ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses the challenges to internship access will require more collaboration among the various stakeholders of the internship process to provide creative ways to engage all college students in these valuable opportunities. It will also be essential to maintain a critical and evidence-based stance that maintains a commitment to equity, fairness, and social justice so that internships cease to act as yet another vehicle for reproducing inequality. Internships can be a transformative experience for a college student, one that can “open the doors to opportunity”, which is one reason they are considered as a high-impact practice (HIP) in which college students should participate before they graduate. The category of HIPs that includes internships and other forms of work-based learning should be expanded to include campus-based work-integrated learning experiences. The chapter describes the focus group data, and thematic analysis of the text revealed that students described various obstacles, struggles, and concerns related to internship participation.
