Internship Contract Agreement

Having an internship agreement between students and companies is essential. Save yourself time, money, and hassle with our free downloadable internship contract template.

What’s the cost of a bad hire?

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the cost of the wrong hire represents 30 percent of the employees’ first-year annual earnings!

Use the power of internships as a way to test-drive the best college talent and reduce your chances of making costly hires.

We’ve created an internship agreement template for your company to use right away.

What’s in this template?

Click here to get your free internship contract template

What’s an internship contract?

An internship program is where organizations recruit tertiary-level students or recent graduates in a subject that’s related to the work required—usually during the term or semester period.

An internship contract is a legally binding agreement between an organization and a student to define the terms to ensure both parties are on the same page.

DISCLAIMER: We are not lawyers or a law firm and we do not provide legal, business or tax advice. We recommend you consult a lawyer or other appropriate professional before using any templates or agreements from this website.

Grab a copy of our free Intern Contract Template

Now that you know some of the best practices when it comes to
internship agreements let’s take the hard work off your plate with our
free intern contract template.

Why should you care about an internship agreement?

Having an internship employment agreement creates clarity and confidence within your organization.

Defining the terms of your agreement helps you to conduct talent planning, resource allocation, and develop a professional reputation amongst educational institutions.

More importantly, an internship contract acts as a reference point for accountability if you or the student starts slipping up.

The elements of an effective internship agreements

There are five key components of an internship agreement.

1. Duties and responsibilities during an intern agreement

It’s best practice to list the core responsibilities expected from your intern during your program.
For example, if you’re hiring a marketing intern for a semester, you could get them to:

Regularly update this section as you assess the effectiveness of your program over time.

2. Paid versus unpaid interns

You need to decide whether to offer paid or unpaid internship programs, and it must be reflected in your contract.

Unpaid internships help to keep costs down, while still attracting top-notch talent looking to gain experience and industry contacts.

If all your competitors are offering paid internships, then it may be necessary to provide the same to increase the chances of hiring the best candidates.

3. Student working hours for the internship contracts

In your internship contract, you must clearly lay out the expected working hours for your student interns.

Whether it’s full-time, part-time, or casual, calculate the average weekly work hours for the program.

4. Length of internship

Defining the length of your internship program in your agreement may seem obvious, but it’s not uncommon for interns to get confused as to when the program finishes.

To eliminate ambiguity, it’s best practice to include an end date in your intern contract.

5. Keeping your agreed terms and internship agreement confidential

To mitigate exposing your proprietary practices and setting presumptive expectations with future interns, add a confidentiality clause to your internship agreement.

Grab a copy of our free Intern Contract Template

Now that you know some of the best practices when it comes to
internship agreements let’s take the hard work off your plate with our
free intern contract template.

A word on internship confirmation letters

An internship confirmation letter is a formal correspondence from an organization to a student acknowledging the successful candidacy into the program.

It’s considered best practice to send the confirmation letter with the internship contract agreement for the student to sign.

The internship confirmation letter is crucial as it helps to lock in the best talent as quickly as possible. If you wait too long to send the letter and contract, you may lose out to competitors.

You want to keep your letter simple while highlighting the essential information of your intern program. Here are some examples of talking points:

Many organizations try to include much of the information from the internship contract in the internship confirmation letter.

While there is some overlap between the two documents, it’s not necessary to double up on all of the elements. If anything, use the confirmation letter to highlight any important information that’s not included in your intern agreement.

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions around an Internship Contract Agreement

How do you modify an employment agreement for an internship?

Like any formal contract, an internship agreement may be modified as long as both parties agree on the new terms.
An employer cannot make changes to an internship contract already in operations without getting consent from the intern.

How do you terminate an internship contract agreement?

Termination conditions of intern contracts depend on how the agreement is written up. However, it’s common practice that either party can terminate the intern agreement as long as reasonable notice is given.
If the intern breaches any terms of the contract, they may be terminated immediately.

Is an unpaid internship legal?

An unpaid internship is legal, providing that the intern is receiving more benefits in the agreement than the employer.
But, if the benefit is mutual or the employer is receiving more benefits and then the intern, then the intern is entitled to the minimum wage.
The U.S. Department of Labor has laid out a seven-question test to determine the level of benefit between an intern and an employer.
This law will differ from state to state and country to country.

