Undergraduate Internships

Apply the skills you've learned in your undergraduate degree program in the English, Technical Communication & Media Arts department at Southern Polytechnic State University with an undergraduate internship. You'll make valuable career connections and gain hands-on experience working with communication professionals.

Do I qualify for an undergraduate internship?

You qualify for an internship if you

are pursuing an undergraduate degree program in the English, Technical Communication & Media Arts department,
have completed half your coursework beyond the core,
are not on academic probation, and
have at least a 3.0 GPA (overall).

How does an internship fit into my degree program?

An internship is an elective worth 3 credit hours, and requires at least 120 hours of work. You will have a faculty internship advisor who will monitor your progress.

How do I find an internship?

You are ultimately responsible for finding an internship, but the department will help you.

Will I be paid for the internship?

Consider your internship a learning experience; some will also pay you an hourly wage, and some won't.

What are internships like?

You may do extended work on one project or you may do a variety of shorter assignments. Your projects and assignments could include user documentation, public relations, editing, website design, graphic design, proposals, instructional design, project reports, multimedia projects, marketing materials, or any other genres related to your major.

How do I apply for an internship?

Once you have found an internship, submit a general description of it to the Program Coordinator at the beginning of the semester during which you plan to pre-register for the internship. Include
- reasons why you wish to do the internship,
- when you will work the internship (beginning and closing dates)
- types of tasks you'll do and skills you'll learn
- name, title, address, and phone number of company supervisor
The Director of Undergraduate Studies will inform you in writing whether or not the internship has been approved.
You will be assigned a faculty advisor once the internship has been approved.
Submit a memo of agreement from the company supervisor to your assigned faculty internship advisor. Describe the internship and include the following information:
- number of work hours included in the internship,
- beginning and ending dates of the internship, and
- activities to be performed during the internship.
Pre-register for 3 hours of internship credit (TCOM 4700).

How do I complete the internship?

Meet with your faculty internship advisor at least twice during the semester you are working your internship.
Submit three progress reports to your faculty advisor.
Submit a log or notebook of activities/tasks you did during the internship to your faculty advisor.
Submit two final reports to your faculty advisor:
- A detailed formal report describing your internship with samples of the actual work you did during the internship.
- A final memo report describing your internship experience.

Next steps:

English, Technical Communication & Media Arts Department | Southern Polytechnic State University
Atrium Building, J333 | 1100 South Marietta Parkway | Marietta, GA 30060

678-915-7202 | 678-915-7425 (fax) | tcom@spsu.edu | Site Map