POLICY AND REQUIREMENT GUIDELINES

The internship opportunity is intended to help the student-intern apply the knowledge established in the academic classes. You may intern in a wide range of settings: newspapers, magazines, television and radio, advertising and public relations agencies, corporations, businesses, health care and many other organizations.

Eligibility: Applicants for the Internship course should be senior-level students, or students with demonstrated preparation in the specific area of the internship.

Procedure: At this time, it is the student’s responsibility to investigate internship opportunities and contact the organization/agencies and arrange interviews.

You may receive an offer from the organization/agency at the time of the interview, or the organization/agency may arrange to contact you later. When you decide to accept the internship, clarify mutual expectations; confirm the start and end dates and the schedule and the number of hours per week with the organization/agency supervisor.

Course Credit Requirements:

Internship Proposal: The Student Internship Proposal Contract Form, which can be obtained from the Communication webpage, must be completed and signed by all parties within two weeks of commencing your internship. This form serves as a contract between you and the organization where you will be working.

Download this form and understand the requirements. After being selected for the internship, meet with your supervisor and discuss the internship proposal.

Weekly Logs: Maintain a weekly log of your activities and thoughts about your internship. A final report (attach logs) summarizing your internship will be due at the end of the semester.

Attendance: Students in this class will be allowed to spend as much time as possible at their internship. Attendance is absolutely mandatory on specific days required by the instructor.

Internship duration: A total of 150 hours must be completed for the internship course credit. A portion of that may be completed in the summer, if the student satisfactorily prepared the Internship Proposal Contract ahead of time. Internship work during the regular semester typically amounts to ten hours per week. Document your time and obtain copies of the same for your internship record.

Completing the internship: To complete the internship successfully, you need to submit 1) weekly logs and the final report and 2) any other assignments. 3) Additionally, your organization/agency supervisor will also be asked to complete an evaluation of your work and to verify your hours. These documents will form the permanent record of your internship. Credit will be withheld if the reports and evaluations are not completed by the end of the semester.

Termination: Once the contract has been completed, most internships are completed satisfactorily and without incident. If problems develop during your internship, which you are not able to resolve directly with your agency supervisor, contact the Internship Coordinator right away.

During the first weeks of the internship, informal evaluations will be made of your abilities, attitude, and performance. Any of the parties to the internship--student, organization/agency, or Internship Coordinator--may request that the arrangement be terminated at that time if it is not working satisfactorily. After the first approximately three weeks, termination should be considered only in the most serious circumstances, and only with the full knowledge and consent of all parties.

Internship Student Proposal for Fall 2006