COMM 495 College of Communications Internship

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COMM 495 College of CommunicationsInternship

• What Every Intern Needs to Know

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Topics to be Covered

• 5 Majors within the College of Communications
• Why you should do an Internship
• Internship for Credit vs for Experience Only
• Internship Application Process
• 5 Requirements for COMM 495

• Overview of the Internship Packet
• COMM 495 - how it fits into your degree
  requirements
• Internship database
• How to get an internship location approved

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3 Prong Approach
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The 5 majors within the College of Communications

• Advertising/Public Relations
• Film/Video
• Journalism
• Media Studies
• Telecommunications

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WHY DO YOU NEED AN INTERNSHIP?

• ITS YOUR CHANCE TO GET HANDS ON EXPERIENCE IN
  YOUR FIELD!
• TO GAIN VALUABLE WORK EXPERIENCE!
• TO INCREASE YOUR MARKETBILITY!
• TO GAIN FOCUS IN A PARTICULAR FIELD OR INTEREST
• YOU NEED EXPERIENCE AND FOCUS TO GET A JOB
• TO LEARN HOW TO EFFECTIVELY DEVELOP A SEARCH FOR
  THE INTERNSHIP THAT BEST SUITS YOUR NEEDS. THESE
  SKILLS ARE TRANSFERABLE TO YOUR FUTURE CAREER
  SEARCH

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Like to take an Internship?

• You must decide if you are taking the internship
  for - NO CREDIT
• This means you are taking the internship for the
  experience only.
• Or taking the Internship for -CREDIT
• If taking the internship for credit you MUST be
  approved by the Office of Internships Career
  Placement and REGISTER for COMM 495.

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Freshman Students - are you eligible to take an
Internship?

• As a freshman, you may not be eligible to take an
  internship for credit however, you can take an
  internship for experience.
• If you want to take an internship for credit or
  it is required you must do the following.
• Speak to your advisor before you pursue an
  internship for credit.
• Prove you have previous experience relating to
  the specific internship.
• Obtain a letter from your supervisor stating they
  are aware that you have not had the prerequisite
  course but they are willing to accept you as an
  intern.

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Taking an Internship For Experience - NO CREDIT

• The College of Communications has no jurisdiction
  over your non-credit internship. The College is
  not involved in the internship process other than
  helping you find prospective internship
  opportunities.
• The internship locations you have chosen must
  agree to have you intern for NO CREDIT.

• If the internship location agrees to have you as
  an intern for NO CREDIT, then you only need to
  adhere to the requirements set up by the
  internship location.
• You are NOT required by the College of
  Communications to complete any assignments when
  taking an internship strictly for experience.

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2 reasons why you would take an Internship for
Credit.

• Apply credits towards your degree.
• The Internship location requires you to take the
  internship for credit.
• Internship locations that DO NOT pay cannot force
  you to work a certain amount of hours. They are
  in violation of labor laws if they require set
  work hours without pay. If they require you to
  take an internship for credit, the internship
  locations is exempt from any labor laws since you
  are working for educational purposes.
• They may also want to make sure you have a good
  background in the industry.

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COMM 495 - Internship for Credit

• Pay per credit (unless you are a full-time
  student during the semester of the internship)
• Must register for the course
• Must complete assignments
• Receive a grade that goes towards your G.P.A. for
  the amount of credits you have taken.
• Only exception you do not go to a
  classroom..you go to your internship location.

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It is NOT a degree requirement to take an
internship for credit!

• Each student in the College may receive up to a
  maximum of 3 credits of internship - COMM 495.
  You cannot exceed this amount during your college
  career.

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Internship Application for Credit

• Complete the College of Communications Internship
  for Credit Application
• Write a 5 sentence paragraph as to why you want
  to take an internship for credit
• Attach your resume
• Submit all three items to the Internships and
  Career Placement Office located at
• 208 Carnegie Building for APPROVAL

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Use your 3 credits of COMM 495 wisely!

• Many internship locations require internships to
  be taken for credit, if you use all 3 credits on
  your first internship, you will not have any
  credits remaining.

