Requirements to be eligible for receiving official internship credit (COMS 497)

• COMS major with at least 90 hours completed
• Overall GPA of 3.0 or above; C or better in COMS 110, 205, 206, 215 & 235
• Completion of first 2 courses in major track
  • Health: COMS 240 and 310 OR 320
  • Organizational: COMS 245 and 345
  • Communication and Public Advocacy: COMS 260 and 352
• Completion of the research methods course requirement (COMS 300, 301, or 303)

Internship credit

• Internships may be undertaken for 1 to 15 credits
  • The number of credit hours received is based on a ratio of 1:20, i.e., 1 hour of academic credit for every 20 hours of work
  • Tuition and other fees apply when receiving internship credit

Internship requirements

• Internship must be approved by the Internship Coordinator before beginning work
• Students seeking internship credit must register for credit the quarter during which the internship is undertaken. This means that a student completing an internship for COMS 497 credit during summer must register for summer session. COMS 497 credit is not available for Winter Intersession or internships completed before requesting credit.
• Internship contract must be filled-out and returned to the Internship Coordinator before the first week of work is completed
• Intern must complete a written internship report that should be 3-4 pages per registered credit hour. Paper is due within 5 weeks of the beginning of the quarter following the internship, and includes:
  • History of the organization and its corporate structure;
  • Analysis of one or more communication theories appropriate to the student’s internship and how those theories were manifested in the organization; and,
  • A self-assessment of the internship experience
• Internship sponsor must complete a final evaluation of the intern
• No final grade is issued until after the sponsor’s evaluation and the internship paper are received and reviewed
• The final internship grade is based 50% on the paper and 50% on the evaluation by the sponsor. COMS 497 will be graded on a CR/fail basis only