University of Houston

Internships


Informational Meeting for Internships Flyer


COMM 4392 - Professional Internships

This class is designed for students interested in working outside the Jack J. Valenti School of Communication for three hours academic credit. Journalism, public relations, advertising, radio-television-film, corporate and health communication internships are available for majors who have completed 75 credit hours and are eligible for participation under the criteria given below. The program provides a learning experience the student would not receive in the university classroom, and an opportunity to apply university training in a professional environment.

Internship Eligibility

  1. Completion of a minimum of 75 undergraduate credit hours prior to enrollment in the internship.  However students are urged to take the internship as close as possible to graduation.
    2.   
  2. Completion of one full semester of academic work (12 credit hours) at the University of Houston with at least nine hours in Communication prior to the semester of the internships. Post baccalaureate and graduate students and those minoring in Communication must complete 12 hours in their concentration, and all internship prerequisites.
    3.   
  3. GPA requirements:   
    • 2.5 overall on attempted coursework at the University of Houston
      •         
    • 2.66 on all Jack J. Valenti School of Communication courses
      •         
    • 3.0 in the concentration
      

    4. Coursework included when calculating the GPA for the concentration: 

        
    •   Print Journalism: COMM 2310, 3314 and3311, plus any of these completed: COMM 3312, 3316, 3323, 3324, 3326,3327, 4303, 4310,4313, 4314
      •         
    • Broadcast Journalism: COMM 2310, 2320, 3316, plus any of these completed: COMM 2328, 3311, 3314, 3320, 3323, 3380, 3382, 3383,4303, 4316
      •         
    • Public Relations: COMM 2310, 3368, 3369, plus any of these completed: COMM 3311, 3312, 3314, 3324, 3326, 3327, 4303,4310, 4362, 4364, 4365, 4367, 4368
      •         
    • Advertising: COMM 2310, 3360, 3361 or4360, plus any of these completed: COMM 3311, 3312, 3368, 4361, 4365
      •         
    • Production, various areas: Concentration GPA will include grades for COMM 2320, 2328, 3320, 3321, 3322, 3323, 3329, 3380, 3382, 3383, 4303, 4316, 4320, 4322, 4323, 4380, 4382, depending on the area chosen
      •         
    • Corporate Communication: COMM 2310 or 2328, 3356, and one more Comm course, plus advanced courses in the area you are most interested in, probably PR, advertising or organizational communication courses.
      •            
      
  4. Satisfactory completion of required Jack J. Valenti School of Communication coursework in the subject area of the requested internship. Internship categories and the courses required for qualification in the category are listed below by program.
    5.        
    • In addition to the indicated courses, COMM 1301 must be completed to be come eligible for an internship.
              
  5. If you took communication courses at another university, a transfer evaluation must accompany the application.
    6.      
  6. Due to consideration will be given to petitions for a waiver of course or grade requirements.
    7.      
  7. Two completed faculty recommendation forms submitted online by the faculty members or sent by them to Mr. Les Oliver, Jack J. Valenti School of Communication adviser.  One recommendation must come from a full-time faculty member.  The faculty members must be listed on the Internship Application, and be familiar with the applicant's coursework in the area of the desired internship. 
    8.    
  8. A one-page statement of career goals and interests must be submitted with the application. Students should also provide copies of this statement to the faculty asked to make recommendations.
    9.    

Application requirements   

  1. Two completed faculty recommendation forms. One form must be completed by a full-time faculty member. The faculty members must be listed on the Internship Application and be familiar with the applicant’s coursework in the area of the desired internship.
    2.    
  2. A written statement of career goals and interests.
    3.    
  3. Transcript for recent transfer students.
    4.    

      Course requirements for each category of internship

              
    • For print journalism (working on a newspaper or magazine):           
      • COMM2310 Writing for Print and Digital Media
      • COMM3314 Advanced Writing and Reporting
      • COMM3311 Editing for Print and Digital Media
             
      •                
    • Forelectronic news:           
      • COMM2310 Writing for Print and Digital Media
      • COMM2320 Fundamentals of Media Production
      • COMM3316 Electronic News
                     
      •        
    • For photojournalism:               
      • COMM2310 Writing for Print and Digital Media
      • COMM3324 Photojournalism I
      • A COMM elective
             
      •                
    • For public relations:            
      • COMM2310 Writing for Print and Digital Media
      • COMM3368 Principles of Public Relations
      • COMM3369 Public Relations Writing
             
      •                
    • For advertising:              
      • COMM2310 Writing for Print and Digital Media
      • COMM3360 Principles of Advertising
      • Either COMM 3361 Advertising Copywriting and Productionor COMM 4360 Media Planning and Placement
             
      •        
    • For multimedia:           
      • COMM2320 Fundamentals of Media Production
      • COMM3353 Web Technologies I
      • COMM3323 Multimedia Production I
           
      •                 
    •   For graphics:             
      • COMM3326 Graphics Applications
      • Two more COMM courses, depending on student’s interest area.
             
      •                
    • For video/television production:            
      • COMM2320 Fundamentals of Media Production
      • COMM2322 Television Production I
      • COMM2328 Broadcast and Film Writing
      • And either COMM 3380 Electronic Field Production or COMM3382 Intermediate Television Production
             
      •                 
    • For audio/radio production:           
      • COMM2320 Fundamentals of Media Production
      • COMM3320 Audio Production
      • COMM3364 Principles of Broadcast Programming and Ratings
             
      •                 
    • For corporate communication:           
      • COMM 2310 Writing for Print and Digital Media
      • COMM 2328Broadcast and Film Writing or COMM 2320 Fundamentals of Media Production
      • COMM3356 Business and Professional Communication
      • Andone more COMM course depending on interest area
             
      •    

    For Internship areas not listed above, such as human resources, management, or health communication, students should indicate their specific interest areas and attach to their applications a list of the related courses that have prepared them for that internship.

    Internship Course Credit

    All approved internships are available for three hours of academic credit. They may be repeated once but only as a free elective, not as hours counted toward a major. Students will be expected to work a minimum of 225 hours with at least 75% of their time spent on communication-related activities. The student is responsible for networking and securing an internship approved by the course instructor. Internship opportunities are updated regularly on the SOC website.In all cases the intern must obtain an approved internship no later than the 12th class day of the semester. Students who do not have an approved internship by the 12th class day will be dropped from the course.

    Supervision, Evaluation and Grading

    The intern will be directly supervised at the host organization by a designated supervisor. The internship coordinator will be in regular contact with this individual. Students will have a course syllabus for the class. At the conclusion of the internship the host supervisor will submit a written evaluation of the intern to internship coordinator. The intern will also submit a report on his or her experience. The final grade will be based on the host’s evaluation and the internship coordinator's evaluation of the intern’s work.

    Submissions

    Submit your application via the Website at students -> Internships ->Application Form