The best step toward a career

Internships are an excellent way to apply your classroom knowledge in a professional work setting, to network with professionals, and to build your resume.

Students with majors in Cinema and Television Arts, Communication Design, Journalism, Media Analytics and Strategic Communications must complete at least 1 credit of the course as a graduation requirement and work in an approved internship experience as a co-requisite. What sets the academic internship apart from an independent work experience are:

  • The formal partnership for success that includes the internship director, site supervisor and intern
  • Objective guidance and support to the intern during the experience
  • Midterm check-up call that includes a discussion of how the experience has influenced the student’s career direction
  • Substantial reflective writing assignments related to career readiness to support the students’ professional growth

Each internship credit satisfies one unit of ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ’s Experiential Learning Requirement (ELR). The Department of Sport Management requires its majors to complete the SPT 3985 Internship in Sport Management course, where students do a full-time experiential opportunity in a professional interest area.

Students have previously interned at CNN, Dyson, ESPN, Paramount, NBCUniversal, TEGNA Media, APCO Worldwide, Weber Shandwick and a variety of media companies, public relations agencies, non-profits, and corporate settings around the world. Further, the provides numerous opportunities for students to intern in the entertainment world. The university also offers programs in Charlotte,Ìý and

Internship Preparation

To conduct an internship for academic credit, students must enroll in COM 3985 Communications Internship for 1 or 2 credit hours, based on 80 work-hours per credit hour in a professional internship experience. While the majority of students complete their internship for academic credit during the summer, students can complete an internship in any academic term (winter, spring, summer, or fall). Students work with the internship director to register their internship for academic credit and to document their experiences through a series of assignments that bridge their academic experience with the internship experience.

Every communications school has an internship program, but ºÚÁϲ»´òìÈ takes internships to the next level in three ways:

  1. All of our internships are conducted in professional settings with supervisors who provide mentoring throughout the experience.
  2. Our School of Communications has a full-time internship director available to help students every day.
  3. We are proactive in seeking engaging internship opportunities for students by building relationships with employers and keeping in contact with our students on the job.

We think of internships as the vital third step. The first two steps are involvement in student media and academic preparation through coursework. A professional internship then sets the stage for the beginning of a fulfilling career.

For internship guidelines and information on recent internships, use the links to the right. We look forward to helping you to achieve your goals.