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Professional
Internship in Communication Program |
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Contents
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-Area Supervisors & Contact Info -Internships & Experiential Learning -Internship Requirements -Internship Types -Prerequisite Courses -Advanced Writing Courses -Choosing an Agency -Application Deadline for Summer & Fall 2007 -The Application Process -Course Registration & Description -Alumni Comments Communication
Studies Department Chairperson: Internship
Course Coordinator:
Area
Supervisor
- Communication Studies Area
Supervisor - TV-Video Production Area
Supervisor - TV-Video Production Area
Supervisor - Audio-Radio/Digital Media Production
Area Supervisor - PR/Advertising & Organizational Communication
Area Supervisor - PR/Advertising & Organizational Communication
Area
Supervisor - Broadcast Journalism 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! RequirementsAll 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; Note—The Professional Internship in Communication committee reserves the right to take a student’s academic history into consideration during the decision-making process. 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: There are 4 types of internships offered based on your primary interest: Business
& Professional Communication (supervisor: J. Slater) Audio-Radio/Digital
Media Production (supervisor: T. Clukey) TV-Video
Production/Broadcast Journalism (supervisor: D. DeSilva, C. Johnson, P.
Ensel) Communication
Studies (supervisor: L. Walters-Kramer) Prerequisite
Courses
You must earn a B or better in the prerequisite courses that are in conjunction with your area(s) of interest: Advertising: Audio
Production: Broadcast
Journalism: Communication
Studies: Industrial/Corporate
Video Production: Law: Multimedia/Web
Design: Public
Relations: Radio
Broadcasting: Radio
Production: TV Production: Advanced
Writing Courses
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: Digital Media
Production: Broadcast
Journalism: Communication
Studies: Organizational/Leadership: Public
Relations/Advertising: TV-Video
Production: 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. The internship application deadline for Summer Semester or Fall Semester 2008 is Thursday, February 21st at 3 PM. All applications and supporting documents need to be dropped off to the Department of Communication secretary, Muriel Lafave in Yokum 103. 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. 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 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. What
have alumni said about their internships
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