend to graduate. This is highly recommended, but not required.

2. Secure a professional Internship

Certain types of work experiences are not eligible for course credit. Review internship FAQs for details.

3. Apply to enroll in B A 353

Use the application in RecruitMcCombs to apply to enroll in BA 353.

The deadline to apply varies by semester:

• Spring: Your internship start date or the 10th class day of the Spring semester (whichever is earlier)
• Summer: Your internship start date or June 30 (whichever is earlier). If you accept an internship offer after June 30, select Fall as your ‘semester on the job’.
• Fall: Your internship start date or the 10th class day of the Fall semester (whichever is earlier).

4. Monitor your email

You will receive an email indicating whether your application to enroll in B A 353 was approved or denied.

• If your application was approved, the email will provide registration instructions, a course syllabus, and information session details.
• If your application was denied, the email will explain the reason for denial. You can re-apply at any time.

5. Register for the internship course

Once your application is approved, you will receive an email with registration instructions. The course will not be added automatically upon approval of your application. Instead, you must register for B A 353 the way you would register for any other course.

6. Report your offer

Report your internship and job offers (both accepted and declined).

7. Attend a B A 353 Information Session

You will receive an email with the date, time, and location for the information session(s). During the session, faculty and staff will outline expectations and resources, explain course requirements, and answer your pre-internship questions.

• Spring internship sessions will occur around the 12th class day of the Spring semester.
• Summer internship sessions will occur toward the end of the preceding Spring semester.
• Fall internship sessions will occur around the 12th class day of the Fall semester.

8. Perform your internship

You must work a minimum of 160 hours over the course of at least 6 calendar weeks. Any hours worked prior to receiving approval of your internship or hours worked after the deadline will not count toward fulfilling this requirement. The only hours/weeks that will be counted toward fulfilling this requirement are those that occur between the date of your approval email and the final deadline. You may work part-time or full-time, paid or unpaid.

Note: working 30 consecutive days will not satisfy this requirement.

9. Submit assignments on Canvas

Details will be announced on Canvas. Each assignment will be based on the readings in the text or activities on RecruitMcCombs. You are welcome to submit the assignments early; however, there will be no opportunity to submit the assignments late.

If you fail to submit an assignment on time, or if you earn a score of less than 70% on any assignment, you will fail the course.

10. Complete assignments on RecruitMcCombs

Details will be provided on Canvas.

B A 353 is graded on a pass/fail basis, based on the timely and successful completion of your internship and all B A 353 assignments. Grades will be posted online with all other course grades at the end of the semester.

• A grade of ‘CR’ will be given to students who complete all course requirements.
• A grade of ‘F’ will be given if any requirement is not met by its due date.

No late work will be accepted.

Deadline to apply for B A 353

The deadline to apply varies by semester:

• Spring: Your internship start date or the 10th class day of the Spring semester (whichever is earlier)
• Summer: Your internship start date or June 30 (whichever is earlier). If you accept an internship offer after June 30, select Fall as your ‘semester on the job’.
• Fall: Your internship start date or the 10th class day of the Fall semester (whichever is earlier).

Deadline to add B A 353

The deadline to add B A 353 to your course schedule varies by semester:

• Spring: the 12th class day of the Spring semester
• Summer: the second class day of Summer’s second term
• Fall: the 12th class day of the Fall semester

Deadline to accrue hours/weeks toward the 160 hour/6 week requirement

• Spring 2025: April 18
• Summer 2025: August 15
• Fall 2025: November 21
• Spring 2026: April 17
• Summer 2026: August 14

If you are an international student in F-1 status, you may be eligible to apply for employment authorization to participate in Curricular Practical Training (CPT) for one BA 353-related internship experience.

• Attend the workshop entitled, “International Students, Internships and CPT” or meet with Otto Driessen, BBA Career Coach, during the semester prior to your internship experience.
• Upon receiving an internship offer, submit your application to enroll in B A 353.
• Once your application for course credit is approved, fill out the initial CPT application. In the field(s) for your department contact information, enter Lovelys Powell, Director of Academic Advising, and his email address, lovelys.powell@mccombs.utexas.edu.

Note: enrollment in B A 353 cannot be repeated.

