Internships

The Internship: Statement of Purpose

The primary purpose of the college-level internship is the development of occupational or professional competence in the actual occupational setting after theory education has been completed. Other purposes (income, career exploration, learning-by-doing, on-the-job training, etc.) cannot be the primary purpose, though they may occur as a second result of the internship experience.

Credits, GPA, and Requirements for the Internship

1. Enrollment is limited to upper division program majors or minors with at least a 2.5 GPA in that program.
2. Appropriate prerequisite courses must be identified and be completed successfully prior to the internship experience. Additional requirements may be established by the department.
3. Actual professional situations where the student experiences the requirements of employment must be used.
4. The internship is an applied experience. In the internship, the student must apply what she/he has learned in the classroom. This academic foundation must be identified in a general way in the course offering proposal. Specific knowledge, methods, skills, activities, etc. must be listed for each intern in the proposal. (See below.)
5. A minimum of 50 on-the-job hours should be required per quarter course unit of credit.
6. A substantial written assignment (or portfolio) requiring research and/or creative work should be required. A simple log describing activities may be included but in and of itself is not sufficient to satisfy this requirement. Exceptions may be approved by the department chair in fields where there is an extensive professional component already required (e.g., in the Journalism/Professional Writing major where the intern's duties may be public relations, researching, reporting that constitute a substantial writing, research, and creative experience).
7. The intern should be paid a salary whenever possible.
8. Internships may be offered on either a graded or pass-fail basis.
9. Second internships within the same program should be limited to those situations in which the student will be able to apply essentially different knowledge, methods, skills, etc. (still program related) than those applied in the prior internship. This limitation does not apply to a second internship in a different program (e.g., a second major, minor).
10. Maximum internship course units to be counted toward a degree by any one student are three. Maximum course units for a single internship are two. 

The Internship Contract

An internship contract consists of two parts: the proposal and the enrollment form to be developed by the Office of Records and Registration.

The student will prepare a written proposal meeting the following requirements:

1. The proposal should state the number of credit hours from any previous internship, as well as the semester taken and the firm or agency where the internship was done.
2. The proposal must explain exactly how credits are to be earned and what on-the-job activities will be required of the intern.
3. The proposal must describe the method of evaluating the internship to be used by the faculty supervisor.
4. The proposal must identify the firm or agency where the internship will be done.
5. The proposal must identify the professional person at the firm or agency who will supervise the student during the internship.
6. The proposal should require on-site visits by a supervising faculty member whenever feasible.
7. The proposal must be approved by the department chair or his or her designee before a student may proceed with the internship.
8. The approved proposal must be delivered to the Office of Records and Registration by the end of the first week of the semester in which the internship is to be completed.
9. Copies of the approved proposal should be provided to the student, the faculty supervisor, the department, and the firm or agency supervisor.
10. If the circumstances of the internship change, it is the responsibility of the faculty supervisor to send an addendum to the proposal to the Office of Records and Registration.

Faculty and Administration

1. The supervising faculty member should be compensated at the independent study rate. Travel expenses for all on-site visits should be paid.
2. A periodic review of the quality of internships should be conducted under the direction of the dean of each school with departments offering internships.

(approved through governance: 1994-95; modified through curricular transformation:  2004)