Internship

The Department is governed by College of Visual and Performing Arts (CVPA) and general university policies for experiential course credits. CVPA limits students to a maximum of 12 credit hours among the following categories of courses:

Internships (SUIP 470)

Internships are recommended for students as a means of obtaining career/vocational experience. Students normally enroll for intern hours during the junior or senior year. Department faculty members serve as advisors to interns. The Syracuse University Internship Program (SUIP) administers all internships. Information on internships is available through the SU I.P. office.

The following are general guidelines:

1. Internships are for variable credit ranging from 1-6 hours. For each hour of credit, the intern must complete 45 contact hours (3 hrs./week in a 15 week semester). Students may select from internships arranged through CIP or develop their own contacts with an agency and then seek CIP approval. In either case, the student completes an application for the internship and requests a faculty member to sponsor him/her.
2. The faculty sponsor will specify requirements for satisfactory completion of the internship. Requirements may include a journal, paper, or other indicators of learning.
3. Internships are graded either "pass" or "fail."
4. Student must have a 2.5 GPA or better to qualify for an internship.
5. Retroactive credit(s) will NOT be issued for internships. Students should process all preliminary paperwork PRIOR to the internship's initiation.

In addition to the basic requirements, the following policy governs earned academic credit for internship experiences. The policy takes the form of a one-credit internship and a variable (1-6) credit internship. Note: All internship credits are counted toward the student's 30 credits of general electives, they do not count as CRS credits for the major.

A one-credit internship is primarily an opportunity to observe or participate in a work position that requires a basic grounding in communication theory or performance skills. The following constraints apply to the department-sponsored one-credit internship:

1. limited to freshman and sophomore majoring in communication & rhetorical studies who have not yet completed the core.
2. students are not eligible to register for the internship until the end of their first year at Syracuse.
3. limited to one academic credit per individual internship experience.
4. individual students are limited to a total of three (3) one-credit internship experience(s).
5. the internship must be registered with SUIP and must follow the guidelines established by that program.
6. a faculty member from the Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies must serve as the faculty sponsor.
7. the student must write a daily journal linking observations of communication behavior in the workplace to concepts and theories discussed in previous speech communication classes (or an equivalent assignment appropriate to the job responsibilities of the internship.

A variable-credit internship is a work experience monitored by an on-site supervisor as well as a faculty sponsor in which the student applies and analyzes communication theory and skills. The following constraints apply to department-sponsored internships:

1. limited to students who have completed at least 54 credit hours and have completed a majority of the core curriculum courses (i.e., currently 4 of 6 courses) in the speech communication major.
2. available for variable credit (1-6 credits), with 3 credits being the norm.
3. individual students are limited to a maximum of 12 credits for all types of independent learning experiences (e.g., one-credit and variable-credit internships, experience credits, and independent studies).
4. the internship must be registered with SUIP and must follow the guidelines established by that program.
5. a faculty member from the Department of Communication & Rhetorical Studies must serve as the faculty sponsor.
6. the student must complete a set of academic assignments appropriate to the student’s job responsibilities, previous coursework, and the number of credits for which the student is registering. The assignments are defined by the student and faculty sponsor to the satisfaction of the faculty sponsor.

Note: All internship credits are counted toward the student's 30 credits of general electives, they do not count as CRS credits for the major.

Career Services, 235 Schine Student Center, 315-443-3616 also has an on-line listing of internships, recruitment offerings, and openings.