Academic Peer Advisor Internship
Do you have at least a 3.0 cumulative GPA? Will you have earned at least junior standing (57 credits) by the end of the summer? Then consider applying for a two semester internship as an Academic Peer Advisor in the Academic and Pre-Professional Advising Center. Academic Peer Advisors earn six upperdivision credits and gain experience in higher education by providing advice to fellow students, serving as TAs for SBU 101, and working with professional staff on various projects and events. For more information about the Academic Peer Advisor internship, please contact Dr. Ellen Hopkins at Ellen.Hopkins@stonybrook.edu.
About the Internship
The Academic Peer Advisor Internship is an enriching college experience for superior undergraduates. Academic Peer Advisors (APAs) assist professional advisors in the Academic & Pre-Professional Advising Center by providing general academic advising to their fellow undergraduate students. APAs create a positive and supportive introduction to the Advising Center by their work at the Center’s reception area, which includes handling telephone inquiries, answering basic academic questions, and scheduling appointments with staff advisors. They are also teaching assistants for the first-semester seminars targeted to entering students. Most Academic Peer Advisors serve for an entire academic year (fall and spring semesters) and are registered through the University’s internship program, receiving a total of six upper-division credits (three upper-division credits per semester).
Outstanding junior and senior undergraduate students are recruited to become an Academic Peer Advisor early in the spring semester prior to the 1st semester of service. The application process includes sending the application, a personal essay, a resume, and a letter of recommendation due toward the end of February. The interview process and selection is conducted mid-March with chosen candidates notified the first week in April. Selection as an Academic Peer Advisor is widely viewed as a prestigious honor. There are many benefits and rewards associated with the Academic Peer Advisor Internship:
How Each Semester Is Broken Down
During the fall semester, the internship consists of an intensive first semester training program. The backbone of this training is the weekly seminar – style classes. These classes provide advising training through analyzing issues relevant to academic advising and the opportunity to give at least one oral presentation on these issues to the class. The internship also includes three written assignments (a journal, a lesson plan for a first year seminar class, and a case study exercise), and periodic unannounced quizzes. Finally, Academic Peer Advisors perform supervised work at the reception desk and serve as a teaching assistant to a first semester seminar class for either freshman or transfer students.
The second semester is focused on individual assignments, assisting a professional advisor with a project, continuing the weekly seminar-style APA meetings, and working at the front desk. Take out this sentence: APAs may elect to again act as a teaching assistant to a first year seminar for an additional upper-division credit. The internship requires the continuation of weekly journal entries, an oral and written report of their spring project, and a written assessment of their experiences as an APA.