For students completing internships outside the United States

If you will be performing an internship outside the US, and will be enrolled in B A 353 to earn course credit for your internship, you must register your international travel plans with the University and enroll in the University’s international insurance plan. Learn more from UT Global Risk and Safety.

This action is required, as activities that are part of or contribute to an academic course or degree program, including internships, are covered under the Student Travel Policy for International Locations.

Exceptions for residents and study abroad students:

If you are a citizen of the country where you will be interning, you may opt out of purchasing travel insurance. However, you must still register your travel, as described above, to report your travel plans to the University.

If you sourced your internship through Education Abroad in Texas Global, please email the University’s Study Abroad Internship Coordinator and ask that they email Michael Schuetz and Joshua Barham at the BBA Program Office, confirming that you have completed all pre-departure requirements.

All students in the integrated MPA (iMPA) program are required to perform one internship. You have the option of using either the undergraduate B A 353 course to satisfy the degree requirement, or one of the graduate courses (ACC 391C or ACC 691C).

If you earn credit for B A 353, you are not required to perform another internship to also earn credit for ACC 391C or ACC 691C. However, you may choose to perform an additional internship if you wish. In this case, the B A 353 course would count as a free elective toward the BBA degree and the ACC 391C or ACC 691C would count as a graduate elective toward the MPA degree.

Internships before iMPA admission

If you perform an internship during the summer before you are admitted into the iMPA program, you may submit an application to enroll in B A 353. If you are admitted into the iMPA program, you can choose to continue your enrollment in B A 353 and receive academic credit, or, assuming you satisfactorily completed the internship, you can drop the course and not receive credit. If you choose to drop the course, you must notify the BBA Internship Program Director.

Internships after iMPA admission

The majority of iMPA students intern during the spring semester of their fourth year and enroll in either ACC 391C or ACC 691C. If you choose this option, you would enroll in two MPA-specific accelerated courses in addition to the internship course. During the semester of your internship, you would earn 9 to 12 credit hours, which would allow you to maintain full-time status even though you would still be listed as an undergraduate student.

While they are not intended to take the place of a professional internship experience, there are several business practicum courses that will satisfy the internship requirement:

• ACC 366P: Accounting Practicum (offered in Spring only)
• ACC 367P: Internal Auditing Practicum
• FIN 366P: Financial Analyst Program Practicum
• MAN 347P: Entrepreneurship Practicum
• MAN 366P: Management Practicum – Social Entrepreneurship I (offered in Fall only)
• MAN 367P: Social Entrepreneurship II (offered in Spring only)
• MAN 369P: Social Innovation
• MKT 366P: Marketing Practicum
• OM 366P: Operations Management Practicum (offered in Fall only)

These courses should not be your first choice for fulfilling the internship requirement, as admission to these courses is not guaranteed. Some practicum courses require an intensive application and interview process, which can take place up to one year in advance of the actual course. Additionally, these courses may not give you the same type of work experience you would get from a professional internship.

If you take one of these alternate courses to satisfy the internship requirement, contact your BBA Academic Advisor to override your degree audit to reflect this substitution. Do not apply for internship course credit or submit an application in RecruitMcCombs.

For questions regarding academic credit and the internship course (B A 353):

Heidi Toprac
Director, BBA Internship Program
Email: heidi.toprac@mccombs.utexas.edu

For questions regarding employers and the employer/intern relationship:

Employer Recruiting Team
Email: MSB-STAFF-CMCR@mccombs.utexas.edu

No. Your internship can be paid or unpaid. Please refer to the US Department of Labor’s Fact Sheet #71 regarding internship requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

90% of the McCombs students in B A 353 are paid during their internships. Of those who are not paid, most are interning in non-profit or government organizations.

Apply to enroll in B A 353 on RecruitMcCombs. To ensure that all of your work hours will count toward earning course credit, apply for the internship course after you have secured an internship, but before you begin working.

Apply to enroll in B A 353 and await the decision.

The turnaround time is typically within 48 hours.

