Background

The Retail Management Institute at Santa Clara University is one of the oldest business school-based retail management programs in the world. We have a strong world-wide reputation for our retail education and research. We have a very strong undergraduate class who specialize in a minor in retail management every academic year.

Internship Vision

To expose and engage all RMI students to the business of retail through an Internship Experience that will positively prepare and impact their career journey as they become the future of retail innovation.

Objectives

RMI Summer Internships represent an opportunity to experience and have exposure to the retail industry. The RMI internship provides a diverse view of company cultures, business insights and corporate branding and strategy. You will build and utilize core skills including leadership, organization, collaboration and communication to develop and prepare for a successful career in the retail industry.

To achieve the objectives of the summer internship, you are required to:

• Prepare a competitive analysis to understand where the retailer fits in the marketplace and provide a view of the competitive landscape.
• Respond to the five key questions from your intern experience.
• Completed evaluation/feedback from Internship supervisor or manager.

The RMI Internship experience is at the core of the retail studies program that provides retail studies students with valuable access to the culture and day-to-day business of recognized, industry leading Silicon Valley innovators.

As a requirement of the retail studies minor is to obtain an Internship, by junior year, in a retail or tech-related company in areas including ecommerce, finance, sales, marketing, merchandising, in-store operations, buying, inventory management, supply chain, human resources and product development or any relevant role that provides insight and engagement within the industry.

The Retail Management Institute teams with today's retail innovators and national brand leaders to prepare its students for success in the retail industry.

Types of Internships

Internships provide experience and exposure to many roles within a retail company including ecommerce, finance, sales, marketing, merchandising, in-store operations, buying, inventory management, supply chain, human resources and product development.

Taking place in your Junior year, you will have exposure to RMI’s retail partners + guided, mentored and given the tools to define your own internship search. Our goal is to support you in navigating your options.

Prep Camp

Through the Internship process, beginning in Fall of your junior year – RMI develops and supports you with Prep Camp, a series designed to assist in preparing for finding an internship. Resume writing, interview skills, LinkedIn and Handshake are highlighted.

Internship Faire

RMI brings together an exclusive group of retailers at its annual Internship Faire. The Faire prepares you for retailer engagement and provides an opportunity to for interviews for summer internship positions.

SCU Career Center

RMI collaborates with the SCU Career Center to ensure you have all of the resources available including 1:1 appointments, Networking events, Job Prep toolkit,  Handshake, the Big Interview and more.

Global Fellows Program

Working with the LSB Global Fellows, 2-3 retail studies students are accepted to further their personal growth and understanding of global citizenship in developing countries across several continents for 6 to 8 weeks. These organizations, although pursuing various missions, expose you to small retail businesses that benefit from marketing, ecommerce and social media support among other areas.

Retail Studies Students must register and pay tuition for BUSN 198R –a one-unit class during Junior year. It is a required class that aligns with your Internship. All Juniors must register for this class to have their Internship to fulfil the retail studies minor requirements.

Objectives
An RMI Internship represents an opportunity to experience and have exposure to the retail or retail-tech related industry. Your internship provides a diverse view of company culture, business and corporate branding and strategy. You will build and utilize core skills including leadership, organization, collaboration, and communication to develop and prepare for Your career in retail.

To fulfill the BUSN 198R internship* requirement, there are two assignments -

• Prepare a Competitive Analysis to understand where the company/organization fits in the marketplace and provide a view of the competitive landscape.
• Respond to Five Key Questions from your day to-day intern experience.

*Note: the role does not need to be labeled as an Internship – it can be any kind of position in a retail or retail-related company to provide you industry experience.

BUSN 198R Course Requirements

Competitive Analysis
(30%)

To meet the course objective of enhancing your retail industry knowledge and having exposure within a retail environment, you are required to prepare a two-page competitive analysis for the company or organization you will be interning for. This assignment requires a comparison vs. its key competitor(s). A company’s website is helpful including News & Events pages and Career page for what type of positions they are hiring for, could be insightful. Please submit the Competitive Analysis to Camino upon completion of your Internship. 

Internship Evaluation
(70%)

You are asked to respond to five questions about your internship experience. Your responses should come from a synopsis of daily insights such as day-to-day contributions and learnings. Please submit the Internship Evaluation on Camino upon completion of your Internship. 

The five questions are:

1. During your internship, describe your day-to-day responsibilities, activities. What did you do each day?
2. How did your activities contribute to and impact the organization’s objective and overall business or brand strategy?
3. How could this company be an innovator? Identify where there are opportunities for innovation.
4. How could you see this company evolving into the future?
5. Any suggestions for the company improve the summer in to the work/internship experience?

Internship Registration Procedure

University policy states that to receive academic credit for 198R, a student must complete the appropriate paperwork with the faculty member supervising the internship, register, and pay tuition for the (1) one unit sought. You are required to register and pay for the one-unit class BUSN 198R.

Deliverables & Due Dates

Competitive Analysis 30%
Internship Evaluation 70%

For any questions – please email at rmi@scu.edu

1. Group Approach: We would form groups of 4-5 students and place students in a group internship. The number of groups would depend on your capacity. We believe the group approach will lower the burden of onboarding for then retailer and for students. Students can work with each other and support each other virtually.
2. Executive Sponsor: Each group would be associated with an Executive Sponsor typically a senior executive.
3. Project Based: The group would assist the executive with a specific project over a mutually agreed upon time line. Actual duration would be commensurate with what the project requires.
4. Examples of Projects: Merchandising analysis, web site analysis, competitive shopping, survey research, onboarding vendors, sell thru analysis, assortment planning, customer service analysis, analysis of reviews and ratings, all geared to provide input into a senior executive project would be viable projects.
5. Compensation: While our students have historically been compensated for summer work, we are cautious about having unrealistic expectations in the current environment. Having an executive experience with a meaningful project is a priority. Contact: Please contact kkalyanam@scu.edu, Executive Director of RMI to discuss this proposal.