Undergraduate Internships
Internship Description
The class is pass/fail and offered each semester for three credit hours. Each student
is required to find his/her own internship and work 120 hours throughout the semester.
Additionally, midterm and final evaluations are completed by the student’s direct,
on-site supervisor, and a midterm is held with the departmental internship director
to review the midterm evaluation. A final paper or portfolio is also required at the
end of the semester. Finally, students are required to complete weekly logs documenting
their responsibilities for each week, highlighting the communication aspects of the
job, as well as recording their weekly and cumulative hours. After the completion
of their logs, midterm meeting, midterm and final evaluations, and final project,
the students receive a passing grade and three credit hours.
Types of Internships
As daunting as finding an internship sounds, numerous students have found valuable internships throughout the community and nation. Previous internship positions include:
- Wedding/event planning at Nottoway Plantation
- Sales/marketing at Red Six Media
- Promotions at Clear Channel Radio
- Sports intern at WBRZ
- Human Resources at Zender Communications
- Marketing/Promotions at Mall of Louisiana
- Political interns for Senators Landreau and Cassidy and Congressman Melancon
- Media interns at Meet the Press (Washington, DC) and KABC-Los Angeles ABC affiliate
- Marketing at Louisiana High School Athletic Association
- Marketing/promotions at numerous non-profit organizations like: YWCA, United Way, Manners of the Heart, Habitat for Humanity, Louisiana Public Broadcasting
- Public relations at the Varsity Theater
- And many, many more….
Student Testimonial
Internships are invaluable for students who are preparing to enter the workforce. Not only do students gain experience and insight into the professional world, students also make important connections that benefit them when they begin their post-college job search. In fact, numerous internships have developed into full-time positions after graduation.
Too often students learn the hard way participating in an internship would have helped
in unexpected ways after graduation. The following excerpt is from an LSU and Department
of Communication Studies graduate who did consider an internship while in college:
“In addition, if you were to speak to one of your classes about the importance of internships, please tell them one of your former students and an LSU alum begs them to take advantage of internship opportunities & career services at LSU! If I could have done things differently, I would have taken advantage of the networking possibilities that come along with internships while still in college. I never understood the importance of them or what networking was all about it until it finally worked for me in my job search.”—Anonymous
The importance of internship cannot be overstated. Even if students find they do not
want to continue in the same area, they have learned an important lesson: what they
don’t want to do! CMST 4200 offers three hours of course credit for completing a handful
of requirements; in exchange, students receive invaluable experience, insight, and
connections that help pave the way to success after college!
Who to Contact :
Dr. Amy Fannin
Department of Communication Studies
afannin@lsu.edu
113B Prescott Hall
(225) 578-6075