Internship & Externship Programs
The Internship Program
The Division of Communication was an early supporter of internships for
its majors. Today professional job experience prior to graduation is
viewed as a major advantage in the competitive job market for new
baccalaureate degree holders. Our students have had that option for many
years and it has clearly paid off in professional job placement
opportunities. The program has grown significantly with internship placements available for
students in all emphasis areas.
The professional mix of placement opportunities has been truly diverse. New York advertising agencies, major Wisconsin public relations and advertising firms, local radio and television stations, Milwaukee radio and television stations, out of state broadcasters, Fortune 500 companies, small businesses, major insurance firms, professional video production companies, in state and out-of-state newspapers, the Milwaukee Brewers, the Office of Chicago's Mayor Daley, and myriad nonprofit agencies have chosen UWSP communication majors as interns. United Way, the American Cancer Society, the Salvation Army, Red Cross, Big Brothers/Big Sisters and the YMCA are among the many nonprofit organizations that have provided internships. School systems, government agencies and elected public officials have also offered multiple opportunities for our interns.
Communication majors have served in internship positions in Florida, Utah, Minnesota, Illinois, New York, London, and of course, all over Wisconsin.
Two basic reasons explain the success of the program. One, employers understand that having an intern makes a contribution to the professional preparation new graduates bring to the workplace and that the internship position is a potentially "good deal" for their organizations. Two, our placement process makes for a high level of probability that the intern will do a superb job.
Two professors must provide reference support that an intern applicant is qualified for the position being sought. One of those faculty must be in the professional emphasis area of the intern applicant. Please e-mail two faculty requesting an e-mail recommendation for your internship. Request that they forward this recommendation to Gerard McKenna at gmckenna@uwsp.edu.
Those two professors providing validation for the worthiness for internship plus the assessment of the Internship Director offers a minimum of three professionals who have experience with the internship applicant before the applicant is placed in a position. Additionally, the grade point requirement and other considerations have resulted in a superb record of success for the placements made by the division. In excess of a thousand interns have established a track record of accomplishment validated by the supervisory feedback of an equivalent number of managers who have provided on job supervision and assessment.
Any person in a position to offer internships should explore the option of our program. Positions may be paid or unpaid depending on the circumstances. Our students receive one credit for every forty hours of work up to a maximum of eight credits for 320 hours of work. Only three credits of work in an internship count for the Communication major, but the other credits do count as elective credits for your university degree.
Our program has limited the paperwork for employers so that there is no bureaucratic frustration caused by the university for the employer providing an internship position.
Current Internship Opportunities
To view available internship opportunities, please visit the Career Services website and click on the hyperlink at the bottom left called Career Point. Log into the Career Services employment site. Click on Jobs and then Job Search. Choose Intern from Position Type and pick the appropriate Job Category.
Report Requirements
Write your reports with a future employer in mind. You are not simply proving that you held an internship. Documentation that you held the position and hours worked is provided in other ways. You want to say what you did and have a supervisor say how well you did it when supervisory evaluations are submitted. You are seeking to leave a documentation trail of a valuable experience that serves you as you graduate and seek the best professional slot possible. Your reports also offer an employer a sample of your writing skills.
To view available internship opportunities, please visit the Career Services website and click on the hyperlink at the bottom left called Career Point.
Interim Reports
Interim reports are due when you have completed half of the required
hours. It is your responsibility to make this determination and
forward that paper to the Internship Director. This report should
represent your best writing. The report should be no more than three
typed, double-spaced pages and should include the following: (1) How
many hours per week are you working (on average)? (2) What have you
done so far? Problems solved, projects undertaken, publics served,
professional behavior witnessed, etc. (3) What will you be doing for
the remainder of the internship? (4) Evaluate the learning
opportunities you have experienced thus far (5) Evaluate the time
and direction you have received from your supervisor.
At this time you also need to have your supervisor fill out an
Interim Evaluation Form, which can be downloaded in the forms
section of this website.
Final Reports
Final reports are due as soon as possible upon completion of your
internship. This report should represent your best writing. In not
more than five typed, double-spaced pages you should include the
following: (1) Describe your experiences as an intern. What have
you done so far? Problems solved, projects undertaken, publics
served, professional behavior witnessed, etc. Specify what has
occurred since the interim report you have made. (2) Describe the
methods your supervisor used to train and/or direct your efforts (3)
What were the best and worst aspects of your internship? (4) How
does what you have learned in the classroom compare with your
internship experience? (5) What do you know now that you didn't know
at the start of your internship that will help you after you leave
the university? (6) How are you better prepared by virtue of your
internship to make a professional contribution in the work place?
When you have finished your internship, you also need to have your
supervisor fill out a Final Evaluation Form, which can be downloaded
in the forms section of this website. Supervisor can mail to me,
email, you can bring personally. Just be sure I have it.
If you have not submitted all your internship materials by the time
semester grades are submitted, you will receive an Incomplete until
all materials are received.
The internship application is available in an electronic document which requires Adobe Acrobat. If you currently do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader, you can download the most recent version from, http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
Further information may be had by writing Professor Gerard McKenna, Division of Communication, UWSP, Stevens Point, WI, 54481, or calling 715-346-2738 or 346-3409. E-mail gmckenna@uwsp.edu
The Externship Program
Qualified students are able to work fulltime for 12 weeks (40 hours per week) in London in the Division of Communication’s externship program. This is a wonderful opportunity for highly motivated students to experience a full-time work experience in an urban setting. Students have worked for NBC News, top British PR firms, film companies, parliament, theatres and many other exciting venues. The Externship in Communication (Communication 485) is limited to highly qualified communication majors. Only seniors with a GPA in communication of 2.75 or above are eligible. Students must have suitable coursework/preparation to apply for a placement in London and will be screened through a meeting with the division head. Only three credits of work in the externship program count for the Communication major, but the other credits do count as elective credits for your university degree.
Students interested in an externship must obtain their application materials through the UWSP International Programs Office and schedule a meeting with the head of the Division of Communication.