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ASCS Q398 and W499: Internship—Theory Into Practice

ASCS Q398 and W499 are internship courses offered through the College of Arts & Sciences and administered by the Career Development Center. Q398 provides credit for your internship. W499 is a noncredit course used simply to maintain full-time student status.

To apply for Q398 or W499, you must:

Be an undergraduate student;
Have a GPA of 2.0 or above;
Have at least 24 credit hours;
Not be getting a degree in SPEA (SPEA has their own internship program);
Have already completed your department/school's internship course (if applicable).

Deadlines:

Students must submit the Q398 and/or W499 application(s), learning contract, and job description by the following deadlines:

Fall semester: October 1
Spring semester: February 1
Summer semester: June 1

Applications will not be accepted after the deadlines. Credit cannot be given for an internship already completed.

Grades:

The grades assigned to Q398 are either S (satisfactory) or F (fail). An S grade does not affect your GPA; an F grade lowers your GPA. Please refer to the Registrar's grading policies for further information.

The grade assigned to W499 is NC (no credit). This grade does not affect your GPA.

Q398 frequently asked questions

What requirements must an internship meet to qualify for Q398?

To earn credit, an internship must:

Be supervised. This means that you must be based in an office and meet with your supervisor in person at least once a week to discuss your progress, challenges, etc.
Last at least 9 weeks.
Have a training component. You must learn during your internship, not just do busy work.
Focus on a particular project. You must be responsible for for starting and finishing an entire project.
Further your understanding of a career field or build on coursework you've taken.
Increase your employability in your field of interest.

How do I earn credit for an internship?

First, ask your academic advisor whether your department offers internship credit. If your department doesn't offer internship credit, complete the online application form for Q398. After we receive your application, we will contact your supervisor and request a description of the internship. Once we have collected the necessary information, we will determine whether the internship can be approved for academic credit. If we approve your internship, we will register you for Q398 and send you the course assignment guidelines.

How many credits is an internship worth?

Credit is determined by the number of hours you work. If you work 50-99 hours during the semester, you earn 1 credit hour; 100-149 hours earns 2 credit hours; 150 hours or more earns 3 credit hours. No hours will be counted until your internship is approved.

I'll be working 40 hours per week in my internship. Since I'm putting in so many hours, can I get 6 credit hours?

The maximum number of credits you can earn for a semester is 3 credits, regardless of the number of hours you work.

What fees are associated with Q398?

The fees for Q398 are the same as for any other credit-bearing course. Fees are based on your residence status (in-state or other) and the number of hours for which you are enrolled. In the spring and fall semesters, the fee will depend on whether you are paying per credit hour (for under 12 hours or over 17 hours) or are in the flat fee structure (12-17 hours).

Warning: Unless you are enrolled full-time in the summer while completing an internship (6 hours in Summer I and 6 hours in Summer II), you will have to pay fees for each credit hour based on your residency status. If you do not need academic credit for your summer internship but simply want university recognition (a notation on your transcript), you should take W499. W499 carries only a $15 registration fee.

Can I receive credit for an internship I’ve already completed?

Unfortunately, you cannot receive credit for an internship that you have already completed. There are no exceptions to this policy.

W499 frequently asked questions

Should I take W499?

If you would like to do an internship and need full-time student status, you can ask to be registered in W499. W499 is not worth any credit; it simply gives you full-time student status so you can stay on your parents’ health insurance plan or keep deferring your student loans. It will be listed on your transcript as "W499—Work Assignment: Off Campus." If you need full-time student status and would also like to get credit for your internship, you can apply for both ASCS Q398 and W499.

How will taking W499 affect my scholarships or financial aid award?

Every situation is different. You must contact the Indiana University Financial Aid Office and your scholarship providers to ask how taking W499 will affect you. Since you won’t be enrolled in any credit hours, chances are high that your scholarships and financial aid will be affected.

How do I register for W499?

Complete the online application form to register for W499. You can choose either to register just for W499 or for both W499 and Q398. We will request an internship description from your employer to confirm your internship. The approval committee meets weekly to evaluate course requests. If your application is approved, we will notify you and register you for W499.

What fees are associated with W499?

Because W499 is a zero-credit course, the only fee is a $15 registration fee. We strongly recommend taking W499 for summer internships unless you will also be enrolled full-time in classes.

Information for all internship courses

I just found out I have an internship but the deadline has passed. Can I turn in my application after the deadline?

Unfortunately, internship applications are not accepted after their specified deadlines. There are no exceptions to this policy.

Why do I get referred back to this page every time I click the link to the online application?

Our internship applications rely on web cookies. To proceed to the online application, cookies must be enabled on your computer. Please see the following Knowledge Base article "What are cookies?" for more information.

If you have further questions, please contact us at 812-855-5234.