Why Should I Take An Internship?

• Get a first hand look at various career options.
• Build career skills.
• Apply classroom knowledge at a work place.
• Crystallize your career planning.
• Earn college credits while you are away from the classroom.
• Create a portfolio of records and samples documenting your knowledge and skills to enhance your opportunity of getting your first professional career.
• Meet successful professionals and learn their secrets of success.
• Establish contact with prospective employers.

Where Are The Internship Opportunities?

Internship placements are available across New York State and throughout the Northeast. A wide variety of agencies are currently participating in the department internship program which represents the fields of electronic and print media, public relations, advertising, marketing, sales and promotions, state government, human relations, and theater arts. Examples of participating agencies include:

Television:	ABC , CBS, NBC, CNN, Comedy Central, FOX, HBO, MTV, PBS, and local network affiliates.
Recording Industry:	EMI Records, Polygram Records, SONY, Warner, Island Def Jam
Public Relations:	Bozell Public Relations, Rogers & Cowan, Grays, Putnam Berkley Group, The Bronx Zoo, Nat’l Baseball Hall of Fame, Bassett Hospital, Fox Memorial Hospital, National Soccer Hall of Fame
Advertising:	KATZ Communication, DDB Needham Worldwide Advertising, McCann-Erikson, Saatchi and Saatchi
Print:	Time Magazine, MAD, The Wall Street Journal, Penguin Books, The Daily Star, National Geographic, local weekly and daily newspapers.
Radio:	WFAN Radio, WBAB, WZOZ, WBCI, Howard Stern, WKTU, Z100, Clear Channel and Cumulus Media
Public Service:	Anti-Defamation League, Opportunities for Otsego, Mediation Services, and the American Cancer Society, local arts councils, and perfoming art centers.

What Are The Requirements For Taking An Internship?

• Internships are a course option for Juniors and Seniors with a major and/or minor study in the Department of Communication Arts. Students studying in other disciplines may apply for an internship if they have taken related courses.
• Students should have a major GPA of at least 2.5, and have passed the College Writing Exam at the time of application.
• Students may enroll in MCOM 397 or COMM 397. The number of course credit hours may vary between 3 and 15, depending on the nature of internship, student academic need, and time spent on the internship. Students are required to work 40 hours for every one credit hour.
• Student interns are required to maintain a daily journal of their internship activities and to answer a set of weekly questions via e-mail to the internship office. Students must also prepare a final paper via e-mail summarizing their experience at the conclusion of their internships.
• Grading is based on the quality of an intern’s performance, daily journal, self-evaluation report, agency supervisor’s evaluation and the department Internship Coordinator’s observations.
• All internship credits are graded as Pass/Fail only.

What Are Other Benefits Of Taking An Internship?

College credits received from an internship can be used in at least four different ways:

1. all internship credits can be used as general elective credits.
2. all internship credits can be used toward upper division credit requirement,.
3. up to six credit hours can be applied toward elective requirements for majors in the Communication Arts Department.
4. up to three credit hours can be applied toward the requirements for a minor in the Communication Arts Department.

Internship credits do not count as liberal arts credits.

How Do I Go About Getting An Internship?

Interested students must submit an application to the Department Internship Coordinator. Application deadlines for internships are as follows: November 31 for spring semester, May 20 for summer term and June 30 for fall semester.

Students should prepare a resume and a cover letter by the time they apply for an internship. After discussing their area of interest in an interview session with the Internship Coordinator, students will search for and target related placements to which they will send their resume with cover letter.

Generally, internship sites will respond to students through mail, e-mail or by phone to set up interviews. Following interview and acceptance into an internship program, a student must once again meet with the Internship Coordinator and complete an Internship Application form and Internship Description. The Internship Coordinator will approve or disapprove the internship and notify the internship agency regarding the completion of the registration process. Students will receive internship credits upon successful completion of all internship requirements.

For further information and inquiry, please contact:

Internship Coordinator,
Department of Communication Arts,
(607) 436-3052.
mcinterns@oneonta.edu