The following types of work experiences are not eligible for course credit:

• Self-employment
• Work performed in a student’s family-owned or family-managed business
• Work performed in a student-run organization
• Work performed autonomously, without direct managerial oversight and guidance (e.g. door-to-door sales)
• Work performed for an organization that does not provide the tools and equipment necessary to complete job duties (e.g. positions that require students to use their own computer, field sales roles that don’t provide transportation/mileage reimbursement, etc.)
• Work performed for an organization that lacks an established professional website and matching email domain
• Participation in a political campaign, PAC, or lobbying effort (working for a seated public servant/office is acceptable)
• Training activities (e.g. time spent preparing for insurance or security license exams)
• Work performed in an employer’s private home or for a business that is registered to a private residential address
  • Identify the address an employer reported to state authorities (Texas)
  • Identify the address an employer reported to state authorities (California)
  • Identify the address an employer reported to state authorities (New York)
  • For all other states, search Google for “[State name] taxable entity search”
• Work performed for an organization that is not authorized to do business in the location where the student will be working (verify using the same state-specific links provided above)
• Work performed for an organization that operates entirely on remote work, without a registered business address that points to the location where the organization conducts business operations/activities
• Remote employment arrangements that are unique to the intern and do not align with the remote work guidelines for all organization employee

Note: If you will be working from Texas, your employer must be registered to conduct business in-state (verify using the same state-specific links provided above).

The registration system allows you to register for a maximum of 17 hours in a Fall or Spring semester, however the McCombs School of Business will increase this number if you need to add B A 353. Contact your BBA Academic Advisor for permission to enroll in more than 17 hours.

If you don’t know who your academic advisor is, please call the BBA Program Office at 512-471-0690.

• First, wait a day or two. It may take a bit of time for your UT EID to be entered into the registration system, thereby authorizing you to add B A 353 to your schedule.
• Second, make sure you are trying to add the unique number for which you were approved.
• Third, ensure that you are registering for 17 or fewer hours, or have permission to register for more than 17 hours.

If you have followed these three steps and still can’t register, contact the BBA Internship Program Director.

If your application to enroll in B A 353 was denied, you will receive an email explaining why it was denied. Please thoroughly read the email and proceed accordingly.

It may be as simple as correcting a typing error and re-submitting your application. However, it may be necessary to secure an entirely different internship. If so, you can submit a new application at any time.

If you have questions, contact the BBA Internship Program Director.

You are required to comply with the Texas McCombs Career Management Code of Ethics.

If you have already accepted an offer and wish to change your mind and/or quit your position, contact Morgan Medina, Director of BBA Career Education and Coaching, before you act.

B A 353 is an online course. There are no face-to-face meetings.

To ensure that you earn course credit for your internship, your supervisor will be asked to document the dates and hours you worked using a secure, online survey. Details will be provided on Canvas.

If your supervisor does not complete the survey by the deadline, you will fail B A 353. This is an opportunity for you to learn how to manage the manager!

Your supervisor will be given the opportunity to evaluate your performance on the survey. However, the evaluation portion of the survey is optional.

If you failed to update your supervisor’s contact information in RecruitMcCombs, the system will not email the Supervisor Survey request to your supervisor, and you will fail B A 353. Details will be provided on Canvas.

If you have issues or questions, contact the BBA Internship Program Director.

Be sure that you are checking the email address that is on file with the University.

Verify and/or update your email address through UT Direct

You can complete an internship at any time during your academic career. The earlier you get started and the more experience you gain, the better.

You can only apply only one internship toward the internship degree requirement. Because issues sometimes arrise, we recommend that you do not attempt to enroll in B A 353 during your final semester at McCombs.

No. The B A 353 internship course satisfies the degree requirement for all undergraduate business majors.

If you experience any problem(s) in your internship or with your employer, please immediately contact Morgan Medina, Director of BBA Career Education and Coaching before you act. She can help you understand your options and will assist you with the issue(s). Be aware that quitting an internship without first speaking with BBA Career Management can have serious consequences.

If you do leave your internship, no matter what the reason, notify the BBA Internship Program Director so she can update RecruitMcCombs. This will enable you to apply to enroll in B A 353 in the future.

If you have any issues or problems during the course of your internship, please immediately contact Morgan Medina, Director of BBA Career Education and Coaching before you act. We will work with you and we want you to be in a comfortable/safe work environment.

University of Texas at Austin faculty and staff are not able to sign any company forms. Instead, the BBA Program Office (BPO) Academic Advisors offer a standard letter.

To request the letter, stop by the BPO (CBA 2.400) and sign a “Release of Information” letter allowing your adviser to discuss your degree information in the letter. The letter will indicate that your work experience with the company has been approved for internship course credit.