Acknowledgement for internship report and the declaration page: how to write both

Where do the acknowledgement and declaration go in an internship report?

St Joseph's College of Commerce, Bengaluru, in the internship report guidelines on its website (a copy that refers to August 2019), puts both in the front pages of its B.Com and BBA internship report, in this order: cover page, Form 1 Declaration, Form 2 Guide Certificate, Form 3 Company/Organization Certificate, Form 4 Confidential Rating, then "Acknowledgement from the student". Chapter 1 starts after that.

Other colleges shuffle the same pages. The internship project report template of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University's distance education directorate puts the host's certificate on page 2, the declaration on page 3 and the acknowledgements on page 4, ahead of the contents.

Some put the declaration and the host's certificate on one page. A format that Goswami Ganesh Dutta Sanatan Dharma College, Chandigarh, dated June 2026 for Panjab University degrees, gives one page to "Certificate / Declaration": the student's declaration that the work is original, plus the company's completion certificate if there is one. A one-page acknowledgement follows, then an executive summary and the contents.

Some formats skip the declaration. The Aditya Institute of Technology and Management, Tekkali lists a title page, a college certificate page, the internship institution's certificate, and then the acknowledgement. NIT Goa's internship report writing guidelines repeat the cover on the first page, then place the supervisors' certificate, the acknowledgements and the table of contents.

In these five formats, and in Kurukshetra University's in Step 1, the acknowledgement sits in the front pages, ahead of the contents or the first chapter; none of them puts it after the conclusion. An industrial training report takes the same page (the AICTE Internship Policy also calls the internship report a training report). The chapters are in the internship report format guide.

The page is typed like the rest of the report. Aditya asks for Times New Roman 12 or similar at 1.5 line spacing, and NIT Goa for font 12 Times New Roman in 1.5 space, printed on A4.

Step 1: What does your college call each page?

Find your college's own format first, because the declaration travels under three names: declaration, undertaking and certificate. If your format uses another label, such as self-declaration or declaration certificate, check who signs it; if you do, it is this page. In Kurukshetra University's internship report format (Appendix-VI, in the copy SD College, Ambala, posts), the page headed "Certificate" is written by the student. The format calls it "the undertaking by the student regarding originality of the report".

A student who reads "Certificate" there and waits for the host to write it has the wrong page in mind. The host's certificate is a separate document, covered in the guide to what the organisation's certificate should carry. Kurukshetra spells the other page "Acknowledgments"; use your own format's heading.

A host can also hand you a declaration form of its own. The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Goa, an autonomous society under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, has an "Internship Completion Declaration" for interns leaving on completion: the intern fills in the section, supervisor, months and dates and signs it, with lines for the reporting officer and the Senior Manager or Head (Admin). It is the host's paperwork; your report still needs the declaration your college's format asks for.

Step 2: Who should the acknowledgement thank?

Thank the people who made the internship possible and the people who guided the work, by name and role. Kurukshetra's format calls this "an obligation" and lists who is "customarily" thanked: the "Head of the DCI" (the format does not spell the abbreviation out), the internship providing organisation, the internship mentor, the internship supervisor, and others.

Manonmaniam Sundaranar's template says to thank mentors, supervisors and the organisation, and adds: "For internships, also acknowledge access to facilities, equipment, and resources." Aditya's sample page also thanks the college's director and principal for facilities, the college and department internship coordinators, and staff and friends.

If the host's HR team handled your joining papers, or your college's training and placement officer (TPO) arranged the placement, add them; under the AICTE policy the TPO is one of the three people who sign the training report. If you kept a daily record, it already names who helped on which day; see the guide to fieldwork diaries and journals.

Step 3: How do you write the acknowledgement in your own words?

Keep it to one page, name each person with their designation, and say what each one did for you. St Joseph's 2016-18 M.Com guideline gives the acknowledgement "(1 page)" and makes it optional: "If you wish, you may include a page with a brief note of dedication or acknowledgment of help received from particular persons in the organization".

Detail is what makes the page yours. "[Supervisor's name] reviewed my first two weekly reports line by line" tells the reader something; a stock line of deep gratitude tells them nothing.

1. List everyone from your college and the host who shaped the work, with correct spellings and designations.
2. Give each one or two sentences naming a task, a piece of feedback or a resource.
3. Close with your department or institution, and family or friends only if you want to.
4. Add your name, roll number and date if your format asks for them.

Where a college runs a similarity check, the UGC plagiarism regulations of 2018 leave this page out of the count: checks "shall exclude" references, bibliography, table of contents, preface "and acknowledgements". That is no licence to copy one. The examiner still reads it, and thanks to people you cannot describe at the viva is a question waiting to be asked.

Step 4: What must the declaration state?

The declaration states, over your signature, where you worked, for what period, under whom, and that the report is your own original work. St Joseph's M.Com guideline asks for "a signed declaration by the student briefly stating the period of the Internship, the name of the organization/company, the department(s) or areas where the work was carried out", plus the name and designation of whoever guided it.

