SPEA’s Career Development Office (CDO) on the Bloomington campus provides students with a wide range of career development services and professional development programming. A partial list of services available to students includes (1) a Web-based internship/job listing service, SPEACareers.com; (2) a full calendar of companies/organizations recruiting SPEA students for internships and professional positions;

(3) individual career counseling; (4) information sessions/networking events connecting SPEA alumni with currently enrolled students; (5) topical career workshops and campus career fairs; (6) user-friendly Web-based career resources and an extensive career resource library. The CDO also assists students’ access to potential employers by coordinating regional and national career exploration trips. Trips to Indianapolis, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., help position students for pursuit of employment opportunities with governmental, nonprofit, consulting, and environmental organizations.

Further assistance is offered through a two-credit course, SPEA-V 252 Career Development and Planning. (SPEA-H 267 for Health Administration majors), a required course for most SPEA majors. SPEA-V 252/SPEA-H 267 introduces students to the process of career development and planning through self-assessment and individualized tutorials in key subject areas including interviewing techniques, writing cover letters and résumés, job search strategies, and development of an overall career development plan.

SPEA places a premium on experiential education and applied learning. Many SPEA undergraduate programs on the Bloomington campus require students to complete an internship. Internships provide students an excellent opportunity to apply classroom theory and their academic knowledge base to real-life experiences. Students must be in good academic standing, receive internship authorization from the CDO, and complete all required internship paperwork before beginning the internship experience. The CDO is responsible for authorizing, monitoring, and assessing student internships. Internships may be full or part time, paid or unpaid; however, prior approval from CDO is always required.

The internship program is designed for maximum flexibility so that many valuable learning experiences can qualify as internships. The purpose of the internship is to develop professional-level skills. All credit for an internship is awarded on an S/F (Satisfactory/ Fail) basis. Credit is not granted for work experience obtained prior to approval of an internship and enrollment in the appropriate internship class. Please visit the CDO Web site (www.indiana.edu/~spea/career_services/register_internship/undergraduate_internships/index.shtml) for further information on required paperwork.

Students seeking career-planning assistance should check with the Career Development Office, located on the Bloomington campus in SPEA 200,(812) 855-9639, for answers to specific questions.

Further assistance is offered through a two-credit course, SPEA-V 252 Career Development and Planning. SPEA-V252 introduces students to the process of career development and planning through self-assessment and individualized tutorials in key subject areas including interviewing techniques, writing cover letters, personal statements, thank you notes and résumés, job search strategies, and development of an overall career development plan. This course is also offered online in the spring semester.

Students seeking career-planning or professional development assistance on the Indianapolis campus should contact Kathleen Hursh, (317) 278-3651, hurshk@iupui.edu.