Internships

Review the internship for credit process below.

Review the Internship Guidelines

• Ensure you are eligible to receive credit for an internship.
• Only Journalism and Media Studies majors are required to pursue an internship for credit to graduate.
• Information Science majors cannot pursue an internship for credit at this time.
• Complete the internship prerequisites to be eligible to earn credit. There are no exceptions or petitions accepted for this requirement.

Find an internship

• Search for internships using Handshake and the CMDI Internships and Jobs List.
• Schedule an appointment with Career Services via Buff Portal Advising for advice on resumes, cover letters, interviewing, and the internship search process.
• Identify which organizations you are interested in applying to and submit your application materials.

Secure the internship

• Ensure it meets the following requirements:
  • You have an assigned supervisor at the organization.
  • You are able to complete the required hours to fulfill your credit requirement. 50 hours of work at your internship equals one credit hour. To earn 3 credit hours, you need to work 150 hours over the course of the semester.
  • Have the full name, email address, and other contact information of your employer supervisor. You will need this to report your internship on Handshake.

Secure a CMDI faculty supervisor

• This must be a full-time faculty member in the department of your major or the department related to the internship for which you are receiving credit. For example, if you are pursuing an internship to fulfill your Media Studies graduation requirement, you must select a full-time faculty member from the Media Studies department.
• PhD and Masters students are not eligible to serve as your faculty supervisor.

Report your internship for credit approval by the deadline on Handshake.

• You will need the contact information of your employer supervisor and your faculty supervisor.
• Follow Step-by-step instructions for reporting an internship here.
• Once you have reported your internship and it has been approved, it will automatically be added to your classes, so you do not need to register for the class during the registration period.

Note: Earning credit for an internship requires being enrolled in an internship course and credit is not awarded for just completing hours in an internship. Enrollment in an internship course might impact your tuition, and it is expected that students contact the Bursar's Office to understand how this addition will affect their personal tuition situation. The internship course is offered as an in-person Main Campus course in the Fall and Spring semesters and as a Special Programs Continuing Education course during the Summer semester. Once students are enrolled in the internship course, they will be unable to drop without penalty.

Students: Need help? 

• Read frequently asked questions.
• Get in touch with our team.