Journalism and Communication: Basic internship information

The Department of Journalism and Communication offers two types of internships for its students. One, Jour. 361, is a required internship for its majors during their senior year, or the summer preceding it. A second opportunity, which has fewer restrictions and requirements, is available for rising sophomores and juniors. If credit is needed for this optional internship, students can enroll under Jour. 232, Journalism Practicum.

The required internship in the Department is a four-credit practical experience course in the “real world” of journalism, science writing or public relations. It is a capstone course that can provide excellent work experience and job contacts.

are majoring in journalism or journalism/science writing and
are seniors or rising juniors for summer internships (those who will be seniors in the fall).

Students can be paid for internships and still receive credit, but very few internship sites pay.

Students are required to work at their internship for a total of 208 hours. Of these, 195 hours (15 hours a week for 13 weeks) are at their internship site. Thirteen hours are devoted to working on the following materials to be turned in at the end of the semester: a 5-10 page final paper, a daily log of activities and three examples of written work done for the internship. Those taking this course for fewer credits can scale down the hours proportionally after talking to the instructor.

Internships are available during both the fall and spring semesters at sites around the Lehigh Valley or on campus, and during the summer at any location in the United States. No foreign internships are accepted for the required internship. The same requirements apply to all internships except that during the summer, communication with the instructor is by phone and e-mail rather than during several class meetings required in fall or spring.

All internships must involve some type of writing. The following types of internships are acceptable for credit:

Journalism
Public relations
Mass media research of most types
Web design

Prospective fall or spring interns should register for Jour. 361 for four credits. They will usually need two free days a week to work at their internship site and should considered this time requirement when registering for other classes.

To ensure the best choice of internship, students should try to arrange for an internship during the semester that precedes it. Some internships take a long time to land and need to be worked on far in advance. In addition, many site supervisors want interviews as well as background resumes before they accept students as interns. All internships are supposed to start the second week of classes, so there is not much time to find an internship once the semester begins.

Informational meetings are held at the end of September for students interested in spring internships and in mid-March for fall internships.

Lists of available local internships and contacts are distributed at these informational meetings. Internships will be assigned to students on a first come, first served basis. Very few journalism programs can guarantee internships for all of their students, but the Department places all of its students as long as they fully cooperate.

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Students interested in summer internships must register for summer school for four credits and pay summer school tuition.

To get a site approved at a location other than in the Lehigh Valley, students should find their own internship and negotiate its terms. Then, they must ask their proposed site supervisors to send the instructor:

a brief description of the proposed internship;
some background on the site supervisor to show that this person is a professional in journalism, science writing or public relations; and
some background on the company or organization offering the internship.

Based on all of this information, the instructor will approve or deny the internship. If possible, the instructor will negotiate changes directly with the site supervisor to make the internship acceptable.

All sites have to be approved no later than June 1 and students must start work no later than the end of first session summer school or around July 5. A summer internship can be part-time and spread across the summer or it can be full-time and completed within four to six weeks.

Be aware that summer internship applications for major media and public relations sites often are due by the end of November of the preceding year. Notices for these internships frequently are posted on a bulletin board near Coppee room 103. All students interested in summer internships should attend the informational meeting scheduled for either fall or spring internships, depending on when they want to start their summer internship search.

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The Department has books available in its library on the second floor in Coppee Hall to help students locate an internship outside of the Lehigh Valley. These include: The Pennsylvania Newspaper Association Internship Guide; Bacon's Guides to Magazines, TV/Cable, Newspapers and Radio; The International Directory of Little Magazines and Small Presses, and The Student Guide to Mass Media Internships.

Other resources can be found by doing Internet research on publications and public relations offices in cities where students wish to intern. Be sure to look at these resources before seeking assistance from the internship instructor.

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Students who are currently studying abroad and want to pursue the required internship during the next semester or summer should contact the instructor by e-mail and indicate what types of internships they are interested in and whether they want an on- or off-campus internship for fall or spring, or a summer internship in the Lehigh Valley or in another location.

Students who are planning to study abroad should take into account when they will take their required internship and during which semester they will seek one out. They should contact the supervisor no later than fall semester of their junior year about internship planning.

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Internships for juniors and rising sophomores

Students are encouraged to seek internships in addition to their required senior-year internship. Having some previous internship experience makes their senior internship a more meaningful experience.

The Department can offer one credit for appropriate internships for juniors and rising sophomores under a journalism practicum course, Jour. 232. As in the senior internship, students are required to keep a daily log and submit a short paper on their experience.

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Whom to contact for more information

Required Senior Year Internship (Jour. 361):
Prof. Ken Friedman
Room 211 Coppee
Phone: 610-758-4176
Fax: 610-758-6198
E-mail: kaf3@lehigh.edu

Junior Year Practicum (Jour. 232):
Prof. Jack Lule
Room 206 Coppee
Phone: 610-758-4177
Fax: 610-758-6198
E-mail: jl0d@lehigh.edu