Internship Information Sheet

COM 4933 is a 3-hour course designed for Communication majors and may count as an upper-division Communication elective.

The internship is not an Independent Study. It is a course of between 15-20 students who follow a carefully designed program in which they intern with various San Antonio employers. Students must register for COM 4933 along with their other fall or spring courses. The internship is almost always full, and therefore students should contact the Director during the semester prior to the semester in which they wish to do an internship.

Purpose of Course

COM 4933 is designed to help students gain real-world, hands-on experience to assist in building careers upon graduation. It helps students translate their existing writing, editing, research, and presentation skills into marketable assets in a variety of fields, including telecommunications, advertising, public relations, marketing, corporate communication, medical, scientific, legal and technical writing for newspapers and magazines, among others. The internship also helps students develop new skills and assists in building a professional "network" of contacts. Most internships are not paid, but the benefits are enormous.

Prerequisites

Students must be seniors, and must have had ENG 2413 and COM 3023, as well as most of their upper division Communication courses. Preference will typically be given to graduating seniors. Courses in writing are especially important. It is also helpful if students have a notion of what type of career they wish to pursue. Finally, students must have a GPA of no less than a 3.0 (cumulative and in the major). However, at the discretion of the internship coordinator, students who do not meet prerequisites may be considered under special circumstances. The internship may be repeated once for credit, but students may not count the second internship toward the Communication major; it would be a general elective.

Requirements

Upon consultation with the Director, students are placed in organizations in which they will intern. Interns work at least 150 hours during the semester. Interns turn in a journal of activities during the semester to track their progress, along with a log of hours. They do a final portfolio of work. They obtain a letter of recommendation; also, their employers fill out an evaluation form twice during the semester that becomes part of their grade. The class does not meet as a whole, although three mandatory meetings are held throughout the semester.