Rosemont College

Undergraduate College
Department of Communication
COM 0495: Internship
Fall 2014

Professor: Chanda Gilmore, M.S. Office: Lawrence Hall 313
E-mail: cgilmore@rosemont.edu Phone: 610.527.0200, ext. 2335
Office Hours: TTH 9:30 11:30 a.m. or by appointment

Course Description
This course is for junior and senior communication students who wish to gain practical,
curriculum-related experience in communications. It satisfies the general core requirement for
internships as well as core requirements for the communication major. Internships can be taken
three times for credit but no more than twice in the same job assignment area.

Prerequisites
To receive credit, students must have the permission of the communication department chair, the
SASC and have a 2.0 or better cumulative grade point average.

Course Objectives
Internship practicum experience serves four purposes:
1. Provides an opportunity to explore various career possibilities in communication;
2. Builds on classroom knowledge;
3. Opportunity to learn professional communication skills and attitudes that are best learned on
the job such as self-discipline, teamwork, responsibility, and initiative; and
4. Provides an opportunity to strengthen students portfolio with practical experience and
projects.

Internship Credit Requirements
In order to receive 3 credits, interns must accumulate a minimum of 96 documented, clock hours. In
order to receive 2 credits, interns must accumulate a minimum of 64 documented clock hours. In
order to receive 1 credit, interns must accumulate a minimum of 32 documented clock hours. These
hours are based on a 15-week period.

An intern's total work hours plus other requirements add up to about the normal amount of time a
student would spend attending and studying for any other three-hour-semester course.

COM 0495 Internship/Gilmore 2

It is the students responsibility to get the necessary paperwork from the SASC Experiential
Learning Advisor and all the correct signatures and documentation before beginning their
internship. Should a student start their internship later in the semester for credit, it is their
responsibly to still complete all necessary assignments and credit hours.

Policy Statement
Students are required to get approval of their internship from their communication advisor and the
SASC before they can enroll in COM 0495. Because the internship course requires students to get
professional experience off campus, no on campus internships are permitted except in the Office of
College Relations, unless otherwise approved by the communication discipline chair.

The internship supervisor can dismiss their intern if they feel they are not performing satisfactorily
or causing problems onsite. If this occurs, the intern's grade will be an F. Internships that do not
work out for reasons beyond the control of the intern will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

Course Structure
Students will spend the majority of their time at their internship site; thus, students will not have a
specified course time or location. It is the students responsibility; however, to meet with their
academic advisor if they experience any troubles in their internship as well as complete
assignments below.

Assignments
1. Portfolio Documents: Interns must submit a minimum of two communication artifacts via
the Epsilen drop box folder by Noon on Monday, December 8, 2014. The artifacts should
be actual projects completed during the internship. These can be news articles, news
releases, research papers, advertisements, social media, graphic designs, podcasts,
brochures, blogs (outside of weekly blog) or any other special project.

2. Weekly Blog Updates : Once a week, interns must post a blog on their COM 0495 Epsilen
platform about their internship. Information to include: (1) dates and hours worked during
the week, (2) total hours completed in the internship to date; (3) brief description of duties
preformed that week (can be bulleted); and (3) a short description of any problems (if any)
or successes (if any) that you are having at the internship. This is your chance to alert me to
any immediate concerns and to praise, complain, seek advice, and/or ask questions.

The blog is only seen and read by the academic advisor. It is not public, unless you make it
so. Blogs do not have to be long, but should address the above information. This is more of
a way for you to see what skills you still would like to learn and for me, your advisor, to
ensure that you are on track with hours and actually doing communication activities.

COM 0495 Internship/Gilmore 3

3. Personal Assessment: Students completing internships in prior semesters have indicated
that this was beneficial in reflecting about their internship. It offers the opportunity to reflect
on the entire internship and think about the positive and negative aspects of it. This section
will not be shared with your internship supervisor.

Students will submit a final 500 to 600 word personal assessment paper reflecting
on what they have learned and gained (or not learned and gained) from their
internship. This should address the following questions:
Did you attain each of your internship goals? If not, why? If so, how did you feel
once you attained that goal?
Have your career goals been reinforced or have you decided to alter your original
goals after this internship?
What new skills have you acquired and what present skills have been reinforced?
Consider the full range of skills: leadership, technical, communication, artistic,
social, political and others?
What were the most positive and negative aspects of your experience?
Would you have changed anything about your experience? If so, what and if not,
why not.

The assessment should be double spaced, 12-point Times or Arial font in essay format
(intro, body and conclusion) with 1-inch margins. Outside references are not necessary, but
if used, should be in MLA format. Spelling, grammar, and punctuation counts in calculating
the grade for the paper. Papers should be uploaded via the students Epsilen Platform
Drop Box by Noon on Monday, December 8, 2014.

Evaluation/Grading
The internship supervisor is expected to submit an evaluation at the end of the semester. An
unsatisfactory review from your supervisor or failure to fulfill all requirements of the internship
(blogs, assessment paper and portfolio) will cause you to fail this course. Internships are on a
pass/fail bases.

Note on Internships:
Although one internship is required for the major, it is not nearly enough if you are serious about
a career in communications. Regardless of the specific field you may be interested in
(journalism, public relations, broadcast, social media), you need more than one internship. You
need as many as possible -- period! To succeed in this career, you need to practice oral and
written communication skills by constantly seeking professional experiences as an intern and/or
freelancer for local media outlets. Remember that your coursework is basically designed to
prepare you for an internship and that your goal for every internship should be to impress your
employer so that they offer you a job. So complete as many internships as you can!