COMM 485 Internship Application Procedures
Following are the departmental requirements to apply for COMM 485, Individual Internship. These were instituted in the fall of 2005 and modified in the fall of 2006.
Deadlines for applications and supporting material remain the same:
- If you wish to be considered for a spring internship, the deadline to submit your application and portfolio is Oct. 31 (Halloween).
- For summer or fall internships, applications are due by Feb. 14 (Valentine’s Day).
- NO LATE APPLICATIONS OR PORTFOLIOS WILL BE ACCEPTED.
At the time of application, you must:
- have completed COMM 230, 231, and 320;
- have completed or be enrolled in 24-27 hours in Communication courses;
- have completed or be enrolled in COMM 420 or 451;
- have completed or be enrolled in at least two upper level Communication skills courses (skills courses include COMM 333, 335, 337, 340, 345, 350, 361, 363, 366, 410, 445 and 470); and
- have a minimum overall 2.0 GPA and a 2.0 GPA in Communication.
In addition to the application, you will be asked to attach the following word-processed statements to your application:
- a statement of not fewer than 300 words of your philosophy on media responsibility and professional ethics; and
- a statement of not fewer than 200 words on your career goals.
Also, you must provide your resume and a portfolio of specific examples of your writing, editing and/or design work. Portfolio presentation booklets are available from Dr. Betsy Alderman, Frist 206, or Kelly Griffin, Frist 311.
Portfolios will not be returned, so do not submit your only copy of materials. In addition to your application, resume and personal statements, your portfolio should consist of the following examples:
1. Three different media writing examples of YOUR OWN work.
These must be your own original work from internships, jobs, or class assignments, and should not have grading marks on them.
Examples include stories written for The Echo or other publications; scripts or stories written for Mocs News or other video productions; copy written for clients in Comm. 333 or Comm. 470; Web copy written for Comm. 337 or other writing created especially for some form of media.
2. One visual example of your work YOUR OWN WORK, printed out on paper, if possible. Please print out and provide a hard copy of any the following:
- Power Point presentation you designed that should include graphics, art or photographs.
- Screen capture of a web pages you designed.
- Design project or printed literature you designed, such as a flyer, advertisement, or brochure.
- A photograph you shot, published or not.
- DVD of video, with or without audio,that you shot and/or edited. You MUST include a printed description of the video ALONG WITH the DVD. Please be certain the DVD is readable.
3. One research paper (without grade marks) from any of the following courses: Comm. 320, 410, 420 or 451. The paper MUST be written in third person. (no “I”, “me”, “you”)
All examples in the portfolio MUST BE LABELED.
Include a brief description of the piece and your role in creating it. For example, the label might read:
“This is a news story written for The Echo. I conducted the interviews and wrote the story.” OR
“This is a research paper written for COMM 420. I conducted the research and wrote the paper.” OR
“This is a brochure for my sorority. I helped edit the copy and did the layout and design.”
A brief reminder about plagiarism
If you are caught submitting or claiming work that is not your own, you will not be approved to do an internship under COMM 485.
Be complete and clear in the labeling of your examples. Do not take credit for work you did not do. You WILL BE caught.
You may want to review the sample application and supporting materials available in the main Communication Office, Frist 311. Please do not remove this portfolio.
You should turn in your materials to the department administrative assistant in Frist 311.Each Communication Department faculty member will review your application materials. The faculty will meet and discuss your materials shortly after the deadline. You will be notified by letter if you have been accepted into Comm. 485, Individual Internship.
If you are not accepted, your letter will explain why and tell you what you must do to get accepted.
All internship placements must be coordinated through the faculty internship director.
To see the list of available internships, please click here.
Guidelines for faculty review of application and portfolio
Department faculty will assess whether the student meets the basic criteria for application to COMM 485. (See current requirements bulleted list). Also, faculty will assess if the student’s work indicates he or she has met the following learning objectives:
- Ability to write correctly and clearly in a variety of communication styles.
- Solid understanding of the rules of grammar, punctuation, spelling and appropriate style for the medium.
- Ability to work ethically in pursuit of truth, accuracy, fairness and diversity.
- Ability to think critically, creatively and independently.
- Ability to conduct research and gather information appropriately.
- Ability to apply tools and technologies appropriately.
- Ability to appropriately use and present images and information.
- Ability to apply basic numerical and statistical concepts.
In addition, faculty may provide specific suggestions for the student of ways to improve his/her portfolio.
To download the fillable internship application as a PDF, click here.
