Discovery Learning Experience

You may request enrollment in one of the following 3-credit internship courses if you’ve obtained an internship of at least 120 hours. The course must be completed with a passing grade, or a grade of P for courses graded only Pass/Fail.

Internship courses

• FINC 364 Finance in Practice
  • Contact Carrie Baldwin, baldwinc@udel.edu
• BUAD 364 Business Administration in Practice
  • Contact Dr. Jennifer Gregan, greganj@udel.edu
• MISY 364 Management Information Systems in Practice
  • Contact Dr. Mark Serva, servam@udel.edu
• MISY 375 GET Immersion Experience Internship
  • Contact Barbara Cullis, bcullis@udel.edu
• ACCT 364 Accounting in Practice
  • Contact  Dr. Jeff Gillespie, gillespj@udel.edu
• ENTR 364 Entrepreneurship in Practice
  • Contact Ms. Jill Pante, jgugino@udel.edu

The following Lerner College courses can be taken to satisfy the DLE requirement. The course must be completed with a passing grade, or a grade of P for courses graded only Pass/Fail.

Each link below opens the course description in the university catalog; the descriptions include any applicable restrictions or prerequisites.

• ACCT363 Service Learning and the Earned Income Tax Credit
• BUAD444 Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management
• BUAD/MISY 445 Business Analytics Capstone
• BUAD448 Decision Support Services for Operations
• BUAD468 Undergraduate Research
• BUAD478 Field Projects in Marketing
• ECON436 Seminar in Public Policy Economics
• ENTR352 Business Launch Pad
• ENTR353 ENTR Apprentice: Leadership and Influence
• ENTR420 Social Entrepreneurship
• ENTR450 Business Accelerator for New Ventures
• ENTR455 Startup eXperience I
• ENTR456 Startup Experience II
• ENTR458 App Development for New Technology
• ENTR460 High Technology Entrepreneurship
• ENTR464 Social Entrepreneurship Practicum
• ENTR489 Eco-Entrepreneurship Practicum
• FINC418 Seminar in Corporate Governance
• FINC425 Financial Plan Development
• HOSP300 Hospitality Healthcare Management
• HOSP355 Ecotourism Entrepreneurship
• HOSP364 Event and Meeting Management Practicum
• HOSP488 Hotel Restaurant and Institutional Lodging Management Practicum I
• HOSP489 HRIM Restaurant Management Practicum II
• HOSP495 Hospitality Feasibility Studies
• MISY420 Global IT Enabled Innovation and Change
• MISY431 MIS Project Management
• SPTM420 Sport Event Practicum
• SPTM464 Sport Management Capstone Internship

• Visit the UD study abroad website to search a database of study abroad options.
• The UD service learning website provides more information about for-credit service learning opportunities.
• Visit the UD undergraduate research website to learn more about opportunities to engage in research.

A Discovery Learning Experience (DLE) is discovery based and experiential learning that involves instructional experiences out-of-class and beyond typical curriculum courses. These enrichment experiences exist for students under the supervision of a faculty member. UD students must register and successfully complete at least three credits of DLE.This may be one of 3 credit experience or experiences of 1 or 2 credits adding up to three credits. Discovery Learning Experience (DLE) is a filtering option on the course descriptions website.

Three DLE Credits are required for all* undergraduate bachelor degree students entering UD in Fall 2006 or later. Effective Fall 2008 when a list of specific courses satisfying DLE was first published, only courses appearing on the DLE approved courses list fulfill the requirement. However, the list of DLE approved courses is retroactive, so a course completed before Fall 2008 fulfills the requirement if it appears on the list. Both FINC 364 in Practice and FINC 418 Seminar in Corporate Governance are on the list.

Note: DLE was introduced before Fall 2006 but the requirement is waived for all students who entered the University prior to Fall 2006.

If you are a Finance/Financial Planning major and are planning on serving an internship to meet your DLE requirement or to earn credit, please be aware that you must have passed FINC311 with a C- or better BEFORE you begin the internship. In addition, your internship should provide you with the opportunity to employ skills and knowledge you have gained from Finance/Financial Planning courses you have taken. Also you must serve a minimum of 120 hours and you must follow the steps listed below in order to earn academic credit for your internship.

What is an internship?

An internship is a paid or unpaid work experience that also has academic value in one’s program of study. Under the guidance of experienced practitioners, Finance/Financial Planning interns apply the skills and theories learned in the classroom to real-world issues. By providing an opportunity to observe and participate in the practical application of theories, concepts and techniques taught in Finance/Financial Planning classes, the internship will help prepare the student for his or her chosen profession.

What are some benefits of an internship?

• Internship benefits include:
• developing personally and professionally while gaining confidence and real-world experience
• helping prepare the student for his or her chosen profession
• meeting and networking with practitioners in one’s area of interest
• mentoring and performance feedback from the site supervisor
• earning academic credit (NOTE: In order to obtain academic credit, the internship must consist of a minimum of 120 hours.)
• fulfilling the DLE requirement

What is a successful internship?

Successful internships can be found in diverse settings and involve widely varying projects and assignments. All successful internships, however, share three traits.

• The host organization receives significant assistance as a result of the intern’s contributions.
• The site supervisor provides feedback about the intern’s performance and potential career path.
• The intern is challenged to develop professional skills, knowledge, and ability.

To earn academic credit for your internship which will fulfill the DLE (Discovery Learning Experience) requirement, you must follow these steps:

1. Take FINC 311 before you begin your internship. FINC 311 is a prerequisite for FINC 364. You must have completed it with a grade of C- or better BEFORE you begin your internship.Complete the Discovery Learning-Internship Agreement (PDF). Once you have signed it and obtained your on-site supervisor’s signature, drop the application off to Carrie Baldwin in 307A Purnell Hall for review.
2. Once the form has been completed and all signatures have been obtained, the department will register you for FINC 364 Finance in Practice (3 credits). You will be registered for the course in the semester in which your internship ends. If your internship is served during the summer, you will be registered for FINC 364 in the following fall semester.