Internship Syllabus
Application Form Evaluation Form| Worksite Hours/Week (16-week semester) | Worksite Hours/Semester | Credit Hours Accumulated |
| 10+ hours | 160+ hours | 3 credit hours |
| 6.5 - 8.5 hours | 104 - 130 hours | 2 credit hours |
| 3.5 - 6 hours | 55 - 96 hours | 1 credit hour |
Eligibility requirements are the following:
An undergraduate Journalism student can receive a maximum of 3 hours credit for Internship to count as a journalism elective. A student may take an additional 3 hours of Internship OR 3 hours Co-Op credit to count toward a General elective. Any work experience in the second internship or in the Co-Op hours cannot be done with the same employer from the first internship. In addition, a student cannot get internship credit for work done as his/her normal responsibilities in a paid job he/she may already hold or may obtain during the semester for which he/she is registered for internship hours. Variance to this last requirement is occasionally granted IF the job and the student’s responsibilities therein constitute appropriate journalism practicum AND if the employer grants specific written permission for the student to use his/her job for internship credit. The decision as to whether the job constitutes appropriate journalism practicum lies with the student’s faculty adviser and/or the internship coordinator.
You must have completed 60 credit hours, ten of these in journalism, and you must have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or better.
All eligibility requirements are outlined on the internship application.
Students seeking course credit for internship (JOUR 402) are to complete a three-part case study which includes a weekly diary, paper and portfolio.
Type the case study cleanly, using double-spacing and provide a cover page.
Due dates:
Your project is due on Dead Day of the semester during which you intern, except as outlined in the following. You may register for internship during a semester following your internship. You may, for example, register in the fall for an internship completed the previous summer. You might want to do this a) if you know your internship will continue past the last day of summer classes or b) if you need to register in the fall for financial reasons.
If you register in the fall for a summer internship, your project is due the Friday before fall classes begin. In this case, your grade will be posted at the end of fall semester. If you have questions, or if this is not possible, please contact Professor Kim Martin (kimartin@uark.edu) for other arrangements.
Weekly Diary
Keep a weekly diary, listing the assignments and outlining specific projects and tasks attended to. Then expand upon your experiences as a recap. The diary may be kept in a standard spiral notebook and may be handwritten, skipping a space between each line. Please designate dates and hours worked at the top of each entry. The internship coordinator will be checking to see if you have met the time requirements.
Weekly diaries should continue throughout the semester and should be submitted at the end of the semester along with your evaluation paper and portfolio. Keep a copy of everything. Nothing will be returned.
Toward the end of your internship, your worksite supervisor will receive a semester evaluation form to complete and return by Dead Day (or last day of classes for summer internships). You may give the evaluation to your supervisor yourself, or download it here. It can be mailed or faxed to your internship coordinator, or you can include it in your packet.
Paper
Your paper should meet the following requirements:
Part 1: THE SETTING (1-2 pages)
- Describe the organization’s “public.” Describe who it serves, using your organization’s latest data (circulation figures, listing of clients, viewership/listernership ratings, numbers of employees, etc.)
- List the competition and how your organization ranks in the market place.
Part 2: THE INTERNSHIP (2-4 pages)
- Explain how you obtained the internship.
- Describe the working conditions, working schedule and hours; tell whether the internship was paid and, if so, what you were paid.
- Write a narrative from your diary which chronicles events, issues, tasks and results throughout the internship. This should be a synopsis of the internship which includes examples that bring the experience to life.
- Cite what was appealing and not appealing about the internship.
- Tell whether you would consider this type of work upon graduation.
- Please identify 2-3 areas of concern for this organization, and answer the following:
- What are these problems or issues?
- How is the organization dealing with them?
- Are these efforts being successful?
- Do you have any suggestions to help with these problems or issues?
In plain English, I want your impression of your job and the organization. If you had the power, what would you change about the workplace and the organization? Ad/PR students, please include the following in your paper:
- Please answer the following questions (doesn’t necessarily have to be a project you were directly involved with):
- What is the agency’s approach to advertising? How do they (members of the agency or advertising/public relations department) go about solving a client’s problem of need (i.e. copy platform strategy, then research, then concept, copy, layout, mechanical)? Be as specific as possible.
- Include a copy platform and ad sample or script, if possible.
- Were their efforts successful?
- How did they track (measure) whether or not they were successful?
- What suggestions/comments do you have?
- Broadcast and News/Ed students, please include the following:
- Are there some stories that are not being covered that you believe should be? What can be done to encourage their coverage?
- If you were suddenly appointed Managing Editor, General Manager, or News Director of the organization, what would you do to improve it? What would you keep the same? Would you make any changes?
Portfolio
Provide five to 10 examples of your internship work (news and press releases, fact sheets, feature stories, tapes, campaigns, ads, newsletters, PSAs, etc.) Show as much diversity in your work as possible. Present the portfolio in an easy access form, such as a folder or binder, and include an explanation of what you did.
Course Grade:
Your overall grade in this course will be a compilation of the grade assessed by your worksite, coupled with a grade given for the weekly diary and the grade assessed your evaluation paper. While the worksite assessment will weigh heavily in determining your overall grade, failure to submit the other required work on time or not following directions concerning your case study or diary will significantly affect your term grade.
In Addition:
Within the first two weeks of the semester, each student must provide the internship coordinator a work schedule and phone numbers (at home and at work) where you can be reached; failure to do so may result in your not receiving academic credit for your internship.
Please, no loose leaf binders, and no page protectors. I do not have room to store either of these. If you must bind your work, or if you have irregularly shaped pages, please use a simple folder with pockets. File folders are also acceptable, as are large envelopes. Thank you.
You may enroll for a total of six hours, three of which may be used for Journalism requirements. You may not enroll for more than three hours of internship credit during any single semester.
If you have any questions, contact Professor Gina Shelton at ginas@uark.edu or 479-575-7255.
University of Arkansas
205 Kimpel Hall
Fayetteville AR 72701