Internships: Emphasis on Experiential Learning and Reflection
For a pre-professional department, the job market can be the promised land for students. Not surprisingly, then, among the department's most popular courses is COM 505: Internship in Communication. Designed to reflect the internship standards of the experiential learning division of the National Communication Association, COM 505 enables students to search and secure internships at PR agencies and public affairs departments, local newspapers, as well as radio and television stations. Interns complete online discussions and writing assignments asking them to reflect on their experience and discover how their classroom learning is applicable in the workplace.
Beginning as interns at Mullen PR, Arnold Communications, KISS FM Radio, the Salem News, Salem Hospital, HC Pro, and in the offices of three governors of the Commonwealth, students have evolved their connections into fulltime professional jobs. Internships can indeed be one long job interview, and many communication industry firms are far more comfortable hiring interns they know, rather than job applicants they do not know.