Clemson University students meet with potential employers at an event for the school’s so called Cooperative Education Program. Co-op students rotate between working for companies in their career field and taking classes, giving them on-the-job experience prior to graduation. (provided by Clemson University)
Clemson University’s career center had been helping about 30 students each summer find internships. But last summer, with an influx of state funding, that number jumped to more than 400 students.
Internships are impactful, Clemson’s Dean of Undergraduate Learning Sean Britton said, because they allow students to earn money while gaining valuable work experience in their future career field rather than taking a random summer job.
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They also tend to have a positive impact on a student’s grades when they come back to school with a better understanding of how their classwork applies to their career. They also get more — and better — job offers with higher starting salaries, said Neil Burton, the executive director of Clemson’s Center for Career and Professional Development.
“The challenge for a lot of students is there’s an upfront cost they think they can’t afford,” Britton said.
They may not have the funds for moving expenses if they go to work in a different part of the state. And their closets might not contain appropriate office attire.
“Paying the upfront deposit on an apartment while you’re buying a suit and trying to figure out how to get a car to go there may seem like minor things for a lot of folks,” Britton said. “But for a lot of students, it’s prohibitive.”
Thanks to $17 million collectively in state budgets approved by legislators in the last two years, Clemson and the University of South Carolina have addressed this for nearly 2,100 students so far. That money will extend to internships through summer 2025, allowing the universities to dole out stipends that help with expenses students might incur before their first paycheck clears.
The aid is not a loan. Students don’t pay it back.
USC offers $3,000 to students who participate in internships within high-demand industries in the state, such as aerospace, automotive, energy, financial services, healthcare, insurance and manufacturing.
Since summer 2023, a total of 941 students across the USC college system have participated, according to a statement from the university. The school has awarded more than $2.8 million to date.
In a survey response following their internship, one anonymous student wrote that the program, “allowed me the opportunity to participate in my internship without worrying about trying to work another job along with the internship. I was able to fully immerse myself in the program to further myself academically, professionally and personally.”
“It encouraged me to stay in the state of South Carolina, where there is a significant demand for healthcare workers, specifically nurses,” a different student wrote.
So far, 46 students who participated in USC’s internship program have graduated. Of those who responded to a survey following graduation, six said they had gone on to work for the company where they had interned.
Clemson has given out a little less than $2 million to 1,151 students, according to a report from the university. But the amount of money students collectively earned from their internships — either over a semester or during the summer — was more than seven times that, Britton said.
“So, it was a small investment on the front side that resulted in a very large result on the other,” he said.
Prior to getting the state budget allocation, Clemson had nudged students to use its career center research but that was met with limited success.
“Being able to tell them that we have this money available to you to get you over the hump made a huge difference for students,” Britton said.
In making awards, Clemson prioritized first-generation college students and those from low-income families. The second priority tier focused on in-state students.
Of those students who participated, 70% took internships with companies within South Carolina. The other 30% were placed with companies outside the state.
While Burton, the director at Clemson’s career center, said early results are promising, the college is looking for other ways to boost participation further.
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One such effort is what Clemson calls Tigers on Track. The program offers extra help to students who are the first in their family to attend college. Starting their freshman year their coached on how to prepare for an internship, how to set up a LinkedIn account, how to interview well for jobs and how to boost their resume.
Burton said his office also is considering a pilot program taking students to visit some of the smaller employers in the state. He hopes this will introduce them to the opportunities these small businesses, often lesser known than Boeing or BMW or Michelin, can offer.
Finally, Burton said the school’s career innovation lab is developing a certification on artificial intelligence. The aim is to train students in AI who can then consult for some of the state’s smaller companies, helping those businesses use the technology to improve their day-to-day operations
“These are just a couple ideas to get some of those students and employers interacting prior to a potential internship opportunity, so that the recruiting can be a little bit easier,” Burton said.