Internships

In an internship, students work in an organization, carrying out specific job functions that relate to the advertising and public relations field and earn college credit. Advertising/Public Relations majors are required to do one, 3-credit hour internship to graduate. You must have completed (not be currently enrolled in) either ADV 3008 to do an advertising internship or PUR 4000 to do a public relations internship. An internship is required for several reasons: it provides essential hands-on experience to develop real-world skills that you cannot get in the classroom, and because there is no better way to find your first job in the field than with practical experience and professional connections. Internships provide both while you are still in school.

Internships are graded as S/U-Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory-and not by letter grade. It does not affect your GPA, but it does count toward your 120 hours required for graduation and your 30 hours required in Ad/PR.

Internships can be found in several ways.

• You can find your own. Want to go home for the summer, or to another city, and work in an ad agency or a company that performs marketing communication functions? You can do that. Just bring a job description to your faculty adviser along with a completed internship form for approval.
• Attend Intern Pursuit. This is a meet-and-greet program held each Fall and Spring where local advertising and public relations professionals gather to find UCF Ad/PR interns. The next event will be held on Thursday, October 29th from 6:30 until 8 pm in downtown Orlando.
• Search our Web site. (Under construction.) Local businesses looking for our interns have created fliers that are posted on the Nicholson School of Communication Web site. These internships are grouped by type, such as PR Writing, PR Events, Advertising Account Services, Sports, etc. Students can find an internship that interests them and contact the person listed on the flier directly. When this part of our Web site is ready, we will send notice out through Facebook.
• Contact the Office of Experiential Learning. This office has some national opportunities. Contact Jackie Herold at 407 823-2557. Ferrell Commons, Suite 203.

Credit for internships follows this formula. In Fall and Spring, a 16-week semester, the formula is 1-to-3. For every credit hour you register for, you need to work a minimum of three hours on the job. So, a 3-credit hour internship (the most popular) requires 9 hours on the job. In Summer, when the semester is 12 weeks, the formula is 1-to-4. So three credit hours requires 12 hours on the job.

Summer internships are for Summer C term. You cannot intern only in Summer A or only in Summer B.

A note on internship hours: No matter what you register for, you will get the most out of your internship experience by working full days. Try to put in two full days a week to increase your chances of working on projects and not just doing busy work.

Registering for an internship. You cannot register yourself. You need to complete the form, take it to your internship employer, have them complete the employer part, you both need to sign it, and then bring it to your faculty adviser (or any Ad/PR faculty member). We take it from there, and Communication office staff registers you. You can download the "Internship Agreement" form here or visit the Communication office, NSC 238, for a copy.

Internship Paperwork. The Internship Agreement Form is the only form an Ad/PR faculty member will sign. Some out-of-area internships ask for verification of students receiving credit for the internship and ask for faculty to write letters certifying this. Our response will be for students to show the employers their fee invoice. Because of the size and scope of our internship program, faculty members do not have time to deal with letters and paperwork, which many times are about things we have no authority to approve or certify. If internship employers are insistent on their own paperwork being completed, you need to do your internship through the Office of Experiential Learning.

Receiving the S/U grade for an internship. Your internship supervisor will complete an Internship Assessment Form, available from your faculty adviser. We cannot accept emails. But the form can be faxed to 407 823 6360. The form can be mailed to your faculty adviser, or you can deliver it to your adviser. This form must be received by your faculty adviser before Finals Week of the semester of the internship. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO MEET WITH YOUR FACULTY ADVISER IN PERSON TO DELIVER YOUR FORM. Slip it under your adviser's door or have the Communication office staff put it in your adviser's mailbox.

Click here to see how to fill out the internship agreement form.