Step-by-Step Process for Obtaining and Completing Your Internship
According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), “An internship is a form of experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional setting. Internships give students the opportunity to gain valuable applied experience and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career paths; and give employers the opportunity to guide and evaluate talent.” Internships are an excellent way for students to gain real world experience, network in their desired field, build their resume, and ultimately explore and launch a rewarding career.
The M.A., Communication and Business Leadership (M.A., CBL) internship provides students the opportunity to complete a meaningful career oriented work experience in a variety of professional organizational settings. The supervised internship experience requires students to balance both their professional worksite responsibilities and their academic course responsibilities in effectively completing the masters level internship.
M.A., CBL students have two options when gaining internship experience:
- An off-campus internship opportunity with either a for profit or not for profit organization
- An on-campus internship opportunity with either an academic or business unit of the University
These internships are graded for credit.
For M.A., CBL students interested in creating and completing an Internship, please print the M.A. CBL Internship Guide using the link provided above. The Guide will take you through the process you’ll follow in researching possible internships, preparing for and meeting with potential internship employers, securing your internship, obtaining HPU approvals, and finally, completing your internship and internship course requirements.
PREPARING TO MEET WITH YOUR POTENTIAL INTERNSHIP SITE SUPERVISOR
Download a Microsoft Word copy of the M.A., CBL Internship Site Guide to your laptop.
The Internship Course Site Guide is written for the Site Supervisor. It outlines the internship site supervisor’s responsibilities, along with student intern’s internship responsibilities. Review the Site Guide’s contents.
Use this document in meetings with your potential internship site. It will guide both you and your site supervisor in assuring that you both have a clear agreement about the ground rules for your internship. (There are spaces to fill in your learning objectives, job responsibilities and work schedule in the document). Provide a copy of the completed document to your faculty supervisor.
BEFORE APPLYING FOR ACADEMIC CREDIT
- Meet with your faculty advisor to confirm that your desired internship is eligible for academic credit and to discuss the items below-
- Job description and preliminary work schedule provided by your site supervisor
- Review/revise Learning Objectives
- Determine course subject code (Ex. CBL)
- Determine course subject number (Ex. 5011, 5012)
- Determine course credit hours (Ex. 1, 2)
- Determine course instructor name and email
- Meet with Brandon Floyd, Assistant Director of Career & Professional Development, to discuss Handshake application.
- Have your Site Supervisor sign the HPU Internship Responsibility Agreement and Internship Policies Form ensuring their duties and responsibilities. This form will be required for the internship application.
APPLICATION PROCESS
- Log in to Handshake using your HPU email and password.
- In Handshake, under Career Center on the right side of the page, click EXPERIENCES. In EXPERIENCES, click “REQUEST AN EXPERIENCE” and fill out the application in its entirety.
- Click START AN APPLICATION and fill out the application in its entirety.
- For BRIEFLY DESCRIBE THE POSITION, LEARNING OBJECTIVES, AND OTHER IMPORTANT FACTORS, please copy and paste the documents you discussed with your faculty advisor
- For COURSE SUBJECT NAME, type Internship
- For COURSE SUBJECT CODE, COURSE SUBJECT NUMBER, COURSE CREDIT HOURS, COURSE INSTRUCTOR NAME, and EMAIL, type in the information provided by your faculty advisor
- Read the TERMS OF SERVICE at the bottom of the application.
- Once completed, SUBMIT APPLICATION.
- After the above steps are complete, your application will be emailed to your faculty advisor for approval.
DOCUMENT UPLOAD & APPROVAL PROCESS
- Once your application is submitted, click Career Center> EXPERIENCES> VIEW DETAILS.
- Under ATTACHMENTS on the left side, download the Site Guide. The Site Guide lists all the documents you need to upload in one place. Once your documents are uploaded, your application will be reviewed for approval.
AFTER APPLYING
- When your faculty supervisor approves your application, you will receive an approval email and you will be able to view it by clicking the “View Details” tab under Experiences in Handshake.
- If you have not received an approval email within 3 business days, please send a friendly email to your faculty advisor to ensure they received the application.
- Email Brandon Floyd at bfloyd@highpoint.edu to confirm that your application has been approved and to ensure that you are enrolled in the course.
Interns are evaluated by both their Site and Faculty Supervisors on progress towards their learning objectives. Evaluations generally fall into the following categories: performance as a member of the staff, performance on assigned tasks, professionalism and ethical behavior, ability to work with others, and potential for work in this field.
Keep in mind that your specific department may require more than what is listed below during the course of your internship. It is important that you check with your Faculty Supervisor or your Department Chair to make sure that you are aware of all additional requirements before beginning your internship. All paperwork must be submitted electronically.
Weekly Time Log
You cannot begin logging your hours until after you complete the entire application process and are registered. In order to receive a “P” for your Internship, you are required to keep Weekly Time Logs of the hours that you work on-site. Please access your Weekly Time Log HERE. Your weekly logged hours will be analyzed by the Office of Career & Professional Development weekly at the mid-term and final periods of your experience.
Midterm Evaluation Form
At the mid-point of your internship (when you have completed half of the total number of required hours) both the student AND Site Supervisor will complete separate Midterm Evaluations.
Please email the Midterm Evaluation link to your Site Supervisor so that they can complete the evaluation in a timely manner AND access the link here to complete your individual evaluation. These evaluations will keep all parties up-to-date on the progress that you have made at your internship site thus far. Once submitted, a copy of these evaluations will go to the Faculty Supervisor, Site Supervisor, and the Office of Career & Professional Development.
Final Evaluation Form
At the end of your internship (when you have completed all required hours) both the student AND Site Supervisor will complete separate Final Evaluations. The evaluations are due on or before the last day of class for that particular semester.
Please email the Final Evaluation link to your Site Supervisor so that they can complete the evaluation in a timely manner AND access the link here to complete your individual evaluation. Once submitted, a copy of these evaluations will go to the Faculty Supervisor, Site Supervisor, and the Office of Career & Professional Development.