Manonmaniam Sundaranar's template adds originality and exclusivity. Its declaration says the report "is a record of original work carried out by me", that it has not gone to any other organisation, institution or journal, and that the student takes "full responsibility" for its authenticity. It ends with name, registration number, signature and date. Kurukshetra's wording names both guides: an "original report of work done by me" under a named mentor and a named supervisor.

St Joseph's M.Com guideline is itself written for a summer internship: the title page must read "Summer Internship Report", and the signed declaration above goes with it.

For a research internship there is a national rule. In UGC's Guidelines for Internship/Research Internship for Under Graduate Students, a research project report carries two originality papers: the student's "undertaking", and a certificate from the research supervisor, mentor or advisor. Together they state there is no plagiarism and no earlier submission for a degree or diploma. The clause sits under research internships only.

What do a sample acknowledgement and declaration look like?

A sample declaration is one paragraph giving your name, roll number, course, college, organisation, department, dates and guide, and stating that the report is your own work and has not been submitted anywhere else. A sample acknowledgement thanks named people, each for a specific task, piece of feedback or resource.

The specimen table leaves every name, date and place as a placeholder in square brackets. It has no signature and is marked SPECIMEN, so it cannot be submitted as it stands. Put your own facts into your own college's wording.

Page	SPECIMEN wording (placeholders only, not for submission)
Top line	SPECIMEN. NOT A REPORT PAGE. NOT VALID FOR SUBMISSION.
Declaration	I, [Full name], [Roll number], a student of [Course and semester] at [College name], declare that this report on [Report title] records work I did at [Organisation name], in [Department or area], from [Start date] to [End date], under the guidance of [Guide's name, designation]. The report is my own work, and it has not been submitted anywhere else for any degree, diploma or other purpose.
Declaration sign-off	[Place], [Date], [Student's name], [signature goes here on the real page]
Acknowledgement, opening	I thank [Name, designation] at [Organisation name] for accepting me as an intern and for [one specific thing they did].
Acknowledgement, guidance	[Supervisor's name], my internship supervisor, [what they reviewed, taught or corrected]. [Mentor's name] at [College name] [how they helped with the report or the plan].
Acknowledgement, close	I am grateful to [Department name] for [a resource or permission it gave], and to [anyone else, with the reason].
Bottom line	SPECIMEN ONLY. No student, organisation or internship is described here.

For an internship at a non-profit, see the guide to an internship report for an NGO internship.

Step 5: Who signs these pages, and how does a college check them?

You sign the declaration, and in some formats your internship supervisor countersigns it. Under the AICTE policy, your attendance record and daily diary are analysed along with the report at the seminar or viva. Kurukshetra University's page has the student's signature and date, then "Countersigned (Internship Supervisor)".

St Joseph's M.Com guideline pairs the signed declaration with a certificate from the host. That one must be on company letterhead, carry an official stamp and a date, and bear the signature of whoever supervised the work or a more senior person.

Under the AICTE Internship Policy, three people sign the training report (the internship supervisor, the TPO and the faculty mentor), and originality is the first criterion it is marked on.

The UGC plagiarism regulations ask for the student's undertaking of originality with a thesis, dissertation "or any other such documents", recording that the work was checked through a plagiarism tool the institution approved. Their definition of a "script" leaves out project reports and course work, and each institution writes its own plagiarism policy, so ask whether yours applies it to internship reports.

Make sure the dates, organisation and guide on your declaration match the host's certificate, the attendance record and the diary. UGC's internship guidelines suggest a committee of one internal and one external expert look at your logbook, your supervisor's evaluation, attendance, and "Originality and any innovative contribution" at a seminar or viva.

A certificate is worth only the work behind it, and so is a declaration. Explain each week at the viva and the page holds. How the host's certificate itself is checked is in the guide to checking an internship certificate.

Once the report is signed off, the same organisation, dates and guide go on your CV, so they should match there too; the guide on how to put an internship on your resume and LinkedIn covers that line.

Is an "acknowledgement letter for internship" the same thing?

No. An acknowledgement letter sits outside the report and confirms an event. At G. Pulla Reddy Engineering College (GPREC), whose acceptance cum undertaking letter governs 8th-semester B.Tech internships, it is the host's dated signature confirming that the student reported for work.

That form tells the student to get the company's HR or supervisor to sign and date the relieving letter, which the form calls "an acknowledgement" of reporting to the internship, and to email a scan to the head of department. The form itself is the student's undertaking to follow the college's rules, signed by student and parent or guardian.

If the person asking means a letter from the host confirming that the internship was completed, college formats call that document the organisation's certificate, and the signing section above gives St Joseph's rules for it.

If a college asks for a confirmation letter for the internship from the company, ask whether it wants proof that you joined, as in GPREC's form, or proof that you finished, as in St Joseph's certificate. A thank-you letter to your supervisor is a separate courtesy: send it yourself, and file it with the report only if your format lists it.

If someone asks you for an acknowledgement letter, ask which event it should confirm and keep it to names, dates, the event and a signature. The letter you send to ask for a place is among the internship application letter and email samples.