Editing Internship (section)

=== Internship for a fee ===

Companies in search of interns often find and place students in mostly unpaid internships, for a fee.<ref name="WSJ-28Jan09">{{cite news |title=Do You Want An Internship? It'll Cost You |work=The Wall Street Journal |date=January 28, 2009 |author=Sue Shellenbarger |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB123310699999022549 }}</ref> These companies charge students to assist with research, promising to refund the fee if no internship is found.<ref>{{cite news |title=Opportunity for Sale; Psst! Wanna buy an internship? |author=Timothy Noah |date= January 28, 2009 |url=http://www.slate.com/id/2209985/}}</ref> The programs vary and aim to provide internship placements at reputable companies. Some companies may also provide controlled housing in a new city, [[mentorship]], support, networking, weekend activities or academic credit.<ref name="Bowdoin" /> Some programs offer extra add-ons such as language classes, networking events, local excursions, and other academic options.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Fee-based Programs|url=https://internships.international.wisc.edu/internships/fee-based/|access-date=2021-04-26|website=International Internship Program|language=en-US}}</ref> 

Some companies specifically fund scholarships and grants for low-income applicants. Critics of internships criticize the practice of requiring certain college credits to be obtained only through unpaid internships.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2013/12/unpaid_internships_banning_them_will_only_build_a_bigger_wall_between_school.html|title=Two Cheers for Unpaid Internships|last=Yglesias|first=Matthew|date=2013-12-04|work=Slate|access-date=2017-11-30|language=en-US|issn=1091-2339}}</ref> Depending on the cost of the school, this is often seen as an unethical practice, as it requires students to exchange paid-for and often limited tuition credits to work an uncompensated job.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Discenna|first=Thomas A.|date=2016-08-07|title=The Discourses of Free Labor: Career Management, Employability, and the Unpaid Intern|journal=Western Journal of Communication|volume=80|issue=4|pages=435–452|doi=10.1080/10570314.2016.1162323|s2cid=146922898 |issn=1057-0314}}</ref> Paying for academic credits is a way to ensure students complete the duration of the internship, since they can be held accountable by their academic institution. For example, a student may be awarded academic credit only after their university receives a positive review from the intern's supervisor at the sponsoring organization.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://thebottomline.as.ucsb.edu/2017/02/unpaid-internships-unfair-and-unethical|title=Unpaid Internships: Unfair and Unethical {{!}} The Bottom Line|date=2017-02-28|work=The Bottom Line|access-date=2017-11-30|language=en-US}}</ref>