SoFi Internship Program

The history of internships goes back centuries, back to apprenticeships of the Middle Ages. In medieval times, craftsmen would teach others their trade, which helped villages ensure that skilled people could provide what their communities needed. In turn, the craftsmen were promised the labor of those they taught, while apprentices learned a practical way to make a living.

In a college internship, a student works for an organization for a specified period of time, typically to gain work experience in a field of choice and/or to complete a college requirement.

Today, internships tend to be significantly shorter than apprenticeships of yesteryear. They can be full-time or part-time, paid or unpaid. Plus, when college students participate in internships, it’s often a chance for them to explore certain careers, whereas apprenticeships largely defined the future worklife of participants. Finally, internships are often designed to provide a broad look at possibilities, rather than more niche skills taught to apprentices.