Internships


When to Apply
 Finding an Internship
 Application for Internship Credit
Evaluation during the Internship
 Conclusion of the Internship

Senior undergraduate students must to complete an internship as part of their major. Graduate students are required to complete an internship in business, industry, government, or academia in technical and scientific communication. The internship is designed to allow students to incorporate field experience with TSC course work, to observe communication processes, and to apply effective written, interpersonal, and public communication skills. In order to receive TSC credit for an internship, students must devote a minimum of 150 hours of work to this applied learning experience.



When to Apply

The student must complete the core requirements of the program to apply for an internship. That is, after a graduate student completes TSC 510 (or TSC 520), TSC 530, and TSC 540 or an undergraduate student completes TSC 210 (or TSC 220), TSC 230, and TSC 240, the student can apply for approval of an internship position by the TSC internship supervisor.

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Finding an Internship

Each academic year, a TSC faculty member is responsible for organizing and approving internship positions for graduate students. The internship supervisor maintains and updates an internship database to help students find the best applied learning opportunity for their specialized interests. The internship supervisor emails all TSC students updates on internship opportunities. In order to benefit from an outside learning experience, the internship must provide the student ample opportunity to apply observing, proofreading, writing, research, editing, and the use of relevant equipment or tool. If you are having difficulty finding an internship position, study the internship requirements and contact the internship supervisor for assistance.

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Application for Internship Credit

Once the student finds an appropriate internship position, the student must apply for TSC credit. The first step in the application process consists of the student and internship provider completing the three forms below (downloadable in .pdf format):

Application for Technical Writing Internship
Technical Writing Internship Agreement
Internship Provider Data Sheet

The completed forms help the internship supervisor determine the usefulness of the internship position. The forms verify the agreement between the internship provider and student of a minimum of 150 hours, at least 10 hours a week over a 15-week semester and responsibilities of the internship. The intern may choose to complete the internship in less than a 15-week semester, as long as the minimum of 150 hours is completed. If the internship supervisor approves the student's choice, the student will be given permission to enroll in TSC 495 (undergraduate) or TSC 695 (graduate) for three credit hours.

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Evaluation during the Internship

The student must email a one-page report to the internship adviser every two weeks. To ensure the internship provider and student uphold the agreement in the application forms, the TSC internship supervisor may contacts the internship provider for the intern's progress and job performance. If any conflicts arise with the intern or internship provider, the TSC internship supervisor will attempt to speak with both parties to reach an acceptable solution.

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Conclusion of the Internship

At the conclusion of the internship, the internship provider and graduate student must complete these remaining two forms: Internship Provider Evaluation Form
Student Evaluation Form The student will also complete and deliver to the internship adviser a closeout report of not more than 10 double-spaced pages. The evaluation forms help the ITSC internship supervisor evaluate the student's performance at the job position as well as the value of the internship position for future TSC students.

Printable Summary of Internship Requirements



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