Internships
The School of Communication has developed internship relationships with a wide range of businesses and organizations including The Florida Times-Union, Jacksonville Magazine, The Dalton Agency, St. John and Partners, and WJXT, among many others.
Students work at their internship site a total of 210 hours building their knowledge base through experiential learning under the supervision of communication professionals. In addition to the experience gained during the internship, students build their professional network while creating content for an online professional website.
MMC 4975 - Internship Senior Project
Prerequisites: Senior Standing; MMC 1004 (media literacy), MMC 3942 (pre-internship), MMC 3614 (media theories and effects), MMC 3105 (advanced writing for the media), MMC 3200 (law and ethics of communication) and MMC 4420 (mass communications research or advertising and PR research) plus at least three of the upper-level Major Electives courses for the student's concentration. This capstone course is an opportunity for students to demonstrate that they have achieved the goals of learning established by the university, the college, and the school. The course integrates course work, knowledge, skill, and experience to demonstrate a broad mastery of learning across the curriculum.
Academic credit for this course is limited to one three-hour course.
The Mass Communication faculty recognize there may be exceptional cases that prevent a student from participating in a professional internship and two options are available. It is assumed, however, that exceptions to the internship will be extremely rare and only after the student has submitted his or her request and justification in writing.
Options include:
- Option 1: A substantial research paper
- Option 2: A major project in the student's field that allows the faculty to fully evaluate the student's skills.
Internship Requirements
You are required to work a minimum of 210 hours during the semester at your internship (Approximately 15 hours per week.)
During your internship, you will be required to complete various class assignments in addition to your internship duties.
Your supervisor will be asked to assess your performance by submitting a midterm evaluation midway through the semester and a final evaluation at the end of the term.
As a final assessment to your internship work, you will be required to submit a professional website which demonstrates the work you completed at your internship site.
Internship Packets
Internship application packets can be found at comminternships.wordpress.com or the Communication Majors Canvas Home page.
For a list of approved internships and forms, please visit comminternships.wordpress.com.
School of Communication Internship + Job Fair
Here's a short video of what to expect at the School of Communication's Internship + Job Fair
You are invited:
Internship + Job Fair 2024 - Wednesday, Feb. 28, 12 - 4 p.m. at the Adam W. Herbert University Center
The School of Communication annually hosts and Internship + Job Fair in the spring semester.
Companies representing advertising, digital video production, multimedia journalism and public relations will be on hand to share information about internships and jobs in their organizations. Dress professionally, bring your resume and come prepared to engage with potential employers. To learn more, visit the Internship + Job Fair website.
- Advice from internship site supervisors
- Internship Partners
- Internship Guidelines
- What students and professionals are saying
Advice from internship site supervisors
The following links include best practices and tips for getting a good internship and the attitude you need to have on the job. The advice comes from several of our internship site supervisors. Special thanks to the digital video production students who produced these videos.
Internship Partners
One of the School of Communication's main goals is to provide its students with hands-on learning experiences. To do this we have partnered with a number of local and national companies. For more information concerning internships or to find an approved internship site, please visit http://comminternships.wordpress.com/. If you are interested in becoming an approved internship partner, please contact us at (904) 620-2651 or commstu1@unf.edu.
Internship Guidelines
Four Steps to An Internship
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Step One: Verify that you qualify for registering for MMC 4975.
To qualify, you must:
- Be a Senior Communication Major at the time of internship (this means you will have completed 90 semester hours)
- Have completed at least three upper division classes (3000-4000 level) in your concentration within the major.
- Be in good academic standing (2.0 or higher)
- Have completed MMC 1004 (media literacy), MMC 3942 (pre-internship), MMC 3105 (advanced writing for the media), MMC 3200 (law and ethics of communication), MMC 3614 (media theories and effects) and MMC 4420 (mass communications research or advertising and PR research).
If you satisfy all four of the criteria above (no exceptions), obtain an internship application, complete it, attached the required documents listed on the application and return it to the School of Communication office or email it to commstu1@unf.edu.
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Step Two: Finding an Internship
A list of companies who currently partner with the School of Communication as pre-approved internship sites, can be found at https://comminternships.wordpress.com/.
When you find an internship site or several sites that appeal to you, email the contact's name at the bottom of the posting to set up an interview. Be prepared for the interview. It is every bit as important as a future employment interview, so consider it a dress rehearsal for securing a job after graduation. Dress and act professionally. In addition, learn all you can about the organization before your interview. Also, provide a current resume and pertinent samples of your work. Go to UNF Career Services for resume writing and interviewing tips.
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Step Three: Paperwork for Your Internship File
If the organization accepts you as an intern, obtain a Letter of Intent on company letterhead and signed by the internship supervisor. The Letter of Intent confirms that the company wants you as an intern and lists the various duties you will be required to complete while doing your internship. Return the Internship Application, the Letter of Intent and all required documents (listed in the application) to the School of Communication or email it to commstu1@unf.edu.
The documents you will need to submit to the School of Communication are:
- A completed Application signed by both the student and the internship supervisor.
- A Letter of Intent on official company letterhead, signed by the internship supervisor. this letter confirms your internship and lists the internship duties.
- The student's unofficial transcript (available on MyWings).
- Any additional documents listed in the Application.
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Step Four: Register for MMC 4975
Upon submission of your completed internship packet, the Internship Coordinator will review your application. If everything has been submitted properly, and there are no questions or concerns about the internship site or supervisor, you will receive an email granting you permission to register for MMC 4975 Internship Senior Project. You CANNOT register for the class until you are given permission by the School of Communication.
What students and professionals are saying
"The internship solidified my classroom coursework. It took everything that I have been hearing about - ethics, accuracy, law and research - and put it into perspective. I was able to see real life examples of these things and experience was certainly gained."
- Jacksonville Commercial TV Station
"Public Relations Cases really taught me what working as a PR professional would be like so that there were really no surprises… And, as much as I hate to admit it, Mass Communications research was a big help, too. I researched more than I expected to and when it came time to write survey questions, I knew to make them mutually exclusive and exhaustive."
- Jacksonville Advertising and PR Agency
"After a few weeks I finally got to write a press release. My very first one! It did not take long to write and I was less nervous than I thought I would be. It was during that time I was thankful for PR Writing and Advanced Writing for the Media. After that, more news releases were thrown my way."
- Jacksonville Advertising and PR Agency
"Everything from my advertising credits, to my public speaking credits, and even ethics were used or referenced while in my internship."
- Jacksonville Advertising and PR Agency
What Professionals Say About Our Interns
"(The student) has been the most professional and experienced intern to ever work with our marketing team. She functioned as a full staff member, completing story assignments, assisting with critical elements of event planning, and adjusting her schedule when needed to ensure that she was on hand for critical department projects. …She has written more articles that needed less editing than any intern before her."
- Jacksonville Non-Profit Organization
"(The student) is not only a good reporter and writer, he has an amazing drive and work ethic. It was nearly impossible to keep him as busy as he wanted to be. (The student) was so impressive this semester that I offered him the only paid summer internship in Metro. He beat out 300 or so students from across the country, including from the top journalism schools and Ivy League institutions."
- Major Market Daily Newspaper
"(Name withheld) took on more and more as the internship progressed and delivered on each and every task. "…"I completed communications internships with a private communications firm in Boston, a non-profit museum (Museum of Fine Arts in Boston), and a political public relations firm… - and I can say with absolute certainty that (Name withheld) outworked what I did in each of those internships this semester!"
- Jacksonville Non-Profit Organization