Liberal Arts Internship Program

The ENGLISH 498 internship offers the opportunity for you to gain first-hand experience working in professional settings. With advisor approval three (3) credits of ENGLISH 498 can serve as a capstone for the Rhetoric and Professional Writing concentration in the major and as the final course in the Professional Writing Minor in English.

You’re expected to find your own placement, and with your employer, agree upon a project or a set of projects involving writing, editing, and/or researching problems pertinent to the specific internship. Since the availability of internships can’t be guaranteed for any specific semester, it’s necessary for you to make arrangements at least the semester prior to starting your internship.

Depending on the organization, your internships may or may not be a paid position; any arrangements for a paid stipend must be negotiated between you and the employer. Before registering, the course instructor of record (a faculty member in English) must approve the internship and sign an ENGLISH 498 form before you register.

You may earn a maximum of 15 credits for ENGLISH 498 and typically register for one to three credits per semester (maximum six credits per semester). Three credits typically involve at least 10 hours of work per week, spread over a 15-week semester for a total of 150 hours. Other credit-hour amounts should be proportional. You and the employer will negotiate distribution of those hours.

You’ll be expected to prepare and submit a description of the proposed internship on an English 498 form (“Request to Enroll in Internship”), which you can obtain from your advisor or me. In addition, you’ll complete the three forms explained below:

• Internship Identification Form: Within the week that you start the internship, you must give the instructor of record a statement of intent and definition of the projects. It must be signed by the employer/supervisor and include the goals of the work and its expected results (products).
• Internship Progress Report: Halfway through your internship (mid-semester or mid-summer), you must submit a progress report on the work accomplished to date, accompanied by at least one sample document representative of the work accomplished.
• Internship Final Report: At the end of the internship or of the semester, you must submit a final report, including three samples or representative documents of the work you accomplished. In addition, you must submit a short statement written by your employer and signed, attesting to the work accomplished and evaluating its quality.

You will submit these forms and any required attachments to the instructor of record.