Students at Fayetteville State University (FSU) have access to a comprehensive career services center that helps them explore career options, develop their workforce skills, and land competitive positions. One way the career services center helps students advance their careers is by connecting them to paid internship opportunities in a wide range of job sectors.

Connecting students with paid opportunities, rather than unpaid ones, ensures that students are compensated for their labor and able to support themselves while they are gaining the skills and experience they need to advance their career.  Connecting students with paid internships ensures students don’t miss out on valuable career opportunities because they could not afford to take an unpaid position.

Thanks to growing partnerships with federal, state, and local agencies; organizations; and private companies, FSU is able to offer a broad range of internship opportunities to match nearly every student’s interests and career aspirations. Interns have been placed in the financial, health, and cybersecurity sectors, as well as state agencies and non-profit and non-governmental organizations. With opportunities extending far beyond Cumberland County, students have the opportunity to be placed in internships across the country and even globally.

As a Historically Black University, FSU attracts interest from a variety of employers who seek to diversify their talent pool by recruiting the university’s best and brightest students. When employers reach out to the university to recruit interns, FSU assesses the employer’s needs and matches them with students who are looking for on-the-job training in those areas. For example, when employers are seeking to fill internships in their finance or marketing departments, FSU goes to its Broadwell College of Business and Economics to recruit students, and for cybersecurity internships, the university recruits within its Cybersecurity Center for Research, Education, Policy and Assessment.

The university also connects with students to gauge their interests in training opportunities and engages employers to identify the paid internship positions they offer that match those interests. For example, military veterans may want to explore internships that build on the skills they gained during their military training, while those interested in supply chain management may benefit from internships with FedEx, one of FSU’s employer partners.

To build partnerships and expand the pipeline of internship opportunities, FSU often invites employers to campus to participate in career fairs, set up tables in common areas, and speak in classrooms. Faculty also play a key role in getting the word out, informing the students they teach about the paid opportunities available to them.

FSU’s one-stop-shop career services center supports students before and after their internships, setting them off for success as they launch their careers. Students can receive help from the career services center with everything from skills inventories, resumes, interview preparation, and offer negotiation. 

FSU’s robust career support services and paid internship opportunities offer benefits not only to students, but also to the wider community by increasing the supply of skilled workers, attracting employers to the area, and encouraging investments in the local workforce. FSU is proud to offer students paid internships that develop their talents and prepare them to contribute diverse skills to the workforce. Reach out to careerservices@uncfsu.edu to find out more about FSU’s paid internships or become an employer partner. Visit www.uncfsu.edu/life-fsu/student-services-and-organizations/career-services to see some of the paid internships currently available to students.