Student Experience Internship (SEI) Program

To ensure a high-quality and consistent internship experience, participating departments in the Student Experience Internship (SEI) Program must meet the following requirements:

Departments must designate a qualified supervisor and/or support staff member who will be responsible for overseeing the SEI student(s) and fulfilling program obligations, including:

• Participating in an orientation or consultation with the SEI Internship Coordinator to review program guidelines, expectations, and requirements.
• Submitting an SEI position request through the Career Center’s online form for review and approval prior to student placement.
• Reviewing and confirming student eligibility in coordination with the SEI Internship Coordinator.
• Completing all required student employment documentation, including the Personnel Action Form (PAF) process, in accordance with institutional procedures.
• Providing oversight and support for any internship-related academic requirements, if applicable (e.g., evaluations, weekly reports, or faculty coordination). Note: Participation in academic credit is optional; students may choose to complete internship credit based on their academic plan and interests.
• Ensuring students complete all required SEI program components, including leadership development activities and mandatory events.
• Monitoring student work hours and ensuring accurate and timely submission of timecards in compliance with university policy.
• Completing a post-experience evaluation of the student’s performance to support program assessment and continuous improvement.

The Student Experience Internship (SEI) Program seeks to partner with university departments that are committed to fostering meaningful student development and providing high-quality experiential learning opportunities. Ideal participating departments demonstrate the following:

• Strong leadership and a commitment to student mentorship, professional development, and experiential learning.
• A positive, inclusive, and supportive workplace culture that values collaboration, respect, and student engagement.
• Well-defined internship roles with meaningful responsibilities, clear expectations, and opportunities for skill development and growth over time.
• A demonstrated ability to provide supervision, structure, and consistent feedback to support student success.
• Active engagement in developing students’ leadership capacity, professional competencies, and career readiness skills.

Eligible participants must be an officially recognized college, school, or department within the University.

We welcome internship opportunities across a wide range of functional areas and disciplines, including but not limited to technology, research, biomedical sciences, business, student services, communications, sustainability, data analysis, and other academic and administrative fields that contribute to the mission of the University.

A strong Student Experience Internship (SEI) placement is intentionally designed, structured, and student-centered, with a focus on meaningful engagement and professional growth. High-quality internship experiences typically include the following elements:

• Design internships around projects rather than general job descriptions. Clearly define one or more projects that allow students to contribute meaningfully, build skills, and see tangible outcomes. Consider the interests, strengths, and developmental areas of the intern when assigning responsibilities.
• Establish a thoughtful onboarding process that sets the foundation for success. This should include a mini-orientation session where expectations, goals, and responsibilities are clearly communicated. Departments are encouraged to provide a brief overview of the organization (3–5 minutes per area or representative) to help students understand the broader structure and purpose of the workplace.
• Foster a positive, inclusive, and supportive workplace culture. Interns should be immersed in a professional environment that demonstrates collaboration, respect, and camaraderie, helping them understand how effective teams function in real work settings.
• Provide consistent mentorship through structured check-ins. Supervisors should meet with interns at least biweekly in one-on-one settings to review project progress, discuss areas of interest within the organization, explore personal and professional development goals, and reflect on prior feedback and objectives.
• Support ongoing growth by encouraging curiosity, inviting questions, and helping interns connect their day-to-day work to broader organizational goals and career pathways.

The Student Experience Internship program’s mission is to create meaningful internship experiences on campus for undergraduate students. As an approved SEI host, you receive many benefits of the program.

• Opportunity for your department to offer an enriching internship experience that allows for students to develop and grow professionally within their field of study or career interest.
• Increased productivity. A quality intern can make real contributions to productivity, helping full-time staff and faculty avoid becoming overburdened by side projects, and freeing them up to accomplish more creative tasks or tasks that require high-level expertise.
• Student brings fresh perspectives to old problems. Allowing them to bring in different skills and attributes to projects, assignments, and your department.
• Foster leadership skills in current staff. As staff members mentor and supervise interns, they will gain valuable leadership skills.
• Increased visibility of department on campus
• Upon approval of serving as an SEI host, your positions are funded 100% by the Career Center.

