Current Practices of Experiential Learning in the United States Construction and Technology Programs

Construction education is dynamic and practice oriented. As such, effective construction programs require significant collaboration with the construction industry. This collaboration, in the form of internship or cooperative programs, increase the student readiness for the job market by providing valuable field experience. Construction programs in the United States (US) established several internship requirements that range from being optional to multiple required internships. This study focuses on scanning the current internship requirements set by construction and engineering technology programs in the US by gathering information including; 1) Number and length of required internships, 2) Internship prerequisites, 3) Internship deliverables, 4) assessment method. The outcome of this study is expected to help construction programs improve their internship or cooperative requirements by considering the prevailing practices developed by other schools. Additionally, the study provides recommendations to enhance the effectiveness of internship for positive experiential learning.