Nicholson School of Communication
Journalism Internship Information
Catalog Requirements
Only students with a 2.5 grade point average in their required reporting and editing classes are eligible to receive credit for an internship. Normally, internships must be done off campus at professional publications, not campus papers.
Other Guidelines
Students must complete their basic reporting, editing or photo classes before signing up for an internship. Then, they must find an internship with a newspaper, magazine or website. The Journalism faculty does not award credit for internships in other fields, such as public relations. Journalism majors can complete their internships during any semester: fall, spring, or summer. An internship can receive up to 2 credit hours. A maximum of 7 internship credit hours may be earned within the 120 hours required for graduation.
Students completing their internships during the fall, spring or summer C semesters are required to work a minimum of 9 hours a week per credit. However, many interns work longer hours.
The internship must be a new experience and a learning experience. The Journalism faculty does not award students credit for continuing their regular jobs (jobs they have held for some time).
Paperwork & Faculty Advisers
To receive credit for an internship, students must have a faculty member in the Journalism sequence supervise the experience. To sign up for an internship, please down load the forms located at the bottom of this page or they can be attained in the Nicholson Academic Student Services Center (NASSC) (NSC 143). All forms must be completed fully; incomplete forms will not be processed. Insofar as your internship employment agreement, you, your adviser and your employer must sign it. Make two copies, and then turn the original and two copies into NASSC. The assessment instrument has to be completed by the immediate supervisor at the internship no later than the last week of regular scheduled classes.
Salaries
Some interns are paid; others are not. That is an individual matter, to be settled between students and their employers.
Finding an Internship
Students are expected to find their own internships. They can intern at newspapers, magazines and websites anywhere in the United States. Most, however, intern at publications in Central Florida.
Students who find internships, especially the best internships, are generally the most experienced and aggressive. Moreover, they get an early start. Generally, daily newspapers offer the best internships. Dailies are more likely to develop formal internship programs, to pay their interns and to hire their best interns when they graduate.
Also, students can ask for help at UCF’s COOP office for paid internships in Journalism. Please call Denise Moore at (407) 823-1006 for more details.
Some large dailies employ several interns every summer and their deadlines for applications begin as early as November or December. Smaller newspapers (and those without formal internship programs) are likely to have later deadlines.
What's the best approach?
Mail the editor or managing editor a cover letter, resume, and half a dozen of your best clips. A week or so later, call and offer to drive to the paper for an interview. Then be patient. You may have to wait several weeks (or months) for an answer. In case you are turned down at one paper, apply to several. There is no need to limit your applications to local publications. If you want to apply for an internship in another part of the state or country, consult "Editor & Publisher Yearbook" or "Ayers Directory" at the UCF library. Both publications list all the major publications in every city and state. They also list the publications’ editors.
Internship opportunities are also posted on the Journalism bulletin board and announced through the Society of Professional Journalists’ UCF Chapter.
