Professional Internship in Communication Program
CMM498
Yokum 103, Plattsburgh, NY 12901
Tel. (518) 564-2111 Fax (518) 564-2105

Student Handbook
(Last updated 2/13)

Contents

Communication Studies Department Chairperson:
Shakuntala Rao
202D Yokum Hall
564-4291
Shakuntala.Rao@plattsburgh.edu 

Area Supervisor - Audio-Radio & Digital Media Production
Tim Clukey
136E Yokum Hall
564-4290
clukeytj@plattsburgh.edu

Area Supervisor - Broadcast Journalism & TV-Video Production
Peter Ensel
103 Yokum Hall
564-4287
peter.ensel@plattsburgh.edu

Area Supervisor - Communication Studies
Kirsten Isgro
202P Yokum Hall
564-2407
isgrok@plattsburgh.edu

<Back to Top of Page>

Internships and Experiential Learning

An internship is an experiential learning activity in which a student gets practical experience that enhances his/her skills and knowledge.  When you intern, you work with industry professionals who serve as mentors and are invested in your progress. Although enhancement of skills is one benefit of an internship, an internship is about more than skill development.  An internship is a learning enterprise.  Because of this, the credits you earn for an internship are not earned because you have worked at an agency, but because you have engaged in a learning experience and revealed your knowledge to supervisors at the university and at the agency. Your knowledge will manifest itself in the projects you create and the tasks you complete at the agency, your professional performance at the internship site, and your written reflections in which you make connections between what you learn at the agency and what you learned in the classroom.  Along with the internship site supervisors and mentors, faculty members in the Communication Studies Department are an essential part of your internship experience.  Faculty members answer your questions and evaluate the various expressions of your knowledge. As you can see, the faculty, agency supervisors, and you work as a team to help make your Professional Internship in Communication successful!

<Back to Top of Page>

Requirements

All students must meet requirements in order to be approved for an internship. To be approved as an intern:

--submit an application, resume, and letter of intent by the due date.  If you want to apply after the due date, you must meet with the course coordinator to discuss the internship course and application process.  Late applications may not be reviewed;
--be a major in the Communication Studies Department;
--earn 75 credits by the time you begin your internship.  15 of these credits must be upper level credits from the Communication Studies Department at PSU;
--reveal maturity and readiness for an internship in your interactions with peers and faculty;
--earn a minimum of a C in an advanced writing course;
--earn a minimum of a C in each core course (CMM101, CMM226, CMM118);
--have at least a 2.75 overall GPA; 
--have at least a 3.0 major GPA;
--earn at least a B in appropriate prerequisite courses (see below)

Note—The Professional Internship in Communication committee reserves the right to take a student’s academic history into consideration during the decision-making process.

<Back to Top of Page>

Internship Types

Internships vary according to the number of hours you spend at an agency, the credits you earn, and your field of interest:  

Hours at Agency:  A part-time internship requires that you spend 18 hours per week at the agency for 14 weeks.  A full-time internship involves spending 36 hours per week at the agency for 14 weeks.

Credits Earned: A part-time internship is worth 6 credits and a full-time internship is worth 12 credits.  Please remember that internship credits are general education elective credits. These credits do not count toward your major (although they are included in the calculation of your major GPA).

Area of Interest: Internship are available in 5 different areas of interest. Please select an internship opportunity based on your area of study:

Audio-Radio Production (supervisor, T. Clukey)
Broadcast Journalism (supervisor, P. Ensel)
Communication Studies (supervisor, K. Isgro)
Digital Media Production (supervisor, T. Clukey)
TV-Video Production (supervisor: P. Ensel)

<Back to Top of Page>

Prerequisite Courses

You must earn a B or better in the prerequisite courses that are in conjunction with your area(s) of interest:

Audio Production:
-CMM232: Basic Audio Production
-CMM464: Digital Audio Recording Applications

Broadcast Journalism:
-CMM458: Directing/Producing TV News
-CMM459: Advanced TV News Production
-CMM421: Broadcast Journalism  

Communication Studies:
-Prerequisites are determined on a case-by-case basis.  See area supervisor.

Industrial/Corporate Video Production:
-CMM375: Television Studio Production
-CMM420: Non-Broadcast TV Production

Law:
-CMM407: Argumentation & Reasoning
One of the following:
-CMM455: Mass Media Law
-ACC351: Legal Environment of Business
-PSC290: Introduction to Law

Digital Media/Multimedia/Web Design:
-CMM312: Multimedia Production Design
One of the following:
-CMM324: Interactive Journalism
-CMM424: Digital Animation Production
-CMM434 Advanced Web Design

Radio Broadcasting:
-CMM209: Broadcast Announcing Practicum
-CMM409: Radio Management Practicum

Radio Production:
-CMM232: Basic Audio Production
-CMM428: Advanced Radio Production

TV Production:
-CMM375: TV Studio Production
One of the following:
-CMM420: Non-Broadcast TV Production
-CMM429: TV Field Acting & Production
-CMM400: Producing the Documentary
-CMM458: Directing & Producing TV News
-CMM459: Advanced TV News Production

<Back to Top of Page>

Advanced Writing Courses (AWR)

You must earn a "C" or better in the Advanced Writing Requirements for your Major. Below are the AWR Courses listed by Major. 

