Internships
Internship Guidelines for English Majors
DIVISION OF LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE
ENG 451 Internship for Language and Literature/ ENG 452 Internship Evaluation
What is an internship?
As a student, an internship offers you the chance to
apply skills and theories learned in the classroom to a
career situation; internships very often also give students
new skills and a new perspective on the connections between
the work world and the classroom.
An internship most often takes place off-campus under the supervision of a workplace supervisor, but occasionally a student will arrange an internship on campus (for example, with the University Press). For a student to receive approval for an English internship, there must be a strong correlation between the skills/attitudes/objectives of the English major and the skills needed to complete projects at the internship site. For the most part, internships appropriate for English credit will strongly utilize the intern’s writing, editing, analysis, and/or research skills.
An internship is a serious commitment—remember that not only will the internship provide you with invaluable work experience, at the same time you are a representative of the University and of the English discipline. Therefore, you need to have solid entry-level skills at the outset and you need to be prepared to accept responsibility and to face challenges, failures and criticism.
What makes an internship academic?
You will earn credit, report to an academic adviser and
complete concurrent-experience and post-experience
assignments. Those assignments are described below.
What kind of credit will I receive for an internship?
Internship credit is given simultaneously in ENG 451 and
ENG 452; ENG 451 is enrolled for credit/no credit, and ENG
452 is taken for a letter grade.
ENG 451 can be taken for 1-4 hours; ENG 452 is taken for 1 hour of credit for each internship.
You must work 40 hours for each hour of credit. For example, if you want to earn four hours of internship credit (ENG 451 and 452 combined), you must work 160 hours. In that case, you would sign up for 3 hours of ENG 451 and 1 hour of ENG 452.
You may enroll in ENG 451 and ENG 452 no more than twice for up to a com-bined total of eight hours of credit during your University career. Do bear in mind that a failing grade from the academic supervisor or an overall negative evaluation from the workplace supervisor are grounds for failing the courses.
How do I find an internship?
Although some internship opportunities are posted in the
University Career Center and on the Internship board outside
Dr. Riggle’s office (MC 310), it is your responsibility to
find an appropriate internship opportunity. Talk to fellow
students, parents and other adults in your life, and see if
your adviser is aware of any opportunities. Contact
possible places of employment and give them an idea of what
you’re interested in doing—even if they don’t typically work
with interns, they may be willing to try something new. In
addition, several reference books and web sites list
internship opportunities. See the Career Center’s internship
coordinator for excellent advice and guidance in finding a
suitable internship.
As always, start early and use vacations and breaks as great opportunities to talk to organizations and companies.
How do I apply for an internship?
1. You must first have a cumulative grade point average
and major GPA of 2.75 or higher. If you do not have that
GPA, you can talk to an English convener about appealing
this requirement. That appeal will include a letter of
support from the English faculty member who has agreed to
serve as your academic internship supervisor (see below), in
addition to the regular application materials.
2. Submit the following materials to your academic internship supervisor, a member of the English faculty who has agreed to serve as your academic supervisor for the duration of the internship. These materials should be submitted no later than the first week of the semester during which you hope to complete the internship, preferably the semester before:
a. English Internship
Application form
b. Workplace Supervisor Agreement
c. Résumé of work experience and education.
What is the application process?
Note: No credit can be given retroactively; thus, you
need to plan ahead. Internships can take place during any
semester or over the summer; plan to submit your application
to your academic internship supervisor at least a few weeks
before you hope to start your proposed internship.
1. Locate an appropriate workplace through which to earn internship credit and come to an agreement regarding your work hours and responsibilities, pending University approval.
2. Arrange for the workplace supervisor to complete the workplace supervisor agreement and have him/her submit it to your academic internship supervisor.
3. Submit your English Internship Application to your academic internship supervisor, and arrange to meet to discuss your plan. At this meeting, you should agree on when/how often you will meet together, whether/how often you will submit updates (these often take the form of an e-mailed reflective journal), and what form your final project will take. In the past, interns have submitted portfolios, clip books, or other products of the work completed during the internship; alternatively, sometimes a reflective paper will be more appropriate.
4. If your academic internship supervisor approves your application, s/he will forward it to the Division Head for review. The academic internship supervisor will inform you of the status of your application in a timely fashion.
5. If the application is approved, you may then enroll for credit by arranging for a division secretary to set up access for you to register for the appropriate hours for ENG 451 and 452.
What am I required to do for my internship?
1. Complete responsibilities and hours as contracted
with the workplace.
2. Complete work (meetings, journals, and/or final project) as agreed with the academic supervisor (see above). You’ll need to submit to the academic internship supervisor whatever work you’ve agreed on in advance by your agreed upon deadline (typically no later than the last week of class).
3. Receive a satisfactory evaluation from the workplace supervisor. Your academic internship supervisor will be in contact with your workplace supervisor at least once midway through the internship to touch base, usually via e-mail. Final evaluation forms are included in the internship application materials. A completed, signed and dated Supervisor Evaluation form must be submitted by the workplace supervisor directly to the academic supervisor at the conclusion of the internship.