An internship offers students a “real world” experience that cannot be replicated in the classroom. While all students are encouraged to complete internships, public relations and journalism/digital media majors are required to carry out a 1-3 credit hour internship to graduate. For a work situation to qualify as an internship, a professional must supervise the student. The school does not “place” students in internships; rather, students arrange their own, often using contact provided by the school. Students in other sequences are strongly encouraged to pursue an internship. Internships vary from one to three hours and may be spread over more than one semester. Internship announcements are posted on the school’s Web site: http://jmc.ksu.edu/jobs. An internship can be paid or unpaid.
To receive academic credit, students must complete an internship contract in advance and enroll in MC 491 for 1, 2 or 3 credits, based on a minimum of 120 work-hours per credit. The prerequisite for internship credit is completion of mid-level skills courses in the area of specialty before the internship. Prerequisite requirements for each sequence include:
This assures students will have completed essential skills courses in the sequence before performing pre-professional duties in an internship. Students without the prerequisite courses may still arrange an internship and benefit from the experience, but they cannot earn academic credit.
Overall, a student can earn a maximum of three credit hours from interning. Grading is based on the professional supervisor’s evaluation of the intern and on additional work in the MC 491 class. Failure to complete the Internship Contract in advance, or meet deadlines, carries a grade penalty.
Obtain the Fall 2009 JMC Internship Packet here.