Audio-Radio Production:
-CMM335 Writing for Radio & TV or
-CMM421 Broadcast Journalism

 Broadcast Journalism:
-CMM421 Broadcast Journalism

Communication Studies:
-CMM416 Rhetorical Criticism
-CMM329 Interpersonal Communication

Digital Media Production:
-CMM335 Writing for Radio & TV or
-CMM421 Broadcast Journalism

TV-Video Production:
-CMM335 Writing for Radio & TV

<Back to Top of Page>

Choosing an Agency

There are 2 ways to select an agency: 1) selecting an agency that previously applied to be an internship agency and that has a file in the Department; 2) on your own, finding an agency for which you’d like to intern.

Choosing an agency from the Department’s files:  The Communication Studies Department has information on more than 50 agencies, many at which students have interned. Contact your area supervisor to review this list of these agencies and to look at the information available about that agency.  You are also encouraged to research these agencies using the internet.  Please note that although many of these agencies have worked with our students in the past and have provided us with general informational material, they will be asked to complete a learning agreement that is just for your internship experience.

Choosing a New Agency: Sometimes, students learn about an agency at which they’d like to intern and that is not an agency that has an agreement with the Communication Studies Department. Please discuss new agencies with your area supervisor prior to the internship application deadline. 

By the time you apply for your internship, you should have already provided information about the new agency along with the agency’s description of the duties of interns.  The agency representative must provide contact information, be willing to sign a learning agreement, and agree to complete evaluations of your performance.  Agencies must be approved by the Professional Internship in Communication committee.  The committee reserves the right to decline a request to intern at a new agency if, after reviewing the above-mentioned materials, there are concerns about the agency.  You cannot earn internship credit for current or past employment activities. An internship must be a new learning experience.  Also, you cannot intern at a family-owned site or a site at which a family member would be a supervisor. 

Some obvious factors that will likely play a role in determining your preferred internship agency include location, agency need, internship responsibilities, and your academic situation.  Other factors to consider may be level of competition for internship, size of agency, access to equipment, or agency application requirements.

Some agencies are large enough that they have their own internship offices from which all correspondence from PSU is sent.  Many organizations in New York City operate this way.  Often, these agencies have their own application deadlines, application forms to complete, application fees, and requirements.  It is possible that you will need to apply directly to the agency before you apply to the Department of Communication (or vice-versa).  In these cases, you must go through two separate application processes for the internship you desire.  It is possible that you will meet the agency’s requirements but not the requirements set forth by the Communication Studies Department.  You must meet the Department’s requirements to earn credit through the Communication Studies Department.  It is possible that the Professional Internship in Communication committee will approve you for an internship at an agency but that the agency does not choose you to be an intern.  When this happens it tends to be when students want internships with large organizations where competition for internships is intense. Please be aware that it can take a long time to get in contact with appropriate individuals at some agencies, particularly large agencies.

<Back to Top of Page>

Application Deadline

The internship application deadline for the Summer & Fall 2013 semesters  is Thursday, February 28th at 3 PM. All applications and supporting documents need to be properly completed and dropped off to the Department of Communication Studies secretary, Carol Laporte in Yokum 103.  

<Back to Top of Page>

Application Process

You must provide a resume and letter of intent on resume paper. This letter of intent is written to the course committee, not your preferred agency. You must complete the application form that is included in this handbook.  You must rank order your 3  agency preferences on this form.

The committee reviews your application materials and determines if you meet the requirements for an internship.  If approved, your placement is determined by agency need and best fit as determined by the committee.  However, the committee’s identification of your internship site does not guarantee that you will be interning at this site.  Your acceptance as well as the approval of the internship agency supervisor is necessary. 

Approximately two weeks after you submit your application, you will be informed via email whether you have been approved.   If not approved, you may write an appeal to the Professional Internship in Communication committee.  This appeal should contain new information that may result in the committee reconsidering its initial decision.

<Back to Top of Page>

Course Registration & Description

If you are approved for an internship, you must register for the course.  Part-time interns enroll in CMM498A (6 credits) and full-time interns enroll in CMM498B (12 credits). 

Keep in mind that, although you may register for the course after approval from the Professional Internship in Communication course committee, a learning contract should be constructed and signed by you, the site supervisor, and your area supervisor before the internship begins.

If you enroll in the Professional Internship in Communication course as a part or full-time intern, your final grade will be based on:

--Your final portfolio which showcases the work you completed at the internship agency
--Evaluations from site supervisor
--Your journal entries

Although evaluations from your internship supervisor are taken into consideration when determining your final grade, your site supervisor does not assign grades - only your faculty supervisor will determine your final grade in the course.

Additionally, full-time interns will be asked to deliver a public presentation at the end of the semester.  This presentation will be open to faculty and students interested in learning about your internship experience.

<Back to Top of Page>

What have alumni said about their internships through the Communication Studies Department?

“It completely changed my life.  [A professor] talked me into it and I wouldn’t be here today without my internship”

“I had one internship at a radio station.  It was a good experience and made me realize what I did and did not want to do in the future”

 “My internship is the main reason I’m working in TV—best thing I ever did”

“I interned with NBC.  It was an INVALUABLE experience”

“Some tasks I do regularly today, I was taught in my internship”

“The internship gave me hands-on experience to develop my sense of professionalism”

<Back to Top of Page>