ENGL 4/597: Internship in Technical and Professional Writing is a 3-credit hour online course that enables students to earn course credit for their internship. To make for a full learning and professionalization experience that compliments your on-site experience, enrolled students participate in an online course with brief weekly assignments tailored to their internship, and a final project. The English Department Internship Coordinator typically oversees the online course and will assist students in securing an internship suited to their skills and career goals.
At the beginning of the term, interns, in consultation with their supervisor/mentors, develop a contract that outlines tasks and expectations, a timeline, and expected learning and professionalization outcomes for the semester. The intern then completes brief weekly assignments meant to take 1-2 hours per week on average.. At the end of the semester, 497 students compose a reflection on their internship experience, and 597 students compose a scholarly essay that connects scholarship in rhetoric and technical and professional communication to their on-site experience (a creative option is offered for creative writing students). Interns also provide a photograph and summary of their internship placement for use on the department website.
Undergraduates enroll in 3-6 credits of ENGL 497 at 1 credit per 40 planned internship hours. Graduate students enroll in 3-6 credits of ENGL 597 at 1 credit per 35 planned internship hours.