Abstract This research examines the effect of student internships on subsequent academic performance. The post-internship course performance of students with accounting internship experience was compared to that of noninternship students matched on the basis of grade-point averages and credit hours completed. Results indicated that internship students performed significantly better than noninternship students in accounting courses, and in overall GPA subsequent to the internship semester. These findings contradict prior research and support accounting internships as tools to enhance students' knowledge and motivation. The different results of this study may be due, at least in part, to internships occurring earlier in students' academic careers and the inclusion of interns from a variety of public and private accounting positions, including positions in financial, managerial, audit, tax, and systems. A prior study upon which this research is founded was limited to students completing audit internships, and attributed insignificant results to the timing of internship completion (the so-called "senioritis" effect). Universities with internship programs might consider modeling their programs after the one in this research, given the results.
English et al. (Wed,) studied this question.