Speech Communication Internship Fact Sheet For Interns and Supervisors COMM4624 & COMM 4337 1 The following are the Internship Policies and Procedures for the Communication department at UT-PA. If you have any questions, please consult the Internship Coordinator for COMM 4624 and COMM 4337 at (956) 381-3583. Catalog Description: COMM 4624 Professional Internship-Cooperative Education Speech Communication A planned program of half-time (20 hours per week) work, for a minimum of one semester or two continuous summer sessions, related to the field. Enrollment must be completed prior to the work period. Students should be classified as seniors. Credit will be determined on the basis of satisfactory employer s evaluation and the student s written report. Previous Course Number: COMM 3624; a student may receive credit for only one course. Intern Projects: Must involve Interpersonal, Public, and/or Organizational Communication activities. Location: Length: Credit: Wages: Grading: Prerequisites: Local Valley businesses, non-profits, educational settings, UT-PA. The UT-PA Catalog requires 20 hours per week for one semester. This is generally a total of 300 hours per semester. Summer internships can carry over to two summer sessions. COMM 4624 is a 6 hour credit course. Financial compensation depends solely on the supervising organization. The amount is strictly a matter between the intern and the company. If an intern works for a non-profit agency, then the student may choose to volunteer his/her time. Students are encouraged to seek paid internships whenever possible. An intern is evaluated by both the job supervisor and the Internship Coordinator. The Supervisor s assessment of the Intern s work, attitude, professionalism, etc. will count as 25% of the final grade. The remaining 75% of the grade will be based on the student s journal and final paper. It should be understood that the participation alone does not warrant a letter grade of A. As in any regular class, a grade of A will reflect excellence in not only carrying out the work of the organization, but also high quality journal entries and a well-written, well-thought out paper using appropriate communication concepts. Senior Standing and/or permission of the Internship Coordinator.
2 Recommended preparation for internship: Minimum 2.8 g.p.a.: interview with the coordinator; up-dated degree plan, completion of majority of course work in selected track. Internship Specifics: 1. Supervision will be provided by the on-site supervisor & the Internship Coordinator. 2. Intern will submit his/her journal for review on a bi-weekly or monthly basis. 3. Intern will keep a notebook which contains journal entries, samples of written work produced for the organization, and other relevant information. 4. The Intern must meet with the Internship Coordinator on a regular basis which will be arranged at the beginning of the semester. 5. Student must complete all Internship materials before being assigned to a site. 6. Internships will be reviewed for approval once the Internship Coordinator has the following: a job description, the weekly work schedule, the duration of this work experience, the name, address, and telephone number of the on-site Intern supervisor. The Internship Coordinator will then discuss this information with the onsite supervisor. Catalog Description: Guidelines for COMM 4337 COMM 4337 Professional Internship-Cooperative Education Speech Communication (SP) A planned program of half-time work (10 hours per week), for a minimum of one semester of two continuous summer sessions, related to the field. Enrollment must be completed prior to the work period. Students should be classified as seniors. Credit will be determined on the basis of satisfactory employer s evaluation and the student s written report. May be repeated once for credit. See information for COMM 4624 for grading and internship specifics. This course generally requires 150 hours per semester. Summer internships can carry over to two summer sessions.
3 UTPA COMMUNICATION INTERNSHIP APPLICATION After you complete this form, attach an unofficial copy of your transcript, and return to Internship Coordinator, COAS 151. 1. Name: 2. Student ID#: 3. Local Address: 4. Local Phone: 5. Permanent Address: 6. Permanent Phone: 7. Email Address: 8. Major: 9. Hours Completed: 10. Anticipated Graduation Date: 11. I am applying for an internship during: 20 Fall Spring Summer I Summer II 12. Why are you applying for a UT-PA Communication Department Internship? 13. What is your present career objective? 14. List any additional courses or work experience you have had that would be relevant to the Communication Internship.
