Value of Internships
The English Department internship
program is designed to help students enrich their education. Students
who serve internships supplement their classroom studies with practical
experience, applying what they have learned in their coursework.
They will also gain practical experience that will complement future
university courses.
Moreover, internships help students prepare for prospective
employment. In addition to giving students an idea of how the workplace
operates, internships provide students with a competitive edge when
seeking employment. Obtaining work experience during college often
results in more job offers, a higher salary, and more frequent promotions.
Many interns are also offered permanent positions from their employers.
English Department internships . . .
- Provide real work experience
- Can give you an advantage over other job candidates
- Dvelop into permanent employment approximately half of the
time
- Help you develop transferable skills
- Provide a forum for exploring careers that interest you
- Transform the need for a part or full time job into an educational
experience
- Earn credits toward graduation
How to Begin
- Talk with faculty members about types of internships that
would interest you
- Think about developing your current job into a structured
internship experience
- Network--visit people and companies for which you might like
to work
- Take English 3400, English 3410, and English 4400 as soon
as possible
- Develop your skills, as well as an impressive resume, cover
letter, and a portfolio
- Visit with Internship Coordinator, Linda Morse, at least
one semester before you want to serve an internship--for a summer
internship see her during spring semester
- Check bulletin boards in the English Department for internship
notices
- When you have an internship lined up, submit a Statement
of Objectives to the Internship Coordinator for approval of
the internship
Minimum Student Requirements
for Serving an Internship
- 75 hours of college credit or proven expertise in professional/technical
writing
- 2.5 GPA (minimum)
- Basic core classes in the writing track
- English 3400
- Desktop Publishing OR English 4410
- English 4400
- Knowledge of Word, PageMaker and/or FrameMaker
- Resume and writing sample
- Other useful traits
- Completed projects involving HTML, FTP, and other Web publishing
tools
- Experience with DreamWeaver, PhotoShop, and other multimedia
development applications
Types of Internships
- Brochures
- Business letters
- Editing and/or proofreading
- Feature writing
- Manuals
- Newsletters
- Press releases
- Proposals
- Public relations
- Video scripts
- Software documentation
- Multimedia projects
Host Organizations
Many organization are willing
to develop internship positions when approached by potential interns.
Creating your own internship may be the best way to accomplish your
goals. The English Department keeps a list, however, of organizations
that have hired English Majors in the past. It may be helpful for
you to consult this list for internships that will suit your needs.
- Alliance for Varied Arts
- American Folklore Society
- Cache Chamber of Commerce
- Cache Education Foundation
- Chamber Music Society of Logan (newsletter)
- Deseret News, The
- Eigo Land (Japan)
- Franklin Quest (formerly Shipley)
- General Dynamics
- Gibb Smith Publishing
- Herff Jones
- IBM
- ICON Health and Fitness
- Interactive Media Research Lab
- INGeo
- KVNU Radio Station
- LDS Church
- Mack Insurance Marketing, Inc.
- Meridian Publishing
- Moore Business Forms
- New Yorker Magazine, The
- Office of the Governor of Utah
- Office of the Vice President of the U.S.
- Petroglyph (a nature writing journal)
- PhytoKinetics Inc.
- Precision Tools
- ProForm Fitness Products, Inc.
- Remware, Inc.
- SADI Advertising
- Statesman, The
- University Editor's Office (web pages)
- U.S. Senate and House of Representatives
- USU Computer Science Department
- Utah Geographic Alliance
- Utah League of Credit Unions
- Utah Legislature
- Western American Literature
- WestWords Incorporated
Internship Credit
Internships are not assigned
a letter grade. They are pass/fail only. Internships can receive
from 1-15 credits. The formula for internship hours versus credit
hours is as follows:
45 hours per credit:
Ex. 40 hours a week for 15
weeks (a semester) equals 15 credits
Ex. 8 hours a week for 15
weeks equals 3 credits
Statement of Objectives
The Statement of Objectives form must be completed
and turned into the Internship Coordinator at the beginning of the
internship. You can obtain this form from your advisor.
Internship Completion
To receive credit for your
internship, you must write a final report which analyzes your internship
experience. The length of the paper will depend on the number of
credits earned and the type of work completed, from five to fifteen
pages.
The final paper should contain
the following, not necessarily in this order:
- A brief description of the job or position held and the objectives
you completed. A short history of the organization, its goals,
the organizational structure and how your job contributed to
the total operation.
- An honest appraisal of your working relationship with your
supervisor and co-workers.
- How your work experience has been of benefit to you. For
example, what educational experiences did the work environment
provide that are not available in a classroom setting?
- The relationship you see between your academic major and
the job you performed.
- Strengths and weaknesses you have discovered in yourself
as a result of your internship experience.
- How your experience has modified or confirmed your ideas
and plans for a career, as well as your sense of workplace values.
- Some specific objectives you would like to accomplish if
you were to continue working in this organization.
- How the English Department can be more responsive to your
individual needs (additional courses, counseling services, other
activities, etc.). Be specific.
- Suggestions for faculty, the Internship Committee, and employers
that might improve the internship experience.
- Samples of your work from the internship project.
- Total number of hours worked and total wages paid during
the internship.
A subjective discussion of both the positives
and negatives of the internship experience is encouraged. To further
your willingness to be candid, you are assured your comments will
remain anonymous.
Your paper is considered academic work. Therefore,
the English Department expects it to meet professional writing standardst.
You are expected to complete and turn in your paper by the end of
the semester you finish your internship. Failure to do this will
result in an "IF" on your transcript. If the paper is not received
by the end of the following semester, the grade automatically becomes
an "F."
At the end of your internship,
your mentor completes an evaluation form of your job performance
and discusses it with you.
English Department Internship
Assistance
Internship Coordinator
Linda Morse
RBW 312D
(435) 797-0261
by appointment
|
Undergraduate Advisor
Jana Kay Lunstad
(435) 797-3856
by appointment only
|
|
