The mission of the Career Development Office (CDO) is to provide a set of educational experiences, partnerships, and services that affords students an opportunity to design effective transitions from Grinnell College to careers and post-graduate study. Our programs and services empower all students and alumni to develop successful life-long career management skills by increasing access to meaningful internships and post-graduate opportunities and by building networks of relational bridges among faculty, employers, alumni, families, and the College community.

The Career Development Office is a comprehensive office designed to service the career needs of all students and alumni. The Career Development Office assists students in their career planning and development by offering individual career advising, programming and testing. Students are encouraged to visit the Career Development Office for help in choosing a major, finding a summer job, internship, part-time/ or full-time employment and the graduate/professional schools search process. Career counselors will work with all students providing exposure to career options through a full service career and occupational library, paper-based interest inventories and computer-based career development tools and Internet resources. In addition, the Career Development Office staff works closely with alumni, employers, graduate and professional school personnel and faculty to provide success in the job-search and graduate/professional school process.

The Career Development Office houses many resources, both paper and computer, to find graduate/professional school information, internship and employment opportunities. In addition, The Career Development Office provides the necessary test materials for application to a variety of graduate and professional programs including: General Record Exam (GRE), Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), Law School Admission Test (LSAT), and the PRAXIS (formerly the National Teachers Examination NTE).

Students seeking employment after graduation benefit from presentations on résumé writing, job search strategies and interviewing techniques. Popular programs, "Wine, Dine and How to Act Fine" and "Mix & Mingle" cover many of the above topics with the addition of an etiquette seminar and the benefit of having outside speakers and employers participating. The Career Development Office co-sponsors, with other institutions, a variety of career fairs throughout the year. The Career Development Office participates in the Spring Interview Day, Selective Liberal Arts Consortium recruiting events in Boston, Chicago, New York and Washington, D.C The Career Development Office hosts on-campus employers from a variety of industries and disciplines as well as Career Connections with alumni returning to campus.

The Career Development Office maintains a database of employment and internship opportunities and informs students of these opportunities via the CDO Newsletter and the internship newsletter; Intern Connection: Building a Career with Experience. Students and alumni/ae can access job and internship listings as well as upload their résumés for employers to view by registering with our online system. This service is provided free of charge and accessible 24/7. Credential files and Résumé Referral are additional services provided by the Career Development Office. For information on any of the above, please contact the Career Development Office, Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. To schedule an appointment, please call (641) 269-4940. Visit us at Career Development Office.

Students at Grinnell College may participate in a range of internship opportunities both during the academic year and in the summer. Summer internships are available throughout the world with options for variable credit and funding. Most summer internships source second and third year students. However, third and fourth year students may apply for academic year internships as well. Many internships receive Grinnell College funding through one of three distinct programs; the GRINNELLINK Summer Internships, Grant Program Internships (including Lilly Externships) or Special Endowed CDO Internships. When speaking with your advisees, keep in mind there are some limited opportunities available for students who have completed their first year.

Internships funded by Grinnell College, supported by a Faculty Sponsor, and approved by the Curriculum Committee, may receive 2 or 4 credits. Tuition is waived for the first 2 credits and students are billed for any additional credits.

Historically, internships with outside funding may also receive 2 or 4 credits if approved by the Curriculum Committee. However, tuition is not waived and students are billed for all credits received.

Students may earn 4 credits for a part-time, academic-year internship. . A total of 8 credits for internships may be counted toward graduation requirements; students may not participate in more than two credit-bearing internships. Students may accumulate no more than a total of 16 credits for the combination of a practicum and internship. Students may not count toward graduation more than a total of 36 credits earned on internships, personal leaves, special leaves, and off-campus study programs, including ACM Summer Programs.

For the purpose of distribution, internships will be ascribed divisional credit (work in humanities, science, or social studies) and will not be listed under the heading of particular departments. If students wish to have any internship credit counted toward completion of major requirements, they must have the chair of the department notify the Registrar in writing of how much of the internship credit (maximum of 4) the department is willing to accept. Because of the nature of the internship placement, which necessitates pre-planning and off-campus community involvement, students may not withdraw after registration and no incompletes are granted.

The preferred grading option by the Curriculum Committee is S/D/F. If the Faculty Sponsor believes there is a compelling reason why this internship should be considered for the letter grade option, he/she must submit specific reasons along with the Academic Expectations of the Faculty Sponsor form to the Career Development office.

For an overview of all internship types, please consult the universal application at Universal Internship Application, pages 3-5.