| |
Home Page
General Information
Faculty & Staff
Courses Offered
Undergraduate Program
Graduate Program
 Certificates
Internships
Scholarships/Awards
News/Events
Mediation Center
Communication Careers
Milwaukee
Links
|
 |
Undergraduate Internships
Answers to Common Internship Questions
- How do I receive course or academic credit for participating in an internship?
- What requirements do I need to meet to register for COMMUN 298 or 698?
- Where can I do my internship?
- How do I find an internship sponsor?
- What do I do after I find an organization who agrees to sponsor me in an internship?
- How do I register for COMMUN 298 or 698?
- What learning activities will I be expected to do in COMMUN 298 or 698?
- If I have additional questions, who should I contact?
How do I receive academic credit for participating in an internship?
The Department of Communication offers two undergraduate internship courses. COMMUN 298 and COMMUN 698.
COMMUN 298 is designed to provide students with an opportunity to:
- Examine professional workplace communication issues
- Develop skills and experience while engaging in the work of an entry-level professional
COMMUN 698 provides students the opportunity to:
- Examine professional workplace communication issues
- Develop skills and experience while engaging in the work of an entry-level professional
- Apply and evaluate content learned from Communication courses
- Synthesize coursework and "real-world" experience within the framework of a graded case study project/term paper.
Return to Questions
What requirements do I need to meet to register for COMMUN 298 or 698?
General Internship Requirements and Rules
- All internships must adhere to the requirements listed in COMMUN 298-698-998 Student and Sponsor Internship Guidelines and Application (available in Johnston 210, from the Department of Communication Internship Director, or from this website.
- No student can take more than one internship per semester
- COMMUN 298 may be taken for 1-3 credits
- COMMUN 698 may be taken for 3 credits
- Students can retake either COMMUN 298 or 698 with a change in organization for a maximum of 6 credits in each course.
- Students are not allowed to enroll in both 298 and 698 during the same semester.
- The minimum number of internship hours required by the Department of Communication is 40 hours per 1 academic credit. Therefore, registering for 3 credits requires the student to work a minimum of a 120 hours during the semester. Failure to meet the minimum hours requirements may result in failing the course or a reduction in final course grade. Students are required to submit weekly time sheets.
- Academic credit is not given for the time spent or activities completed during the internship/work experience. Instead, academic credit is given upon the successful completion of academic exercises completed during and related to the internship. For more information on these activities see the COMMUN 298, 698 or 998 Course Syllabus.
Commun 298 Prerequisites
Prior to enrolling in COMMUN 298, Internship in Communication, you must meet the following requirements:
- Achieved a cumulative overall GPA of 2.0 or higher
- Received written confirmation that you have been accepted to do an internship from a sponsoring agency or organization
- Received written consent from the Communication Internship Director.
Commun 698 Prerequisites
Prior to enrolling in COMMUN 698, Internship in Communication, you must meet the following requirements:
- Achieved junior status
- Completed of GER English composition and mathematics requirement
- Completed COMMUN 101, 103 and 105
- Declared Commun major or approved program of study
- Earned a minimum of nine hours of 300-level or above Communication course credits
- Achieved a cumulative overall GPA of 2.5 or higher
- Received written confirmation that you have been accepted to do internship from a sponsoring agency or organization
- Received written consent from the Communication Internship Director.
To verify that you have met these academic requirements, you must provide the Department of Communication’s Internship Director (Professor Jack Johnson) with a current official or unofficial student academic transcript.
The transcript may be emailed or mailed to Professor Johnson (see address below) or hand delivered to Johnston 210.
Be certain that you meet all of these requirements before looking for an internship. The Department of Communication will make no exceptions to these requirements.
Return to Questions
Where can I do my internship?
Internship opportunities are available in local non-profit and for-profit organizations. Internships may be paid or unpaid. There are also opportunities which may involve relocation to the organization or to a branch site, such as, Walt Disney World in Florida or Greenpeace. Former COMMUN 298 and 698 students have worked for a a variety of internship sponsors including:
- 620 WTMJ Newsradio
- City of Milwaukee
- Coldwell Banker
- Direct Supply
- Elmbrook School District
- Junior Achievement
- Kohler Company
- March of Dimes
- National MS Society
- Northwestern Mutual
- Six Flags Theme Parks
- Summerfest
- U.S. Senator Russ Feingold
- Zeppos & Associates, Inc.
Return to Questions
How do I find an internship sponsor?
The most suitable internship for you may differ considerably from what best suits your fellow students. You need to think about the knowledge and skills that you have to offer, as well as, those you would like to build. For some students, the type of organization or the mission of an organization may be important in selecting an internship opportunity. These decisions are yours, but here are some ideas on where to search for an internship sponsor:
- Access UWM's Career Development Center's job/internship page
- Access other web sites devoted to internships (e.g., www.internshipprograms.com)
- Seek out information from organizations that you are attracted to about the internship experiences they sponsor (keep in mind that all opportunities must be publicly advertised - see Student and Sponsor Guidelines for Communication Internships.
