As an instructor or staff member at the University of Toronto, you have access to a range of experiential learning opportunities that will allow you to engage students in advancing your own work, while providing students with meaningful learning experiences. These opportunities may be paid or unpaid, and may take place within curricular or co-curricular settings.
Academic internships are curricular work experiences that integrate academic learning with professional application in a workplace. While the experience has an in-class academic component, the amount of time balanced between the workplace and the classroom can vary significantly, depending on the program of study and relevant criteria. In addition, some academic internships are unpaid, while others may be paid.
If you are interested in working with a student through an academic internship opportunity, you are encouraged to reach out to the relevant practicum office or staff within an academic unit to determine whether your opportunity might qualify as a practicum experience.
Courses and programs of study that incorporate academic internships exist across the University. Examples include the Internship in Student Services at OISE (paid), and Academic Internships at UTM (unpaid).
Co-op or Professional Work-terms are paid, curricular full-time work experiences that are a component of eligible academic programs. Co-op students bring fresh new ideas and perspectives while applying their academic learning in a professional workplace. Depending on the program, co-op work terms are 4, 8, 12, or 16 months in length and students can start in September, January or May.
If you are interested in hiring a co-op student, connect with the relevant co-op office to learn more about your hiring options. To hire undergraduate students, contact U of T Co-op. For graduate students, reach out to the relevant Master’s program to determine whether their students meet your hiring needs.
If you are a faculty member seeking research support, there are a variety of avenues through which students can contribute to faculty-led research.
If you are interested in offering co-curricular, paid experiences, you may find it helpful to review this list of funding opportunities on the Undergraduate Research Hub. If you are interested in offering curricular, unpaid experiences, you can connect with your academic unit, divisional teaching and learning / experiential learning office or relevant institutional offices to explore what research-directed courses or research programs you can leverage.
Some examples of the latter include the Faculty of Arts & Science Research Opportunities Program and Research Excursions Program, the UTM Research Opportunities Program, the Jackman Humanities Scholars-in-Residence) the, Summer Undergraduate Data Science Opportunities Program, and Canada SROP.
Organization-partnered projects are unpaid, curricular opportunities that typically take place as part of a course, where students engage in research, design, consultancy, creative or artistic work in partnership with an organization or individual external to the course.
If you are interested in working with students through organization-partnered projects, you are encouraged to reach out to experiential learning offices or staff to within an academic unit to inquire whether they have courses that are soliciting projects that align with your goals.
Many organization-partnered projects tend to work with partners external to the institution in order to align with the learning objectives of the course. However, there also course projects that do invite internal University offices to participate; one such example profiled on the EL Hub is the Engineering Strategies and Practice course.
Professional practicums are unpaid, curricular, practice-based experiences where students observe or assist a (licensed or registered) professional through the application of disciplinary concepts in a professional setting. Students typically need to meet a specific number of practicum hours as a requirement to receiving course or program credit for their practicum experience.
If you are interested in working with a practicum student, you are encouraged to reach out to the relevant practicum office or staff within an academic unit to determine whether your opportunity might qualify as a practicum experience.
The EL Hub has profiled some examples, including the Master of Adult Education and Community Development practicum, Master of Information practicum, and Master of Public Health practicum. However, this is not a comprehensive list, and additional practicum opportunities exist within the University, such as the Master of Social Work practicum and Bachelor of Information practicum.
The Work Study program offers paid, co-curricular work-integrated learning positions that provide U of T students with an opportunity to deepen knowledge, strengthen skills, gain direct work experience, and translate their academic learning to career possibilities. Work Study students can be hired twice a year, once for the Summer term and once for Fall/Winter.
There are two Work Study streams:
- Work experience Stream: Students develop workplace knowledge and skills and explore how their academic studies translate to career possibilities. Positions within this stream can be supervised by staff, faculty or librarians.
- Research stream: Students support a faculty-led research project and apply foundational methodologies or theories within a discipline. Positions within this stream are supervised by faculty .
If you are interested in working with a Work Study student, detailed information about program dates, eligibility, and requirements can be found on the CLNx.
As you consider working with students in an experiential learning capacity, you may also find it helpful to utilize the resources and information provided on the Engage and Support page for External Partners, such as the Hiring & Engaging Diverse Student Talent: Employer Toolkit.