As part of Clemson Student-Athlete Development’s Career & Professional Development curriculum, over the past six semesters, a number of Tiger student-athletes have been able to secure internships through Clemson University’s Professional Internship and Co-op (UPIC) program.
The program as a whole provides more than 900 on-campus internships for Clemson University undergraduate students annually. Since the fall semester of 2016, a total of 57 Clemson student-athletes have taken advantage of this program, including a record 16 in the fall of 2018 and a new record 17 in the spring of 2019.
Through the UPIC program, Clemson student-athletes have been able to work alongside Clemson University faculty and staff in order to gain professional work experience in their field of interest. Through these experiences, student-athletes have worked in many different departments, both inside and outside of Clemson Athletics.
Within the past year alone, student-athletes have interned in departments such as the Presidential Communications, Student Affairs, Erwin Center for Brand Communications, Content & Social Media Strategy, Redfern Health Center, the Charles H. Houston Center, Athletics Data Analytics and the Athletic Business Office, among many others.
“The UPIC program is able to provide our student-athletes with opportunities they may otherwise not receive, based on their time commitments with their academic course load and their sport,” said Julian Jones, Assistant Director of Student-Athlete Development/Career Development. “This program allows our student-athletes to better understand and gain work experience in an area that aligns with their future career goals. It also provides them the opportunity to better understand the kind of jobs they may want to pursue when they are finished playing their sport.”
