At SUNY Oneonta, experiential or “applied” learning isn’t just a buzzword; hands-on opportunities to engage in practical experiences are built into all our majors and programs. From internships and research to study abroad programs and faculty-led trips, students are encouraged to apply their knowledge in real-world contexts and are given the opportunities to do so.
Because they learn by doing, SUNY Oneonta students graduate with the skills, experience, confidence and connections needed to succeed in their chosen careers.
Summer Internships Offer Valuable Experience
Internships are a valuable part of the college experience, and for many SUNY Oneonta students, summer is the perfect time to apply their education to a real-world setting.For several SUNY Oneonta students who recently completed summer internships in fields ranging from Art to Exercise Science, one of the best parts was the affirmation that they are on the right career path.
Experiential Learning Center
Located on the main floor of the Hunt Union, the Experiential Learning Center is where you can get connected to hands-on learning opportunities that will prepare you for success in whatever field you choose.
- The Career Planning and Networking Center can help you find and land an internship in your field of study, and provide advice on career planning, resume writing and job interview preparation.
- The Office of Global Education can connect you with opportunities ranging from 10-day faculty-led trips to full-year study abroad programs.
- The Student Research and Creative Activity coordinator can help you apply for grants to support research projects conducted on your own or in collaboration with faculty.
- The Center for Volunteerism and Community Engagement can connect you with volunteer and service-learning opportunities in the Oneonta area and beyond.
- The Office of Sustainability can help you make a difference in our environment and world through internships, service-learning experiences, and volunteer opportunities such as our Red Closet Thrift Shop.
Financial Support
We are committed providing you with the financial resources needed to support your experiential learning, including:
- more than $126,000 to students pursuing internships (Fall 2024)
- more than $120,000 annually in grants to support student research and travel to professional conferences; and
- 23 different scholarships for students who study abroad or participate in faculty-led trips to the National Association of Music Merchants trade show in Los Angeles, Model UN competition in New York City, and more!
Alumni Network
Our strong alumni network helps students find and land jobs. Each year, successful alumni return to campus to speak to classes and share their career experience and advice with students.
- Through our Campus to Careers programs, students interested in theatre, business, music industry and political science travel to New York City or Washington, D.C., to network with successful alumni at their places of business.
- Some academic departments, such as Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, also invite alumni back to campus each year for special networking events with students interested in similar careers.
Research
Pursue your own independent research or join a faculty research lab and work side by side with your professor and other students to study a specialized topic. You can also conduct research in an immersive setting, such as the Archaeology Field School offered every other summer. Each spring, students present their work to the campus at our Student Research and Creative Activity showcase.
Prepare
Explore careers and get resume-worthy experience through internships, which are a requirement for many majors. You can land an internship in your field in New York City, Washington, D.C., Albany, or Los Angeles – or pursue something right in the Oneonta area through our many partnerships with local businesses and nonprofit organizations.
Travel
The world is your classroom! Our Office of Global Education will connect you with a wide range of summer, semester-long or full-year study abroad programs. We also offer short, faculty-led programs (FLPs) across the United States and abroad, such as a popular annual FLP to Guatemala to study water resource issues in the developing world.
Make A Difference
Oneonta students volunteer more than 45,000 hours of service through the Center for Social Responsibility and Community each year. Sororities and fraternities, student athletes and more than a dozen civic-minded student clubs provide additional opportunities to give back. Some opportunities are right on campus – including our student-operated volunteer EMS squad, OSES. This group of specially trained students responds to all campus emergency medical calls and hosts classes on CPR, bleeding control and how to handle emergencies.
Experience = Success After Graduation
Internships, research and other hands-on experiences are not only an important part of your learning, they can also help you land your first job or get accepted to graduate school. Alumni frequently tell us how influential these experiences were in preparing them for success after graduation. Here are a few of their stories. See more on our Career Outcomes page.
Jamal Wiltshire, 2018 Criminal Justice Graduate
NYPD Officer
"I'm very excited and happy to be fulfilling my goal of becoming an NYPD officer! And it's all thanks to the experience I got at Oneonta. Criminal justice classes, the Criminal Justice Club, and real-life opportunities like ride-alongs with Otsego County Sheriffs Deputies all prepared me for the law enforcement field."
Rayna Cooper, 2019 Music Industry graduate
Coordinator of VIP Hospitality & Live Events at Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp.
"Network, network, network! The summer after my junior year, I interned at Bonnaroo in Nashville, an opportunity I found out about through one of my music industry professors. I realized I had strong hospitality skills and an interest in live events! My manager there connected me to the team at Forest Hills Stadium, where I got my first job. My current job came about because I saw on LinkedIn that an Oneonta alum worked at Madison Square Garden, so I messaged her and she flagged my application with HR!"
Austin Teitelbaum, 2019 Media Studies and Theatre graduate
Food Network production assistant
"My advice to new students is talk to your professors and tell them what you want to do after school. Oneonta is the land of opportunity; all you gotta do is look for it and take it. Now, I work for the Food Network, I’m a producer at SUN20 TV, Southampton’s TV station, and I perform sketch comedy and stand-up in Manhattan. At Oneonta, I learned how to collaborate with a team and work as a team to reach a common goal, both in theatre shows and at WIRE-TV. The biggest thing Oneonta gave me was experience. If I wanted to learn how to be a director, they would make me a director. If I wanted to be an editor, they would have me be an editor. Because of that, I learned the skills not only to get a job, but to do the job well."
Kimmy Cushman, 2017 Mathematics & Physics graduate
Yale University Ph.D. student
"My whole career has built off of my initial astronomy research at SUNY Oneonta. That ended up being really useful in my future career because I got hands-on research experience and learned to computer program. Oneonta was the perfect environment to explore all the things I was passionate about. It was an amazing time academically and socially and just exploring what life has to offer."
