Internships

The communication internship is a structured educational experience that applies classroom learning in a productive work environment consistent with the student's planned academic or career goals.

Our internships offer maximum flexibility for a student to select an appropriate internship placement, to choose a faculty advisor to guide the experiences, and to structure a learning agreement that meets his/her internship objectives.

Field Internships

Field Internships I (SP474/475) and II (SP574/575) both provide students with opportunities to explore and clarify interests and abilities through career-related experiences. The field internship may be taken for one, two, or three hours of academic credit and can be taken with a letter grade option (SP 474 or 574) or a pass/no credit option (SP475 or 575).

A field internship is a planned work experience for which academic credit is granted. Supervision consists of a site supervisor (a qualified professional at the intern site) and a faculty advisor (a member of the ESU communication faculty). The site supervisor evaluates the work done on the job. The faculty advisor, in consultation with the site supervisor and the student, is responsible for maintenance of academic quality and assigns a final course grade. The faculty advisor and the student negotiate the academic requirements (e.g., final report, portfolio, reflective or analytical paper).

Internships differ from volunteerism or simple work-for-pay, such as after-class or summer jobs. The college encourages a corporation, firm, or agency to pay an intern since interns are “professionals” in training and should be assigned a variety of duties similar to those given to entry-level professional employees.

Students are encouraged to work with Career Services to find an appropriate field internship.

Academic Internships

Academic Internships I (SP473) and II (SP573) both provide students with an instructor-supervised experience in working in a classroom to teach communication skills to other students. Appropriate for students looking to graduate studies, teaching, or a training position, the academic internship helps students develop their own communication skills while also exploring career-related experiences. The academic internship may be taken for one, two, or three hours of academic credit, and is taken for a letter grade.

The faculty advisor and the student negotiate the specific requirements (e.g., student’s role in the classroom, student’s teaching experience, final paper) for the academic internship.

Students are encouraged to speak with their advisor to find an appropriate academic internship.