If you didn’t do an internship as an undergraduate, did you even go to Bryant?
It’s not quite that axiomatic, of course, but what’s true that the vast majority of Bryant students complete at least one formal internship by the time they graduate. Many do two or more.
Internships, which students complete through Bryant’s vast network of employer partners, are a core piece of the university’s experiential learning philosophy. Their prevalence is the result of student initiative as well as a robust array of supportive services, from career fairs to resume and interviewing counseling, that are available to every student.
The Amica Center for Career Education is Bryant’s hub for student career planning and development, which includes introducing prospective interns to employment opportunities that match their interests and skill sets.
“Our goal is to have 100 percent of our students gain academic credit for the internships and experiential education they engage in,” says Scott Connolly, Bryant’s senior assistant director of employer relations, who connects students with opportunities through internship postings and a wide range of employer-student networking events and programs.
“Our new goal is to have 100 percent of our students gain academic credit for the internships and experiential education they engage in."
For example, fall and winter career fairs bring in around 100 employers, who are there to recruit interns as well as full-time employees. There’s also a special career fair for student-athletes. In 2024, the Amica Center launched a separate spring career fair aimed at first-year and sophomore students, supporting the broader trend of students participating in internships earlier in their academic careers, not just as juniors or seniors. The latter has a particular focus on non-profit and community-based organizations, notes Connolly.
Not every opportunity to connect with employers about internships is billed as such, he says.
“For some of our educational programs, such as the Resume Rally or the Art of Networking, we bring employers in to connect with students for feedback on their resumes and preparing for interviews,” says Connolly. “Although we don't call those recruiting, how often do you get to have 15 minutes of face time with a recruiter or an employer who you might want to interview or apply to work with?”
Taking part in capstone projects, competitions and classroom projects where students analyze business operations and provide recommendations to employers are other ways for prospective interns to stand out from the crowd, adds Connolly.
In 2021, Bryant adopted the Handshake platform, which serves as the University’s internship and job board for students to find internships and full-time opportunities. Last academic year, students had access to over 60,000 opportunities not just in southern New England but across the country as well.
Geographically, most Bryant students seek internships in Boston, Hartford, Providence, and New York City. "But we have students who, if they're going back home to Ohio, can find our employer and alumni partners there. Students are surprised to find that even local companies have operations all over the country and internationally,” says Connolly. “We have a lot of students who go down to Texas and out on the West Coast as well.”
Businesses with Bryant alumni have been another rich vein of internship opportunity that the Amica Center can help students tap into.
“Bryant alums are probably the most helpful alumni base anywhere in the country,” says Connolly. “Most of my new business phone calls are, ‘Hey, I just got a promotion. I can hire my first intern,’ or ‘We have an opening, and we need more Bryant people here.’ They'll be the drivers, whether it's mentoring a new employee or doing an informational interview or helping students get hired at an organization.”
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Bryant’s newly expanded internship for credit program, announced in February 2025, expands the universe of internship opportunities even further. Students can now intern in the summer or winter on campus with the cost for academic credit included as part of their yearly tuition.
“Bryant alums are probably the most helpful alumni base anywhere in the country."
Connolly says Bryant promotes both paid and unpaid internships, although the trend is toward more internship programs offering compensation to students. Likewise, students can pursue earning credit for most internship opportunities.
“One rumor that we're always trying to quash is you can’t earn credit through Bryant for an internship experience and get paid through the organization,” he says. “Yes, you can, because Bryant highly encourages all organizations to pay students for their work.” If they truly cannot afford to pay, the Amica Center provides a Summer Internship Fellowship to provide funding for unpaid internships.
Bryant students can make an appointment to speak with an Amica Center counselor about internship opportunities; drop-ins are also welcomed between 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.
“We have a team of full-time career coaches who will work with you on everything from, ‘I have no idea what I want to do with my life’ to ‘I know exactly what I want to do with my life’ to make you the most marketable person you can be,” says Connolly.
Fortune 500 companies may hire the most Bryant students for internships each year, but Connolly emphasizes that the Amica Center works with employers of all different sizes, recruiting students across all the majors that the university offers.
Related article: Individual support helps Amica Center for Career Education connect students with success
Recruiting deadlines vary from industry to industry, Connolly notes.
“We’re trying to get the word out to students to get in some of these pipelines early,” he says. “Employers want to connect with you. The recruiters want to get to know you. They might not have the internship experience for you yet. But where you stand out in the process is by engaging with employers whenever they're on campus.”
“We have a team of full-time career coaches who will work with you on everything from, ‘I have no idea what I want to do with my life’ to ‘I know exactly what I want to do with my life.'"
Employers that host virtual events or open houses that students can attend track every interaction, Connolly adds.
“If it comes down to two equally qualified candidates, recruiters may note that one student has met with the company five times on campus, or attended their virtual workshops, or has done their summer leadership program,” he says. “That's the one they’re going to hire over someone whose first touch point was their application.”