At the University of Kansas some programs require a practicum or internship to graduate. While the reasoning is to get on the job experience before entering the workforce, many students are forced to forgo their own professional and personal lives in lieu of working unpaid hours toward their degree. These programs (social work, teaching, applied behavioral science, occupational therapy, etc.) mandate a certain number of hours each week that must be fulfilled for graduation. While there are other programs that recommend student internships namely, business and engineering, they are often paid positions, sometimes up to $25 an hour.

For the average student at KU seeking a degree requiring a practicum or internship for graduation, our course loads can look like up to fifteen hours a week of class time on top of some programs requiring up to forty hours a week of unpaid work. This does not include the time we take outside of class to work on homework, work, or consider the lack of time we have for ourselves or self care. On average our tuition and fees for the semester range from $11,166 to $28,034 while over $3,000 of that is to cover the cost of our unpaid practicum/internship. None of the funds received for tuition go toward the learning sites.

By signing this petition, you are agreeing that all practicum/internships  required by the university in order to graduate should be compensated for by the university or program to better the well being of our students who have no other choice but to complete these hours.