In an interview, SMU alumna Jasariel Chee shared that she chose to stay at SMU for an extra year– and spent her spare hours interning at an office job. Jasariel said that the internships allowed her to learn more about different industries, develop soft skills and professional networks – skills that extend beyond the classroom. SMU graduates completed an average of 2.8 internships in 2024, up from 2.6 for the 2020 cohort, and SMU requires students to complete a credit-bearing internship. SMU Provost Professor Alan Chan said the real risk is students chasing internships without real learning behind them, rather than the number they stack up. He reiterated that what matters is not the internship count on a resume, but whether each experience sharpens students’ ability to apply what they have learnt to real life.
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