For Students

Finding an Internship

Students are responsible for obtaining their internships. The Journalism Canvas page provides internship announcements and opportunities, but students are not limited to employers found by the department. Faculty may have suggestions and offer advice, but students must prepare their own applications.

Students need to seek internships that provide an opportunity to learn under professional supervision, with a supervisor who has at least five years of experience in the field. A good internship provides future job recommendations (and perhaps a job), and gives the intern a window on the new profession. Some internships may be paid or offer a stipend, but these arrangements are between the intern and the employer. The department provides six credits and coordination.

Registering for the Internship

Use the Internship Process Flowchart to see if you're ready to take the J430 Internship for credit, and the process for registering for the internship. 

An initial letter of understanding from the organization and a preliminary report on the organization by the intern are required before the internship may begin. Detailed instructions for reports are below. Each track has different prerequisites for J430 that are listed below.

After all the documents have been approved, you will be issued an override for J430 and notified that you're able to register. 

News/Editorial

  • J 207 -- Newswriting
  • J 307 -- Reporting
  • J 309 -- Editing
  • J 350 -- Mass Media Law
  • J 351 -- Mass Media Ethics
  • Western Front
  • Western Front

Visual Journalism

  • J 207 -- Newswriting
  • J 305 -- Photojournalism
  • J 307 -- Reporting
  • J 309 -- Editing
  • J 346 -- Intro to Visual Journalism
  • J 350 -- Mass Media Law
  • J 351 -- Mass Media Ethics
  • Western Front

Public Relations

  • J 207 -- Newswriting
  • J 309 -- Editing
  • J 330 -- Principles of Public Relations
  • J 350 -- Mass Media Law
  • J 351 -- Mass Media Ethics
  • J 380 -- Adv. Public Relations Writing
  • Western Front

Journalism Intern Reports

Failure to submit the items listed below will result in an incomplete or unsatisfactory grade for the intern.

Initial Letter from the Intern Organization

An official letter is required from the intern organization. This letter, due to the intern adviser before the internship begins, must spell out the organization’s understanding of the terms of the internship: exactly when it begins and ends, the hours to be worked, the nature of the work, supervisor’s name and phone/e-mail, salary/stipend, etc., so no misunderstanding will exist on the part of the organization, the intern or the department.

Preliminary Report

Each intern must submit a comprehensive preliminary report on the publication, station, agency, or other organization where the internship is located. The report will be 2-3 pages double spaced, and due at least two weeks before the start of the internship. This preliminary report should include pertinent information about the intern organization such as its type of work, age, size, ownership, market area, circulation, major clients, management, general policies and any other factors found to be interesting or important. This report is about the intern organization, not about what the intern will do during the internship.

Weekly Reports

Reports are required each week while the intern is on the job, covering activities of the entire past week (keeping a daily diary of activities may aid in preparing these weekly reports). The reports should note the time period covered and discuss activity during that week, raise questions or issues of interest to the intern and comment in general on progress of the internship. It is important these reports analyze the internship experience, not merely relate duties performed.

Report Format

Each weekly report should carry the name and number in the upper right corner, and label the first on-the-job report as No. 1. The report should note the beginning and ending dates for the week covered. For example:

Student Name
Report No. 1
June 10-15

Reports should be clear, well written, and follow the rules of good usage of grammar, punctuation and spelling. Interns will enclose copies of some of their work, clippings or copies of published work. Activities not evident from the copies and clips should be covered in the report itself. Interns should email the reports with attachments to their internship adviser. 

Reports should be emailed to reach the faculty supervisor on the Monday immediately following the week covered. The reports need not be lengthy, but should adequately summarize and analyze the week's work.

Midway Evaluations

Midway Evaluations will be required from both the intern and the organization. 

Final Evaluations & Reports 

After completing 180 hours on the job, the intern must submit a formal summation, with an overall evaluation of the organization as a place to do an internship and a personal evaluation of what the internship has meant. The intern should comment on strengths and weaknesses during the internship.

Before the end of the internship, the intern must obtain the final evaluation and have the organization's supervisor complete the rating sheet and send it to the internship adviser. The intern will also need to complete the final evaluation form. 

Grading

The final grade for the internship, assigned by the faculty adviser, will be satisfactory or unsatisfactory (S/U grading). Failure of the student to perform to the general satisfaction of the job supervisor ordinarily constitutes failure of the course. 

Even though the intern's records are complete and satisfactory in all other respects, if the final evaluation has not been received before the University deadline for grades, an incomplete grade will be assigned and removed when the evaluation is received. When the internship is nearing completion, it is the intern's responsibility to remind the supervisor to complete and send the evaluation to the faculty adviser.

Faculty Supervision

The faculty adviser must approve all internships. The adviser will keep a file of each intern's reports and clips, and contact the employer in case of problems arising with the internship. With most in-state internships, the adviser will conduct a site visit to meet with the intern and supervisor. Intern/supervisor/adviser meetings at distant sites may be conducted via another method.