Example Joe Smith is a Junior in Telecom 1st
Internship will intern _at_ QWK Rock during Spring
for 2 credits 2nd Internship will intern _at_
Howard Stern Show during summer for 1
credit Total credits used 3 credits

• If you intend to do multiple internship for
  credit during your undergraduate career, then you
  will want to split the credits between
  internships. You can take an internship for
  credit for 1, 2 or 3 credits.

1 credit 67 hours, 2 credits 134 hours, 3
credits 201 hours.
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5 Internship Requirements

• All College of Communications students must meet
  all 5 requirements.
• Please note your internship location may have
  additional requirements.

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• Pre-requisite courses must be
• completed with a C or better prior to taking an
  internship for credit.
• There are different pre-requisite courses for
  each major.

• Advertising COMM 320
• Public Relations COMM 370 or 260W
• Journalism COMM 260WW
• Telecom COMM 180 or 283
• Film/Video COMM 150, 250 or 242
• Media Studies To be determined based on
  internship

IMPORTANT NOTE Film/Video students please be
aware the COMM 495, student internships, do not
formally count as credit toward completion of the
major. You must receive pre-approval from your
faculty advisor.
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Prospect Intern In the following pages, refer
to the appropriate check sheet for your major to
find where COMM 495 would fit towards your degree
requirement.
Please consult with your Academic Advisor to
confirm this information.
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• You must complete a minimum
• of 67 hours of internship work per credit
• This hourly requirement is the
• College of Communications requirement. The
  internship locations may have a higher hourly
  requirement, thus you must adhere to whichever
  hourly requirement is higher.

• The average number of journal pages per credit,
  should be as follows
• One Credit one page
• Two credits one and half pages
• Three credits two pages

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You must complete an internship critique at the
end of the internship details are provided in
the internship packet
The average number of critique pages per credit
should be as follows One credit three to
four pages Two credits four to five
pages Three credits five to six pages
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• How your internship
• grade is determined.
• Journals X 30
• Critique X 20
• Supervisors
• Evaluation X 40
• Assistant Deans
• Evaluation X 10

• You must have your internship supervisor complete
  the supervisor evaluation at the end of your
  internship, but before the deadline listed on
  your internship packet

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Additional resources available to you, the
potential intern and the future communications
professional

• Internship locations other than those listed as
  registered internship locations with the College
  of Communications
• Washington DC Program
• Resume and cover letter critique and preparation
• Interviewing role playing and preparation
• Professional networking contacts
• Professional mentors
• Career placement guidance
• PSU alumni contacts
• Career Opportunities
• JobExpo.COMM Communications Job Fair held at
  the HUB
• Success in the City Communications Job fair
  held in New York City
• Film n Friends Peer networking event held in
  New York City

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Where do College of Communications students go to
find internship opportunities?
The College of Communications has developed a
database of more than 3,000 registered internship
locations for you to choose from.
Internship locations not found through our
database must be approved as a registered
internship location with the College of
Communications.
It is our mission to only accept internship
locations that will provide a viable learning
experience and a nurturing environment for you to
perform the job in the career field you have
chose.
This ever-growing list includes every type of
communications organization from high profile
companies to cutting edge technology companies,
from premiere broadcast journalism organizations
to highly respected advertising agencies and
public relations firms.
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Internship profile sample.
Please follow the PRQCAR Method
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Interested in taking an internship for credit at
a location not registered with the College of
Communications?

• You must have the supervisor of your prospective
  internship complete an Internship Prospect Form
  and return to the Assistant Dean of Internships
  and Career Placement before you can begin your
  internship.
• The prospective internship location must be
  APPROVED before you begin your internship
• It is your obligation to find out if the
  internship location has been approved.

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Internships Career Placement Office
Bob Martin Assistant Dean for Internships and
Career Placement 208 D Carnegie Building
rpm163_at_psu.edu, 814-86-4674
Colette Rodger Manager of Internships 219
Carnegie Building csm324_at_psu.edu, 814-865-3066
Stephanie Girouard Administrative Assistant 208
Carnegie Building sfg10_at_psu.edu, 814-865-4349
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