- You are also free to contact an agency or organization to inquire if it has an internship program. Keep in mind that many agencies and organizations post their internship opportunities on their company websites. However, all sponsors must publicly advertise the availability of the internship in a manner that allows equal and sufficient access to the posting by all UW-Milwaukee students. The Department of Communication will make no exceptions to this rule.
- If you are planning to do an internship with a sponsor NOT listed or posted on UWM’s CDC website you must provide the Internship Director with a copy of the internship advertisement.
- You are responsible for making all necessary arrangements to contact and interview the prospective agency or organizational internship sponsor(s).
- Contact the organization to ask about the availability of the internship and discuss your interest. However, if the organization indicates that you should not call them, please respect their wishes. Be certain to follow the application instructions per their advertisement.
- Application materials usually include a well-written cover letter, resume, and any other materials requested by the sponsoring organization. If you'd like assistance with any of these materials, contact UWM's Career Development Center (414-229-4486 - Mellencamp Hall 128). The CDC would be more than willing to review your letter and resume and offer suggestions.
- Like all job searches, finding an organization willing to sponsor you in an internship takes time and patience. The chances are that you will rejected by some organizations. However, keep trying!
- Once you find an organization willing to sponsor you in an internship, you will want to contact Professor Johnson and register for COMMUN 298 or 698.
Return to Questions
What do I do after I find an organization who agrees to sponsor me in an internship?
Prior to registering for COMMUN 298 or 698 Internship in Communication, the agency or organization agreeing to sponsor your internship and you must read, complete and return the Student and Sponsor Guidelines for Communication Internships and Application.
Information on this application will be used to verify that your internship experience will primarily involve training you to perform work related tasks and that you will be under close supervision during this instructional and job development process.
You can obtain a copy of this application by:
- Going to the Department of Communication, 210 Johnston Hall
or
- Downloading the application:
To download an electronic version of the Student and Sponsor Guidelines for Communication Internships and Application click: Communication Internship E-Application (Word 3mb)
To download a print version click: Communication Internship P-Application (pdf 43k)
In addition, this information will be used to confirm that the sponsoring agency or organization has signed an Affiliation Agreement with the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. If the agency or organization has not signed an Affiliation Agreement, the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee’s Office of Risk Management will contact the agency or organization to arrange for an Affiliation Agreement.
Your completed Student and Sponsor Guidelines for Communication Internships and Application should be returned to the Department of Communication’s Internship Director, Professor Jack Johnson.
You are not permitted to register for COMMUN 298 or 698 Internship in Communication until this agreement has been approved by the Department of Communication Internship Director.
Return to Questions
How do I register for COMMUN 298 or 698?
You may enroll in COMMUN 298 or 698 only after your Communication Internship Application has been approved.
Professor Johnson will notify you by email that your application has been accepted and after receiving this confirmation you may enroll in COMMUN 298 or 698 using the PAWS registration procedures.
Return to Questions
What learning activities will I be expected to do in COMMUN 298 or 698?
This course relies on participating in field work and online learning activities. The online instruction is delivered through a learning management system (Desire to Learn aka D2L) which is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, using either on or off campus computers.
You should expect to spend approximately three to six hours per week participating in and preparing for course activities and assignments in addition to time you spend working for your internship sponsor.
- You will responsible for the following learning activities:
- Readings: We will be reading book chapters and articles during the semester. You will be required to read this material and be willing and able to post questions and reflections regarding these readings.
- Exercises: There will be weekly learning exercises. These assignments will be posted on our course site and will include:
- discussing various issues related to workplace communication,/li>
- finding, posting, and reporting on additional readings and resources (Websites) related to the week’s discussion topic;
- responding to other classmates postings.
Your responses to these exercises must be posted on our D2L course site by the date and time specified in the weekly D2L course site Announcements page. These exercises are graded on a Pass (15 points) or Fail (0 points) basis.
- Internship Case Study Project: Students enrolled in Commun 698, in addition to completing course readings and exercises must also complete an Internship Case Study Project. This assignment requires you to create a case study about a communication issue in the organization you are currently interning at. The specifics of the project will depend on your interests and goals. Each type of project requires extensive research literature research. The final project must be between fifteen and eighteen pages, excluding references.
If you would like to read an example course syllabus.
Return to Questions
If I have additional questions, who should I contact?
- Jack Johnson, Ph.D.
- Department of Communication
- The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- P.O. Box 413
- Milwaukee, WI 53201
- Phone: 414-229-5095
- Fax: 414-229-3859
- Email: johnson@uwm.edu
The easiest way to do this is to email me at johnson@uwm.edu.
|
