General requirements of the Valparaiso University Department of Communication internship program

  1. Internship purpose: Communication internships are intended to provide Communication majors with a deeper understanding of their profession through participation in the offices and operations of qualified internship providers, and to provide needed skill improvements through the supervision of the Internship Coordinator and an on-site supervisor employed by a qualified provider.
  3. Students interested in an internship must complete the Internship Information form.   All students must also meet with the Department of Communication Internship Coordinator (Dr. Kocher [Fall/Spring] or Prof. Steinwart [Summer] for approval of the internship.
  5. Students should be of junior or senior standing. The internship may be taken during the summer, but if so it must be registered and paid for as a Summer Session II course--regardless of when the internship begins and finishes during the summer.
  7. No credit can be given for experiences undertaken while not registered for COMM 386 Internship. Students cannot receive credit for an unregistered internship experience taken during the summer, but registered for in the following semester.
  9. An internship position description provided by the on-site supervisor (not a faculty member) must be on file and approved by the Internship Coordinator prior to the student beginning the experience.
  11. The student must complete a minimum of 90 hours during the semester or summer session at the provider's work location (e.g., newspaper, cable or television station, PR agency) to earn 3 credits in COMM 386 Internship.
  13. Students should not work more than 15 hours per week during regular spring and fall semesters, and should not work more than 40 hours per week during summer sessions. Most internships are non-paying.
  15. Many internship providers require that students have successfully completed foundational courses within the department prior to beginning the internship (e.g., COMM 230 Desktop Publishing, COMM 251 Television Production, COMM 261 News Writing or COMM 265 Principles of Public Relations).  It may not be possible to place students with providers if they have yet to complete appropriate coursework.
  17. For Fall and Spring semester internships, the on-site supervisor will submit a confidential written evaluation to the Internship Coordinator, rating the student on a set of criteria ranging from work quality to general attitude, at the mid-point and end of the internship. Summer interns are evaluated once.
  19. STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES: Students must keep a regular journal of internship activity on a daily basis, write an exit paper, and submit both to the Internship Coordinator by the date shown on the opening Internships page of this site.
  21. Journal entries should summarize the work the intern did each day, and his or her reaction to it (e.g, whether it was beneficial as a learning experience, involved new skills, etc.). Besides providing a record of specific tasks, the journal can help the intern review the overall experience when preparing the final paper.
  23. Interns must also submit an exit paper about the internship. The paper should be organized around the following headings in 3 - 5 pages (word processed or typed manuscript, double-spaced, 1-inch margins):
    1. Type of work (e.g., production assistant, reporter, etc.)
    2. Equipment used (e.g., computer, Quark Xpress, tape editing machines; be as specific as possible)
    3. Strengths of the internship
    4. Weaknesses of the internship
    5. Your professional goals (within 5 years)
    7. Examples of exit papers are on reserve in the Department of Communication. See the Internship Coordinator. Students are especially encouraged to E-mail their journals and exit papers as Microsoft Word or plain text attachments directly to the Internship Coordinator, if they have access to E-mail.
  25. It is the student's responsibility to ascertain that all materials sent to the Internship Coordinator were received on time. Students should not ask others to turn materials in to the department. Doing so does not relieve the student of any responsibility to have the materials in by the deadline.
  27. An internship is required for the regular Communication major. Should the intern withdraw or receive a non-passing grade, the department's Internship Coordinator will place the student in a second internship. All internships are S/U only.  Independent studies do not qualify as internships.   Only experiences for which the student has registered for the appropriate section of COMM-386, and for which approval has been received from the Internship Coordinator (Dr. Kocher [Fall/Spring] or Prof. Steinwart [Summer]) may qualify.
  29. For any questions about the internship, students should contact the Internship Coordinator directly.  For Fall and Spring semester internships, contact Dr. Douglas Kocher (douglas.kocher@valpo.edu).
  31. For Summer internships, contact Prof. Lanie Steinwart (lanie.steinwart@valpo.edu ).