Special Academic Opportunities

As part of Fairleigh Dickinson’s mission to be the leader in global education, the University strives to provide all of its students with a wide range of eclectic learning and living opportunities.

In addition to our four distinctive campuses — two New Jersey campuses, the Vancouver Campus in British Columbia, Canada, and Wroxton College in Oxfordshire, England — the University has developed a number of exclusive programs, partnerships, centers, and academic affiliations that enable students to explore the world for themselves, as well as bring the world closer to them. Alternative class sites, online courses, study abroad opportunities, and internships all contribute to the complete education experience possible only at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Internships

Real-life work experience in industry, government, education, health services, and the corporate world can be an invaluable part of the educational process, and FDU encourages students to take advantage of co-ops and internships.

Career Development Services

Co-ops and Internships are experiential learning opportunities that provide students with the chance to explore their career interests through work experience while potentially earning three credits in a general or major elective course. Contact Career Development at career@fdu.edu.

Department of Accounting

The Accounting On-Campus Recruiting program is very successful. Usually, 25 to 30 accounting firms participate (including the Big Four). First-time students are required to participate in an accounting workshop (how to prepare a resume/behavioral interview). Their resumes are critiqued prior to their participation. Most of the accounting firms want at least a 3.0 GPA, but some of the smaller firms or private accounting companies will accept 2.7/2.8. Students get a schedule of the firms participating and the job descriptions. Students complete a form with their resumes attached. Two weeks prior to the interview date, the resumes are forwarded to the firms the students indicated. Interviews are scheduled. Contact Mary Sakin, Director of Placement and Outreach, Silberman College of Business, at sakinm@fdu.edu.

School of Education

Clinical Teaching Internships coincide with the induction year experience, which takes place when the student secures a teaching position. Provisionally certified teachers are supervised by a specialty-area FDU coordinator who serves as a member of the support team mandated by the NJ Department of Education. At the end of the 30-week internship, interns are permanently certified upon the recommendation of their school principal or superintendent. 
Contact Dr. Carol Karpinski, 201-692-2838, karpin@fdu.edu

Communication

The Communication major culminates in an internship in a communications-related organization where students acquire real-world experience. While on campus, students are encouraged to gain experience by working on the campus newspaper, radio station, literary magazine, and to be active in student organizations.

Film and Animation BA

Film and Animation students have the opportunity to get real-world experience by taking industry internships and working in our Corporate Video Production class which has used student crews to produce professional videos for a variety of clients. Through our new Feature Filmmaking class, students work alongside professionals on an independent feature film.

University Honors Program

University Honors Program scholars are encouraged to take advantage of diverse and varied experiential learning opportunities by pursuing internships available because of the University’s location in the New York City/New Jersey metropolitan area. One of the world’s largest metropolitan areas, the region offers unmatched cultural, political, business, and educational resources to those seeking to undertake independent research and to prepare a concluding thesis. Experiential learning is, by its very nature, interdisciplinary and provides the student with an excellent opportunity to synthesize and apply knowledge from many different fields of study.

Government and Law

We encourage all of our majors to take a semester abroad at our campus in Wroxton College in Oxfordshire, England and/or one semester as an intern in national or local government. Students find the semester in Europe to be an indispensable help to their understanding of history, global influences, and political economy. The semester-long work-internship leads directly to a good grasp of the many opportunities in politics and to gainful employment. Consequently, our political science majors are well prepared for a variety of careers — and there are careers in politics to fit every interest.

International School of Hospitality and Tourism Management

The Hospitality and Tourism major, offered on the Metropolitan Campus, Teaneck, New Jersey; and the Florham Campus, Madison, New Jersey, is designed to prepare students to assume managerial functions in service industries including organizations such as hotels, restaurants, resorts, entertainment complexes, casinos and assisted living facilities. In addition, to a broad liberal arts curriculum, business core and extensive course work in hotel and restaurant subjects, students enrolled in this major are expected to accumulate significant knowledge outside of the classroom. The Professional Development Series involves each student in such activities as: visits to major food markets, tours of ethnic neighborhoods in the metropolitan area, wine seminars, lectures by hospitality industry leaders, visits to diverse hospitality operations, internships and the European Seminar.

History BA

The School of History, Political and International Studies offers programs with a major in History. The History major is enhanced by opportunities for independent study, internships, study abroad and in Washington D.C. The School houses the Omicron Delta Chapter of Phi Alpha Theta, the international honor society for history. Students in this program can establish careers in teaching, the law, government, museum/library archivist, publishing, theology in addition to the private sector.

Special Programs

Did you know that more than half of FDU’s student body are adults over the age of 25? Recognizing that time, work and personal commitments are often greater for adult learners and nontraditional students, the University is committed to serving these audiences with a variety of flexible scheduling options.

  • Petrocelli Center for Continuing Studies was introduced to better meet the needs of nontraditional students, specifically adult learners. The Center offers undergraduate degree completion programs with a range of specializations. Many classes are scheduled during evenings and weekends at several off-campus locations. An increasing number of courses with fully or partially-online options provide even more flexible time management opportunities.
  • FDU’s Community College Partnership program enables students to earn a degree from Fairleigh Dickinson while attending accelerated on-site classes at one of seven partner schools located throughout the state of New Jersey. The convenience, flexibility, and affordability offered by this program is ideal for older students going “back to school,” especially those with family or career responsibilities that might make long commutes or traditional full-time academic experiences impossible.
  • Executive education programs in the Silberman College of Business are uniquely structured so that qualified students can earn their Executive MBA degrees in just 21 months while still working full-time. A high level of personal support, logistical assistance, and Saturday classes at the state-of-the-art Dolce Hamilton Park Conference Center in Madison all contribute to the value of this program, the first of its kind in the greater New York/New Jersey area.

Graduate Courses for Undergraduates

  • Undergraduate students matriculated into a baccalaureate degree program who receive approval to take a graduate course to satisfy an undergraduate degree requirement pay undergraduate tuition for the course.
  • Students matriculated into accelerated programs that lead to a baccalaureate and a master’s or first professional degree, non-matriculated students, special students and matriculated undergraduate students taking courses in excess of degree requirements pay graduate tuition for graduate courses.
  • Students with permission to transfer a graduate course for which they paid undergraduate tuition into a graduate program or an accelerated curriculum just pay the difference in tuition for each graduate course transferred.