Download Internship application Instructions

The Hospitality and Tourism department requires students to complete an internship in their field of study as a capstone course before they graduate. An internship provides students with supervised, hands-on industry experience and career awareness. This setting provides fascinating and valuable opportunities for experiential learning and serves as a bridge between education and business. Through the internship, the student experiences the transfer of knowledge gained in the classroom to tasks such as problem solving, critical thinking, and working as a team member.

The annual Career Expo attracts companies to campus to recruit students for internships and full-time career opportunities. You may also follow the link to UNT Handshake and Hospitality & Tourism Job Postings for more job opportunities. 

CMHT 4790: Internship
Please find below the requirements for students and employers regarding our internship program. 

Expectations for students:

Prior to being considered for acceptance to CMHT 4790 Hospitality and Tourism Management Internship, students will be required to complete a minimum of 500 hours of work within a position in the hospitality industry. (i.e. hotels, restaurants, clubs, etc.)

In order to have your 500-hour work requirement approved, you will need to provide a letter from your current and/or previous employer(s) stating that you worked for them, what position was held, dates/length of time worked for them, and the number of hours worked while in their employment. This information must be on company letterhead and signed and dated by the employer.

One paycheck stub from each hospitality position will be required in order to verify employment. CMHT faculty reserves the right to verify your employment by either calling or visiting the employer(s).

Internships frequently lead to full-time career opportunities; therefore, students are required to complete their internship during their final semester after completing all required course work. It is strongly recommended that students concentrate on their internship without the distractions of taking other courses.

The student is encouraged to secure employment with a company that provides new and different experiences. If a student requests to complete an internship with their present employer, there must be strong justification and support. If the student works in an hourly employee capacity, they should be able to transfer to at least 2 or 3 different positions and shadow a manager in each position.

CMHT policy does stipulates that no student can complete an internship with a company in which persons related to them serve as their direct supervisor, nor shall any student obtain employment with a family- owned or operated business.

A student should be; Major in Hospitality and Tourism with advanced standing in major, minimum overall GPA of 2.0, and consent of instructor.

Students must secure a paid hospitality internship that will allow them to obtain a minimum of 300 clock hours during the semester.  For a Fall or Spring semester, this would be an average of 20 hours a week for the 15-week semester.  For Summer, this would be an average of 30 hours a week for the 10-week semester.  These hours must be documented, and students submit copies of paystubs for verification of hours worked.  Students are allowed to count the week prior to the semester if they are employed at the time.

Students must maintain employment throughout an entire semester with the same employer (15 weeks during the long term/ 10 weeks during summer). Each semester credit hour requires a minimum 100 hours on the job. This equates to 300 hours (20 hours per week during the fall or spring semester/ 30 hours per week during the summer).

Students may complete an "off-campus" internship with an approved company. An "off-campus" site refers to those that are further than 50 miles from the UNT campus. Students who are approved for an "off-campus" internship must complete additional assignments in lieu of class attendance.

If a student is classified as an international student with a F-1 visa, they must work with the internship employer to complete all required forms for the UNT International Student office.  There will be a section where your CMHT Advisor can sign to confirm that your employment is related to coursework required to complete. Please complete the form as much as possible before seeing the CMHT Advisor.

The paid position is expected to expand on the skills they have acquired with previous work experience.  The position must be either a paid management trainee position, or if working in an hourly-employee capacity, they must be able to transfer to at least two different positions.

Students complete several class assignments during their internship. Their grade is dependent on their work performance and on the quality of the other assignments they submit. Specifically, class discussions via a discussion board online, case study, among other assignments are required. One assignment involves the supervisor at the beginning of the internship. Students establish objectives for the work experience. Supervisors are asked to work with the student when these are developed to encourage the student to “stretch” themselves. The supervisor must sign-off on these objectives and they are submitted to the instructor. Students report on the progress of each objective weekly.

Expectations for employers:
Provide a specific job description with job duties for the student intern.  The student is required to summit a copy of the job description with duties signed by the supervisor prior to faculty approval of the internship.

After working with the student to establish the work objectives for the internship, supervisors are encouraged to spend time with the intern to review their progress on their objectives and to give feedback to the student.

Students are evaluated by their supervisor using an electronic evaluation form provided by the class instructor.  This is submitted mid semester and during the final week.  These evaluations are part of the student’s overall grade.  We encourage supervisors to give objective, relevant feedback on the evaluations and to review these with the student.  This will be an important part of their experience and will account for about 1/3 of their final grade.