We tell students to do internships. But what do students want internships to do for them?
A new report from Strada on internships and other forms of work-based learning explores that question. Rather than restating that internships are good, the report asks: what makes them valuable? Students’ answer: When internships work well, they build both skills and networks.
In fact, students placed the highest value on internships that expanded their connections. Those who said their experience significantly grew their network rated its career value at 9.3 out of 10. That dropped to just 5.5 among those who didn’t report expanding their networks.
Among the many forms of work-based learning Strada asked students about, paid internships delivered the biggest boost in social capital. At the other end of the spectrum, students rated experiences such as off-campus jobs or project-based learning much lower in terms of offering meaningful relationships they could leverage in the labor market.
Why the gap? Strada doesn’t speculate, but there are several possibilities. Time and structure may matter—longer engagements give students more chances to form connections. Employers who invest in paid interns may also invest in social experiences, like lunches and happy hours, that foster relationships. There may also be a selection bias: students who secure paid internships may already have stronger networks and more confidence in navigating them. If so, paid internships may be compounding social capital advantages that a subset of students already have.
Still, the takeaway is clear: social capital matters. And it’s time the work-based learning field took that seriously.
We know that an estimated half of internships and jobs come through personal connections. And young people consistently say they’re seeking connection—not just skills—as they launch their careers. But many institutions still treat networking as a secondary benefit, not a core component of work-based learning.
That’s a mistake. A skills-only lens is inherently employer-centric: employers need talent, not networks. But to have options in the labor market, students need both. Strada’s data offers a student-centered formula for designing effective experiences: High-quality work-based learning = skills + networks.
That equation should inform not only how we think about internships, but how we design all work-based learning opportunities. And it should push us to be more creative and expansive—because currently, access to paid internships is limited. Just a quarter of recent graduates from public universities reported having one. The numbers are even lower in fields like psychology, the social sciences, and the humanities. Another recent study from HarrisX, found that only 38% of employers offer internships at all. As AI automates more entry-level tasks, that number could fall further.
So how do we extend the network premium of paid internships into more scalable and inclusive formats? Here are three ideas from our research at the Christensen Institute:
Give credit for building networking mindsets and skills.
Colleges can’t just drop students into work-based experiences and expect connections to form. They need to equip students with the mindset and tools to actively build social capital. That can be done explicitly—and for credit. Programs like Career Launch (where I serve as an unpaid advisor), Connected Scholars, and Climb Together offer curricula to help students learn how to initiate conversations, ask for help, and tell their stories. These skills can help students get work-based experiences—and maximize the network-building potential of every job, project, or gig they do.
Integrate industry feedback into classrooms.
Project-based learning scales far more easily than full internships. But Strada’s data reveals a tradeoff: while strong on skills, classroom projects are weak on connection. Schools can change that by tapping latent professional networks already on campus—from staff in finance, HR, IT, legal, and student services—to provide students with real-world feedback on their projects. Alumni can also serve as project advisors (tools like Riipen can streamline that matching process). Even though these interactions may be brief, they’re a promising inroad to gradually building and diversifying students’ weak-tie networks, which are a proven channel to jobs down the line.
Treat campus jobs as network-building roles.
Based on Strada’s findings, on-campus jobs have mixed value today. Some are rich in mentoring and relationships, others not. But because institutions control these roles, they can shape them more intentionally. Supervisor training, such as MENTOR’s Connect Focus Grow model, can help staff adopt a mentoring mindset to invest in the relational side of campus jobs. Lighter-touch tools, like Search Institute’s Relationship Check, can nudge staff to reflect on how they’re showing up, and whether they are consistently expanding possibilities and networks for the students they supervise—turning everyday jobs into connection-rich experiences.
These strategies take the chance out of chance encounters, ensuring that students have both the skills and opportunities to develop their networks across a variety of contexts and experiences. If we want work-based learning to fulfill its promise of helping more students launch careers, we need to clarify its core function—and be bolder in reimagining its form. That starts by putting students, and connections, at the center.
Julia Freeland Fisher is the director of education research at the Christensen Institute and the author of Who You Know: Unlocking Innovations That Expand Students’ Networks.