Is an internship agreement legally binding?

Yes, as an internship agreement is a formal contract signed by both parties.

How long can a company keep an intern?

The length of an internship placement is dependent on what is agreed between the employer and the intern.
It’s common for internships to run for 3-4 months during a semester period. However, some programs can be as long as 12 months.

What’s the difference between an internship and work experience?

An internship is usually for students in vocational studies, tertiary level education or recent graduates.
Work experience is for students in high school.

document preview

Internship Contract Agreement

Parties

– This Intership Agreement (hereinafter referred to as the “Agreement”) is entered into on ______________ (the “Effective Date”), by and between __________________________, with an address of ______________ (hereinafter referred to as the “Company”) and __________________________, with an address of _________________ , (hereinafter referred to as the “Intern”) (collectively referred to as the “Parties”).

Internship Position

– The Intern has been assigned to the position of ______________ in the ______________ department.

Duties and Responsibilities

– During the internship period, the Intern shall have the responsibility of performing the following duties:

______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________
______________________

Pay and Compensation

– The Parties hereby agree that this internship is unpaid and that the Intern will not be compensated or paid for any services that he/she conducts at the Company.

– The Intern agrees that he/she will be compensated in knowledge, education and experience as consideration for the duties and responsibilities that he/she will undertake under this Agreement.

Working Hours

– The Intern agrees that he/she will be working from ______________ to ______________ (Monday to Friday), with ______________lunch break.

– In particular, the Intern agrees that he/she will work on average ______________ hours per week.

Term of Agreement

– This Agreement shall be effective on the date of signing this Agreement (the “Effective Date”) and will end on ________________.

Termination

– This Agreement may be terminated in the event that any of the following occurs:

Immediately in the event that the Intern breaches this Agreement.
At any given time by providing written notice to the other party ______________ days prior to terminating the Agreement.

– Upon terminating this Agreement, the Intern will be required to return all the Company’s materials, products or any other content at his/her earliest convenience, but not beyond ______________ days.

Confidentiality

– All terms and conditions of this Agreement and any materials provided during the term of the Agreement must be kept confidential by the Intern, unless the disclosure is required pursuant to process of law.

– Disclosing or using this information for any purpose beyond the scope of this Agreement, or beyond the exceptions set forth above, is expressly forbidden without the prior consent of the Company.

Intellectual Property

– The Intern agrees that any intellectual property provided to him/her by the Company will remain the sole property of the Company, including, but not limited to, copyrights, patents, trade secret rights, and other intellectual property rights associated with any ideas, concepts, techniques, inventions, processes, works of authorship, confidential information or trade secrets.

Representation and warranties

– Both Parties warrant that as of the Effective Date, they have the power and authority to enter into this Agreement and to perform their obligations under it, and to grant to each other the rights provided under this Agreement.

– Both Parties warrant that, by entering into this Agreement, they do not violate or infringe upon the rights of any third party or violate any other agreement between the Parties, individually, and any other person, organization, or business or any law or governmental regulation.

Limitation Of Liability

– In no event shall the Company or the Intern be individually liable for any damages for breach of duty by third parties, unless the Company’s or Intern’s act or failure to act involves intentional misconduct, fraud, or a knowing violation of the law.

Severability

– In the event that any provision of this Agreement is found to be void and unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, then the remaining provisions will remain in force in accordance with the Parties’ intention.

Governing Law

– This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of ______________.

Entire Agreement

– This Agreement contains the entire agreement and understanding among the Parties to it with respect to its subject matter, and supersedes all prior agreements, understandings, inducements and conditions, express or implied, oral or written, of any nature whatsoever with respect to its subject matter. The express terms of the Agreement control and supersede any course of performance and/or usage of the trade inconsistent with any of its terms.

Signature And Date

– The Parties hereby agree to the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement and such is demonstrated by their signatures below:

Intern

Name: ______________________

Signature: ___________________

Date: _______________________

Company

Name: ______________________

Signature: ___________________

Date: _______________________

Related Proposals and Templates

Grab a copy of our free Intern Contract Template

Now that you know some of the best practices when it comes to
internship agreements let’s take the hard work off your plate with our
free intern contract template.