DESCRIPTION OF INTERNSHIP PROGRAM (TO BE COMPLETED BY PROFESSIONAL SUPERVISOR) 4 1. Name of Intern: 2. Briefly list the duties you expect the intern to perform. (Attach a job description or list, if necessary.) 3. List below any specific qualities/course work/experience you expect the intern to possess/have completed. _ 4. About, how many hours per week will the intern spend on the job? 5. What will the starting and ending dates of the internship be? to 6. Will the intern be compensated financially? Yes No Not Sure 7. Will you evaluate the intern when asked for (typically one to two times during the internship and a final evaluation after the internship has been completed)? _ 8. Please include any additional information or comments you have. Professional Supervisor s Name & Signature Title Organization: Business Address: Business Phone: Fax No. Email Address: Please return to: University of Texas-Pan American, Internship Coordinator, Speech Communication Department 1201 W. University Drive, Edinburg, Texas 78539 or send with Intern.
5 Final Report In addition to your journals, work samples, an analysis paper must be submitted in order to receive credit for your internship. The focus of the assignment should be on the role communication played during the internship experience. Specifically, you need to address the following issues: Provide a brief description of your internship and the organization for which you worked. Select communication skills/concepts that played an important role in your internship. Concepts from COMM 3332, 3334, and 4336 are particularly appropriate. These may include conflict management, leadership, decision-making, etc. Discuss how your classroom training relates to your internship experience as far these concepts are concerned. If you were to repeat the same internship from the start, what would you do differently? What should we do differently? The papers will be graded based on the following criteria: I. Content A. Was the paper thorough? 1. Were all requirements fulfilled? 2. Were relevant examples provided? B. Were communication concepts discussed in depth? 1. Were the ideas grounded in communication theory? 2. Were the ideas clear and insightful? II. Mechanics A. Was the paper well organized? B. Were grammar and spelling correct? Your paper must be typed, double-spaced, and 5-7 pages in length. Your paper, journal entries, and work samples are due the final week of your internship. All items should be neatly and professionally included in a binder or notebook with appropriately labeled tabs. If you have any questions please contact the Internship Coordinator (956) 381-3583 (office).
6 UTPA SPEECH COMMUNICATION INTERNSHIP CONTRACT 1. Intern s Name: Date: 2. Local Address: 3. Email Address: Cell Phone #: 4. Local Telephone #: 5. Fall Spring Summer I Summer II 6. COMM 4624 COMM 4337 7. Hours per week: 8. Supervisor s Name: 9. Address: 10. Telephone #: FOR DEPARTMENTAL USE ONLY I have received a packet containing the necessary materials regarding this internship. I understand what is required of me (journals, log sheet, work samples, final report), and I am aware of the following due dates: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. I understand that this is a graded experience, and that my grade will depend not only on work performance and completion of all requirements, but the evaluations by both the supervisor and intern coordinator. I have signed up for internship credit. Any exceptions are noted below. Student Signature Intern Coordinator Date
7 SAMPLE JOURNAL ENTRIES Week 4: This week my job assignment changed. Since the floor supervisor quit, I was moved into his position until a replacement could be found. This meant I was responsible not only for the recording of orders that were filled, but also for managing the four people who work in the warehouse. This included scheduling and learning how things were done along with giving explicit directions about who should do what. The biggest thing I learned about communication is that leaders do not simply tell followers what to do. Workers are each different, and they have ways of upsetting things if they are not treated correctly. For example, when I simply told a guy to get something for me, I got it about 3 hours later. Next time I asked a little more politely, and I got what I want more quickly. I think the guy had a little more respect for me, too. Maybe there is something to this authoritarian/democratic leader stuff. SAMPLE TRAINING /WORK RECORD During the week of March 4 th, I participated in 6 hours of training. Three of these hours were spent in a company sales training seminar; the other three hours were spent shadowing my immediate supervisor and participating in our weekly feedback meeting. The other 27 hours that I worked were spent performing my regular duties Intern s Signature: Supervisor s Signature: