School of Communications > Communication Program > Communication Internships
Communication Internships
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Obtaining Internship Information |
Description
The School of Communications, Communication Internship Program provides the
opportunity for students to gain experience in professional settings that
allow them to apply communications skills and knowledge. Positions are in
coordination with a variety of organizations in the community with fields
including commercial broadcasting and video production, advertising and public
relations, telecommunications and other communication related fields. There
are internships with non-profit organizations and educational establishments
including UH. The internship program is open only to declared majors in the
School of Communication and senior status is highly recommended.
Most internships are UNPAID as required by the "employing" agency following the guidelines set forth in the Fair Labor Standards Act. Some organizations choose to offer paid internships (either for insurance/liability reasons or their expectations of you as an intern are outside the guidelines of Federal Law for unpaid interns) and are required to hire you as a regular employee. A paid internship must be approved by the Internship Instructor before a contract is signed between you and the employing agency to insure its appropriateness to the program. In most cases, a regular paid job is NOT appropriate for an internship.
Credits
A School of Communications major may take up to 6 credits of COM 495 with
no more than 3 credits earned in any one semester. Only 3 credits may be counted
toward their major degree requirements.
You must register for the letter grading option (A-F). COM 495 can neither be taken on the credit/no-credit option nor audited.You have to understand that mere completion of an internship does not guarantee any credit. Internships may be terminated by the department or employer at any time with notice. The internship instructor, in consultation with the professional supervisor, will determine the grade awarded. For each credit hour, the student is expected to work a minimum of 50 hours so that the normal semester of three credit hours would mean working a minimum of 150 hours over the course of the semester. This is approximately 10 hours per week.
Student Responsibilities
It is the student's responsibility to set up the internship. This is done
by contacting the sponsor and asking for an interview for the internship position
listed. If both you and the sponsor reach an agreement including hours to
be worked and responsibilities, you will then fill out the forms provided
by the department with appropriate signatures and return them to the internship
instructor.
Students are also highly encouraged to arrange their own internships. In fact, many of the listed positions which are now a regular part of the internship program were begun on student initiative and contact with the prospective organizations. Please see the Internship Instructor if you have an internship in mind, which is not with one of the established sponsors on the list.
Obtaining Internship Information
There are three ways that you can obtain the information of internship opportunities:
- Visit the Available Internships link. It contains a list of sponsors that established with the School of Communication and their contact information that includes their names, addresses, and phone numbers. You can also click on the links to some of the sponsors' websites from this list.
- Most recent internship opportunities are also listed on the bulletin board of the School of Communications office. It will be updated periodically.
- You can also subscribe to our intern-l@hawaii.edu listerv to keep yourself informed of any internship opportunities. To subscribe, simply drop a line to Sandra Wu at swu@hawaii.edu and provide her with your full name, status (junior or senior), and interested internship areas.
Registering for COM 495
Before registering, you need to complete the Internship Procedure Checklist,
which can be found in the internship packet located in the School of Communications
office, and make an appointment with the Internship instructor to discuss
the checklist in order to obtain an approval code. In order to receive credit
for the internship, the student must fulfill the requirements listed on the
Memorandum of Agreement form. Please study this form carefully and direct
any questions to the Internship instructor. Unless it is mentioned in the
syllabus otherwise, all work must be completed and turned in by the last day
of instruction of the semester. There will be NO incomplete for COM 495.
Employer Responsibilities
Each professional supervisor accepts certain responsibilities and is required
to:
- Register by providing a detailed description or outline of the proposed internship (e.g., list of duties) with the School of Communications.
- Assure that the student has a meaningful learning experience, performing relevant entry-level work.
- Supervise and critique the student's performance.
- Provide the student opportunities to work on a variety of projects.
- Provide a clean and adequate working environment.
- Ensure that the student work in accordance with state labor laws and union contracts.
- Submit the completed final evaluation form to the Internship Instructor.
Employer Qualifications
Organizations sponsoring Communication Internships must be capable of providing
a broad on-the-job learning experience for a minimum of 50-150 hours. Close
supervision by a professional is an absolute requirement.
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