Class of 2013: Majority of Seniors Participated in Internships or Co-ops

Nearly two-thirds of graduating seniors from the Class of 2013 took part in an internship or a cooperative education assignment during their years pursuing a bachelor’s degree, according to results of a survey of college students by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

NACE’s 2013 Student Survey found that 63.2 percent of graduating seniors from the Class of 2013 reported having taken part in an internship, co-op, or both.

Marilyn Mackes of NACE

“This represents the highest overall participation rate since we began tracking this with the Class of 2007,” says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director.

Earlier rates didn’t exceed 57 percent, reported for the Class of 2008.

Among Class of 2013 graduating seniors, 52.2 percent were paid and 47.8 percent were unpaid.

More than half of internships by Class of 2013 graduating seniors were performed at for-profit, private-sector organizations (56.3 percent). The remaining internships were undertaken at nonprofits (28.1 percent) and state, local, or federal government agencies (15.7 percent).

An overwhelming percentage of paid interns—72.9 percent—worked in the for-profit, private sector, while 16.4 percent worked for nonprofits and 10.6 percent worked for state, local, or federal government agencies.

Among unpaid internships, 38.1 percent were conducted in the for-profit, private sector; these internships, and the organizations that offer them, are subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). (Note: A recent court ruling on unpaid internships at an entertainment organization held that the organization had violated the FLSA and should have paid its interns.)

The remaining unpaid internships were conducted in organizations exempted from FLSA regulations: nonprofit organizations (40.7 percent) and government agencies (21.2 percent).