Recruitment and Offer Policy

Washington University in St. Louis is committed to ensure that WashU is a community where everyone is valued and respected. The Center for Career Engagement asks that employers abide by the Principles for Employment Professionals of the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

Employers and alumni are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner in all interactions with students (both on and off campus). The Center for Career Engagement reserves the right to deny or discontinue all recruiting privileges (job postings, on-campus interviews, career fairs, etc.) to any organization.

The Center for Career Engagement utilizes Handshake, a web-based recruiting platform, to post and manage job, internship and co-op listings. WashU undergraduates, graduates, PhDs, postdocs and alumni all have access to Handshake.  

All opportunities posted in Handshake must meet the following requirements to be approved:

Undergraduate Students

  • Bachelor’s degree in progress or require a college degree
  • No or limited experience necessary
  • Full-time research, fellowships or post-graduate internships that start after graduation in May, August, or December
  • Internships for summer or academic year

Graduate/PhD/Postdoctoral Student

  • Advanced degree required
  • Experience as appropriate
  • Full-time to start
  • Internships for summer or academic year

Alumni

  • College degree required
  • < 0-3 years’ experience
  • Full-time to start

Medical Positions

We do post medical positions such as MD, OT, PT and RN. In addition, we recommend contacting the medical school at mdadmissions@wustl.edu for more information.

Law School Positions

For jobs requiring a law degree, please contact the law school’s career services office at lawcareers@wustl.edu

MBA Positions

For MBA positions please use https://olinconnect-wustl.12twenty.com/hire

The Engineering Co-op Program is offered to students in the School of Engineering & Applied Science. Co-op students work full-time for a minimum of one semester and one summer, although many work the semester/summer combination. We encourage you to post co-op positions with the Center for Career Engagement early in the semester proceeding the co-op term.

  • For the summer/fall co-op term, please contact the Center for Career Engagement by January
  • For the spring/summer co-op term, please contact the Center for Career Engagement by September

  • Third-party recruiters, agencies, job boards or postings for client organizations listed by third-party recruiter
  • Full-time positions that do not require at least a bachelor’s degree
  • Internships that do not require the pursuit of a bachelor’s degree at the minimum
  • Full-time positions listed with a rate of pay lower than minimum wage (internships may be unpaid or compensated with a stipend as long as opportunities meet federal guidelines; detailed learning objectives are required in job descriptions)
  • Opportunities which require an upfront cost or fee to participate
  • Internships that do not provide a learning environment supported by supervision for their interns
  • Postings by employers using personal email address (e.g., AOL,  Gmail, Yahoo, etc.); employers must always use their business email addresses

Employer account registrations must include the following information.  All incomplete submissions will be declined.

  • Organization name
  • Contact name
  • Official organization email address
  • Organization website

Fall Recruiting Full-Time or Internship Offers: It is common for students to receive a full-time offer at the end of the internship or in early September. For all full-time offers or internship offers made in the summer or the fall, we strongly encourage giving the student a minimum of three weeks after the offer is made or until December 1, whichever is later. The intent is to allow students to participate in the majority of fall recruiting. 

For students receiving a full-time offer in December, January or February: We recommend giving the student until March 1 or a minimum of three weeks after the offer is made, whichever is later.

Exploding offers are prohibited: Such offers put enormous pressure on our students to make a decision before they have completed the interviewing process. (e.g., any offer that does not afford a candidate the appropriate time to either accept or decline and/or has special incentives attached for the purposes of inducing early acceptances). 

Additional Offer Policies: 

  • Students are urged to immediately release offers they do not plan to accept.
  • We expect employers will demonstrate flexibility in working with students to consider reasonable requests and communicate hiring timelines clearly and acknowledge if they fall outside of the Washington University in St. Louis offer policy guidelines.
  • We expect students will make requests for reasonable accommodations in a timely manner, make our staff aware of any instances in which our stated offer dates cannot be met and reneging on offers is considered a breach of both our recruiting policies and the honor code, and such action receives immediate attention with the student.

  • Our second-round interview policy is intended to give students the opportunity to attend all scheduled first-round interviews with employers of their choice. Students should not be asked to cancel a first-round interview in order to attend a second-round interview.
  • To avoid late cancellations, the Center for Career Engagement kindly asks organizations to be as flexible as their process allows when offering second/final round interview dates to candidates. Every effort should be made to provide alternative options or dates for students if the first presented date cannot be met, particularly when scheduling around major religious holidays and the academic calendar.

According to the Washington University Internship Policy, students may receive up to three units of academic credit for a internship. The student will work with a faculty sponsor and internship site supervisor to complete a Learning Agreement, outlining the student’s internship responsibilities, learning objectives, and evaluation requirements. Students must complete the Learning Agreement prior to beginning their internship; credit cannot be awarded retroactively.

For internships completed for credit, students are covered under Washington University’s General Liability Policy if the internship is completed for credit. Credit must be arranged prior to starting the internship.

Frequently Asked Questions

No. When you submit your position posting, include what semester the internship is offered (fall, spring, and/or summer) and what the deadlines are for each semester. 

At WashU, students may intern for pay, academic credit, or experience. A student may be able to receive academic credit for a paid internship; however, this is at the discretion of their academic school and is not guaranteed. Please contact your academic advisor to learn more.

Financial need prevents some highly qualified students from pursuing unpaid opportunities. We encourage you to offer compensation for internships, in the form of either an hourly wage or a stipend. When you are expecting a student to bring in specific skills and make specific contributions to your organization, payment is very appropriate. Paid internships help to attract the most highly qualified students, as well as solidify time commitments from interns. Being paid will further enhance the intern’s feeling of being an employee and acting like one. By compensating interns, organizations also avoid any potential questions regarding Wage and Hour Law issues.

If you are unable to pay, you may consider offering some other form of payment (reimbursement for transportation, parking, meals, free training/workshops, etc.).

Students are covered under Washington University’s General Liability Policy if the internship is done for credit. Credit must be arranged prior to starting the internship.

Please read this important information from the US Department of Labor on paid vs. unpaid internships: US Department of Labor Information on Paid vs Unpaid Internships.