Honors Beyond the Classroom Through Internships

Students may fulfill the Honors beyond the classroom requirement by successfully completing an approved internship, either through the Honors College or through an internship course in the student’s major. A student must receive academic credit for the internship in order to fulfill the Honors BTC requirement.

Nine hours of approved non-Honors departmental BTC coursework can fulfill Honors College requirements – the BTC requirement and up to 2 Honors electives.

To fulfill the Honors BTC requirement, an internship course must:

• Appear on the USC transcript and be credit-bearing. Although a student may enroll in a 1 credit hour internship course, the student must successfully complete a total of 3 credit hours of Honors BTC to fulfill the requirement.
• Be approved to count for the Honors BTC requirement. This could be the honors internship courses, the South Carolina Washington Semester Program internship course or an internship course through your major.  

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Honors Internship Course

The general Honors internship course (SCHC 498) fulfills the Honors BTC requirement. The course also fulfills an Honors elective if a student has previously fulfilled the BTC requirement. To enroll in SCHC 498, students must complete the Honors internship contract and have that contract approved before beginning an internship experience. Students enrolled in the course must work at least 150 hours and complete the academic requirements as outlined in the syllabus.

Internship Courses Through Your Major

Students may also fulfill the Honors beyond the classroom requirement with an internship course through their major. Students can check with their advisor and individual college to inquire about major-specific internship courses or review the pre-approved BTC database. If a  course is  not listed in the BTC database,  we can review it  to determine if the course is eligible to fulfill the BTC requirement.

Learn more about fulfilling fulfilling Honors BTC through your major. 

Students are responsible for keeping their Honors advisor informed if they plan on enrolling in an internship course through their major and confirming that the internship is approved to fulfill the Honors BTC requirement. Students will either self-enroll or be enrolled through their department.

State Government Internship

The Honors College and the University of South Carolina political science department partner to provide Honors students opportunities to work in state and local government while earning academic credit.

South Carolina Washington Semester

The South Carolina Washington Semester Program (WSP) gives students in universities and colleges across the state of South Carolina the opportunity to spend a semester working and taking classes in Washington D.C., gaining valuable experience while earning academic credit toward their degrees.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Expand allWhat if a student completes more than one internship?

Students can enroll in the Honors internship course twice. However, students cannot pursue the same internship experience a second time for Honors internship credit. Each internship opportunity must be approved through the Honors internship contract. The Honors internship course (and other approved internship experiences noted in the BTC policy) can fulfill the BTC requirement or an Honors elective.

What if a student completes more than the required 150 hours during an internship experience?

A student must complete at least 150 hours to earn 3 Honors credits for an Honors internship. Exceeding the 150 hours for an internship experience does not result in additional Honors credits.

Can SCHC 494: Honors Internship (1-2 credits) fulfill the BTC requirement?

Yes, if combined with other 1-2 credit hour BTC courses. Although a student can take a 1 credit hour approved BTC course, a total of 3 credit hours must be completed to successfully fulfill the requirement.

To enroll in SCHC 494, students must complete the Honors internship contract and have the contract approved before beginning an internship experience. Students enrolled in the course must work at least 50 hours per credit hour and complete the academic requirements as outlined in the syllabus.