Not all requests are automatically approved. SEI positions are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis and evaluated using a standardized rubric that considers internship quality, alignment with learning outcomes, and program priorities—such as supporting underrepresented industries, roles, and skill areas across campus.

If you are interested in becoming an SEI host site, please consider the following:

• Internship Quality: Does your position meet the criteria of a true internship (e.g., project-based work, skill development, supervision, and learning outcomes)? It is strongly recommended to consult with the program specialist to ensure alignment.
• Program Expectations: Have you reviewed and agreed to SEI requirements for both supervisors and students? SEI is a structured experiential learning program—not a mechanism for supplemental or ad hoc staffing.
• Submission Readiness: Have you submitted your request accurately, including a detailed internship job description, and within the appropriate timeline?

For guidance or support in developing your position, please contact the Career Center.

An approved SEI position provides funding to hire a student intern for up to one academic year, spanning the Fall and Spring semesters. Requests to extend the internship into the Summer term may be considered but are not guaranteed and are contingent upon available program funding.

At the conclusion of the SEI experience, departments may choose to retain the student in a continued role; however, any ongoing employment must be funded directly by the department and will no longer be supported through SEI.

Hiring a new intern each cycle is strongly encouraged.

The Student Experience Internship (SEI) Program is designed as a structured, time-bound experiential learning opportunity—not an ongoing student employment model. To expand access and maximize impact, departments are expected to submit new requests each year and prioritize onboarding new student interns. This approach ensures more students have the opportunity to develop critical skills, gain hands-on experience, and prepare for successful entry into the workforce.

Yes—SEI funding is limited and allocated on a competitive, first-come, first-served basis. Departments with well-developed, high-quality internship proposals are strongly encouraged to submit requests as early as possible once the application period opens.

After allocations are made, available funds may be fully committed. If additional funding becomes available, previously submitted and eligible requests may be reconsidered based on program priorities and rubric scoring.

Note: Faculty and staff will receive email notification when the SEI request period opens.

A position request may be denied for several reasons, including:

• Incomplete submission: The SEI request form lacks required details (e.g., contact information, a complete internship job description, clearly defined responsibilities, or learning outcomes).
• Does not meet internship criteria: The role does not align with SEI standards for a structured, project-based internship and instead resembles general student employment (e.g., Office Assistant, Student Mentor, Tutor).
• Program compliance concerns: The department or supervisor has a documented history of not adhering to SEI policies, timelines, or required processes.

To strengthen future submissions, departments are encouraged to ensure all materials are complete, align roles with internship best practices, and maintain compliance with program expectations.

An SEI request may expire under the following circumstances:

• Hiring not completed by the deadline: The department is unable to identify and hire an eligible student within the designated timeframe or before the deadline to initiate the hiring process.

To avoid expiration, departments are encouraged to plan recruitment timelines accordingly and engage early in the hiring process once positions are approved.

Work-study funding is not utilized within the SEI Program. All SEI positions are fully funded by the Career Center through direct wages.

Note: Students who are awarded work-study through financial aid may still participate in SEI if eligible; however, work-study funds cannot be applied to the position and will not be used in the hiring cost center.

SEI approved postings will be listed on the JobX platform and visible to eligible UTRGV students.

We strongly encourage hosting departments to promote the SEI program and their approved positions to qualified undergraduate students. This can be done in various ways including direct email to eligible students, social media, or other formats best suited for the department.

Yes, the Career Center will be responsible for processing the hiring form once a selection is made and the student is approved for the program. This process will follow soon after the supervisor has verified that the student meets eligibility for the SEI program.

Note the following details.

• The supervisor submitting a request for an SEI should be in constant communication with admin/support staff following approval of their position. This is to directly inform the admin/support staff that a position will be created for the department.
• The supervisor will be responsible in ensuring the admin/support staff receive all required information for the hiring form including a position number (requested by positioncontrol@utrgv.edu), funding account code, encumbrance amount, and student information.
• Supervisor must follow all Student Employment policies and processes in place for any student position on campus.