Internships

Goals and Objectives

The goals of the Mass Communication Internship Program are:

1. To integrate theory and research with practice.
2. To provide students with practical experience.
3. To allow students to explore a possible career.
4. To provide opportunities for students to assemble portfolios.
5. To help students make professional contacts who can help them with their job searches after graduation.

Prerequisites for Course

Before beginning an internship, a student must have accomplished the following:

1. Completed 12 or more hours of mass communication courses, with a 2.8 grade point average in all MCOM courses undertaken. Student must submit a copy of his or her DegPAR (Degree Progress Advising Report) verifying academic prerequisite.
2. Received approval of the internship from the internship instructor.
3. Submitted a completed Internship Agreement form (attached – to be signed by intern and internship supervisor) prior to starting work.

Criteria for Determining the Internship Grade

A student who completes the following requirements will receive a grade of Satisfactory. All others will receive the grade of Unsatisfactory. A grade of Unsatisfactory counts as an F in the GPA.

• Work 160 hours at the internship site (verified by internship supervisor).
• Attend class meetings/sessions.
• At the end of the internship class semester, turn in a satisfactory resume, a satisfactory job application letter, a satisfactory portfolio of five work samples, a satisfactory time log, and a satisfactory internship report.
• Provide a positive review/letter of recommendation by the internship supervisor.

More about Requirements

Resume

Keep the resume to one page. Use a consistent format throughout the resume. Resume will be graded on its look, its consistency and its salesmanship. See Resume Writing Guide on the UNC Asheville Career Center Web site.

Portfolio
The portfolio is something a student will build on and use for job hunting throughout a lifetime. For their senior portfolios, students will include work produced outside the internship, like articles from The Blue Banner. For purposes of this class, students must submit at least five examples of the work they did during the internship.

Time Log
Keep a log of hours worked during the internship. Include dates and hours. Students who do not work 160 hours at their internships or do not turn in a time log and verification of that work, will receive the grade of Unsatisfactory in the class -- even if they perform all of the other assignments flawlessly.

Internship Report
Write a double-spaced, typed report of 1,200-1,300 words evaluating the internship experience. Answer the following questions: Would you recommend that UNC Asheville send other students to intern at this organization? If so, why? If not, why not? What new skills did you acquire during the experience? What did you conclude about working in the field? (Some people decide they want to get a job in the field; others decide against this.) What was the best part of the internship? What was the worst part? How much help and mentoring did the people give you at the internship site? How much help will they be to you in finding a job after graduation? What suggestions do you have for improving the internship program?

Supervisor's Evaluation
In order for a student to pass the course, the internship supervisor needs to write a performance review/letter of recommendation (one page) that includes a verification of the number of hours the student worked.

Interns work in a variety of industries across the field of mass communication. The department works closely with the UNC Asheville Career Center to connect interns with the fields and opportunities that best prepares them for their career goals.

View a sample of student work