What is the CLS Externship Program?

The Externship Program creates short-term job shadow opportunities for Grinnell College students over spring break. Each extern is paired with an industry professional who has a Grinnell College connection—either an alum or parent—with a wide range of career fields, organization types, and work environments available to explore.

An externship experience is designed to help students:

Explore possibilities for post-graduate life;
Clarify interests, strengths, and values;
Create connections and develop a professional network;
Gain insight into professional work environments and work/life balance;
Reflect critically on the experience and develop action steps to achieve goals.

Externships can take place virtually or in-person and generally involve shadowing a professional through a normal day’s activities. The experience may also include informational interviews, introductions to other professionals, tours of work sites, sitting in on group meetings, sample projects or research, and a homestay experience.

The Externship Program is exploratory in nature and open to first- through third-year students. For in-person experiences, funding is available to students with demonstrated financial need to defray travel and other expenses.