The department encourages internship experience for majors, minors, and approved others. Academic credit for internships is available through the courses COMS 497 (3 or 6 hours) and JOUR 492 (3 hours). You may also receive 1, 2, or 3 hours of COMS 407 credit in conjunction with COMS 497 or JOUR 492. Only 3 hours of COMS 497 may be applied to the major.

As an intern, you must work 40 hours at the internship site for each hour of credit (minimum 120 hours). At the end of the internship, you must submit a 10-12 page paper describing the experience and its relation to the field of communication or journalism. Your supervisor is responsible for submitting an official letter of evaluation regarding your performance and the number of hours worked. When these documents are received by the internship coordinator, you will receive a grade of “S” (satisfactory) or “U” (unsatisfactory).

Internships may be paid or unpaid. Salary and schedule are determined by the organization sponsoring the internship.

Internships are available in a variety of fields, including public relations, human resources, event planning, broadcast media, writing and editing, and sales and marketing. Internships are also offered by a variety of organizations, such as non-profit groups, hospitals, newspapers, radio and TV stations, advertising agencies, and many more.

For more information, or to begin your internship search, visit the internship coordinator in Watson 306. Once you find an internship, obtain an Internship Registration Booklet from the internship coordinator or from the bulletin board across from Watson 207. Complete the application and write a proposal for credit (instructions are in the registration booklet) and submit them to the internship coordinator. Upon approval, you will be registered for the appropriate credit hours. You will pay tuition for these academic credit hours regardless of whether your internship is paid or unpaid.