Statement regarding internships in the creative arts

Sheridan has a 30-year history of facilitating co-operative education experiences, and annually arranges more than 7,500 work-integrated learning opportunities. Work-integrated learning is an essential part of the Sheridan experience, especially for those students in one of our degree programs.  

As Canada's largest art school, a core tenet of our curriculum and focus of our career-integrated learning programs is grounded in trying to help students find paid co-op and internship work terms. Our programs also include comprehensive business training to ensure students understand how to value their time and effort, whether as freelancers or in a more traditional business structure, regardless of whether it is an agency or production company.  

As mandated by the Minister of Colleges and Universities in Ontario, our degree programs require 420 hours of internship to graduate. Our priority is to always advise and support students in seeking paid employment. We have long advocated to employers that student work should be valued, and unpaid work can be exclusionary, particularly for those students who do not have the financial means to support themselves without an income.   Our team of experienced professionals helps students and employers make the process seamless. Through our SheridanWorks! portal, employers can upload jobs to the job board and review co-op/internship job applications, select interviewees, participate in virtual interviews, rank students for job offers. 

While students may not always find paid work to meet their internship program requirements, some students opt to acquire those hours through mentorship. Students who want to pursue an alternative learning experience via mentorship must apply with the Career-integrated Learning team. It will be approved as long as it meets specific conditions.  

We pride ourselves on working closely with many employers offering co-op and internship opportunities. This includes regular educational sessions where we help employers gain access to a wide range of tax credits and wage subsidies to offset the cost of hiring our students. These include the Government of Ontario Co-operative Education Tax Credit (CETC), the Student Work Placement Program (SWPP) offered by Employment and Social Development Canada, and the Drive Ability Open Doors Program, funded by the Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development. 

Despite the challenges of the pandemic, Sheridan also launched its new Virtual Internship Program in 2020, which paired students with community organizations to address real-world issues. The Virtual Internship Innovation Accelerator program engages groups of interdisciplinary student teams to research and provide ideas for the most pressing challenges in a wide range of industries and creates a meaningful solution to a specific problem. Now into its third consecutive year, the program has been incredibly successful and has been recognized by CICan for program excellence. The program also includes a 10-week Career-Ready Competency program, complementary learning modules and a guest speaker series with relevant webinars throughout the program.   


Faculty of Animation, Arts & Design  
Sheridan's Faculty of Animation, Arts and Design (FAAD) is Canada's largest art school. Internationally recognized for our outstanding programs, we train performers, animators, filmmakers, designers, and artists to realize the full potential of their talents. With countless Oscar, Emmy and Canadian Screen Award accolades, graduates and faculty members are recognized as leaders in their respective industries. Our commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion is infused into our programs, ensuring that the unique identities and talents of our students and faculty are valued and can contribute to the rich diversity of our arts programs. 

If you have any questions about becoming a co-op employer, funding supports, or hiring a co-op student, please email sheridanworkscoop@sheridancollege.ca.