Internships
Take your next step toward becoming an industry leader
The White Lodging-J.W. Marriott, Jr. School of Hospitality and Tourism Management (HTM) immerses you in the industry early and often throughout your education. By incorporating required internships into the curriculum, HTM helps you build valuable career skills through real-world experience while also expanding your network across local, national and international organizations. The career center can help you identify and prepare for internship opportunities that align with your career goals. We highly encourage you to use your MyCCO account to unlock a plethora of exciting career and internship opportunities. With thousands of options at your fingertips, the Center for Career Opportunity (CCO) is dedicated to assisting you in tailoring this extensive list to ensure the best possible career matches are always within your reach.
Undergraduate internship requirements
In the White Lodging-JW Marriott, Jr. School of Hospitality Management, you are provided with the valuable opportunity to gain practical experience through internships. As an integral component of your coursework, completion of at least one internship is mandatory. To ensure a smooth transition into your internship, we offer a comprehensive online orientation and quiz on Brightspace, delivering vital information about this requirement.
We understand you may have questions regarding eligible internships and where to find them. We encourage you to engage with your career center team regularly (once a year or more). We are equipped to address your concerns and facilitate discussions pertaining to internships. While internships do not necessarily require prior approval for registration, it is strongly encouraged to seek approval to alleviate any uncertainty. Working closely with your career center team will provide the guidance and reassurance you need to ensure your internship aligns with your goals.
Additionally, we recommend familiarizing yourself with your major’s internship syllabus and/or internship handbook to gain a deeper understanding of the expectations and guidelines for your specific program.
Internship courses
Financial counseling and planning
- CSR 48000 (Financial Counseling and Planning Internship)
Hospitality and tourism management
- HTM 20200 (Hospitality and Tourism Work Experience)
- HTM 30200 (Hospitality and Tourism Industry Internship)
Retail management
- CSR 30000 (Field Experience in Retail Management)
Selling and sales management
- CSR 30700 (Field Experience in Selling and Sales Management)
White Lodging LAUNCH Hospitality Immersion
White Lodging’s LAUNCH Hospitality Immersion Program is building the next generation of hospitality leaders taking an innovative approach to hospitality development, ownership and management in the iconic Union Club Hotel, which is the only student-run Marriott Autograph Collection Hotel in the world. This paid, hands-on experience allows you to explore all hotel and restaurant operational areas, giving you nearly three years of work experience upon graduation and propelling you to leadership positions in hospitality upon graduation.
Using the iconic hotel as a learning laboratory, LAUNCH complements classroom learning with three stages of hands-on experience:
- Stage 1: Rooms operations
- Stage 2: Food and beverage
- Stage 3: Manager in training
Each stage of the program includes an optional summer job component with White Lodging. Upon completing the third stage, you will be offered a management job opportunity at White Lodging, pending availability.
Graduate student internship course
Graduate students who register for HTM 59001 (Graduate Professional Industry Internship) will gain industry management experience while simultaneously conducting a research project connected to a real-life scenario. The internship requires 400 paid hours to be completed by the end of the semester at a company that aligns with your area of study. Prior to registering for the course, you will be required to attend the information session in late fall, which will cover the process for locating internship sites and providing resources specific to graduate students. The career center works with graduate students to ensure you have the career development resources you need to fit your unique needs. Reach out to us at PurdueHTMCareerCenter@purdue.edu to learn more.