Undergraduate Internship Guidelines

The Purpose of the Internship	Internship Requirement	Student Responsibilities	The Role of the Internship Coordinator	The Role of the Sponsor
The Role of the Faculty Advisor	The Role of the College Advisor	College Advisors	Prerequisites
Internship Credits	Restrictions	Seeking the Internship	Registration Process	Step-by-Step Process

UNDERGRADUATE

The Purpose of the Internship
Internships are an integral part of the AEMM major, bringing together theoretical concepts with real world situations. In cooperation with leading organizations in the Chicago area, qualified students have the opportunity to acquire hands-on field experience, confidence, and contacts, which help students gain an edge in the competitive job market. Students become more aware of what is involved in their chosen career by actually working in a professional organization. The student, internship coordinator, faculty advisor, college advisor and sponsoring organization work together to make the internship experience one of the most important experiences in the student’s education.

Internship Requirement
Students who entered the AEMM program prior to Fall 2006 are not required to complete an internship, but are strongly encouraged to do so. Students who entered the AEMM program in or after Fall 2006 are required to complete 150 hours of internship experience for a total of two credit hours. All students must fulfill the prerequisites described below.

Student Responsibilities
Students are responsible for:

• setting internship learning objectives
• finding an internship position that will provide them with the opportunity to accomplish the chosen learning objectives
• meeting with the internship coordinator to determine eligibility, obtain the appropriate paperwork and register for credit
• attending and participating in an internship class

(Students interning out-of-state must make arrangements with their instructor.)

• meeting with the internship coordinator for a  mid-semester Progress Report
• logging their hours worked
• writing an internship Experience Report
• conducting themselves in a professional manner at the workplace

The Role of the Internship Coordinator
The internship coordinator:

• determines the student’s eligibly and number of credit hours to be awarded for the internship
• assists students in identifying learning objectives
• provides assistance in finding internship opportunities
• approves or denies internship opportunities based on individual circumstances
• provides qualified students with a Letter of Eligibility upon request
• registers the student for internship credit
• discusses the student’s Progress Report  with both the student as well as the sponsor, as appropriate
• contacts the sponsor for the student’s evaluation
• grades the student’s Experience Report and awards the student his/her final grade
  
  

The Role of the Sponsor
The internship sponsor provides the student with a learning opportunity in accordance with the student’s learning objectives, works with the internship coordinator to resolve any major issues that may arise, and completes an evaluation of the student’s performance at the end of the semester.

The Role of the Faculty Advisor
Students may seek out their faculty advisor to receive assistance in determining what type of internship is suitable for them and what learning objectives they should set for themselves.

The Role of the College Advising Center
Students should meet regularly with their College Advisor to clarify degree requirements, discuss career outcomes, and plan their academic schedules.  College Advisors make referrals to appropriate resources on campus to begin the process of planning an internship.

The new Career Development Specialist, Christie Andersen, is now available for individual support related to strategic career planning, guidance related to resume building, interviewing, and search strategies, and for information about other career resources on campus.  Workshops on career development topics are also sponsored by the College Advising Center. 

College Advisors and Career Development Specialist:
For appointments or walk-in hours call: 312.369.7645
College Advising Center, 623 S. Wabash Ave. 3rd floor
Quick questions can also be directed to Christie at ceandersen@colum.edu.

Prerequisites
In order to be eligible for internship credit:

1. The student must be an AEMM major or a qualified Interdisciplinary major.
2. A transfer student must complete at least one semester in the AEMM Department.
3. The student must have successfully completed at least 60 credit hours, with a departmental GPA of 3.0 or above.
4. The student must have completed the following classes or an equivalent with a grade of C or higher:

Introduction to Management
Introduction to Marketing the Arts
Writing for Managers
TWO Concentration Courses (concentration required or level III)

Internship Credits
Qualified students may receive up to twelve credit hours of internship credit, with no more than six credits per semester. Each credit hour is earned by accumulating a specified amount of hours at the internship. A student who elects to continue an internship into a new semester must register the continuance.

Restrictions

• Any student who does not fulfill the GPA requirement must petition his/her faculty advisor for permission.
• After a student has received six credits for a single internship, a continuance will only be permitted when the student can demonstrate that the internship continuance will provide for a new learning experience.
• No credit will be given for an internship that has already been completed.
• The internship must be completed during the semester in which the student is registered. Internships that continue through a new semester must be re-registered for that semester.
• Internship credit will only be awarded for ‘workplace experience’ when the student has taken on responsibilities above and beyond those expected of the student as an employee.
• A student who ends an internship, either voluntarily or involuntarily, prior to completing the required hours and fails to notify the internship coordinator immediately, will receive a grade of F for the internship.

Seeking the Internship
The student is responsible for acquiring an internship that will provide him/her with an opportunity to accomplish the learning objectives.

When seeking for internship opportunities, the student may consider:

• visiting the internship coordinator about current opportunities
• speaking to faculty who are active in the field
• attending E-Center coordinated networking opportunities, such as the SEA or CEO conferences
• visiting Columbia sponsored events, such as PerforMarket
• visiting ColumbiaWorks for up-to-date internship postings
• researching on-campus internship opportunities, such as Manifest
• visiting city-wide career fairs
• approaching companies the student is specifically interested in interning with

Registration Process
The student must speak to the internship coordinator to determine his/her eligibly. Upon approval, the student will be required to submit a completed Letter of Agreement with Sponsor form to the internship coordinator. Only after this form has been completed may the student be registered for internship credit.

All internships must be registered during the regular registration period.

Registration deadlines are available on the Records Office webpage at: http://www.colum.edu/Administrative_offices/Records/index.php
Click on Registration and then on Important Dates.

Class Attendance (beginning Fall 2008)
Students are required to attend four in-classroom sessions during the internship. These group discussions allow students to seek guidance in resolving work-place related issues, such as how to develop professional work relationships, how to approach personal differences that influence the work environment, how to ask for assistance, how to ask for more responsibility, etc. Class attendance is mandatory. Students interning out-of-state must make arrangements with their instructor.

Grading (beginning Fall 2008)
Internship: Management is a graded class. The final grade is based on the following:

• Completion of registered hours
• Class participation
• Internship Process Report
• Internship Evaluation
• Internship Experience Report

Hour Log
The hour log may be in any format as long as the student’s hours are identified, and is signed by the internship supervisor.

Experience Report
Format:
The report should meet the following requirements:

• It should be double-spaced.
• It should be between three and five pages in length.
• It should include a cover page with the student’s name, oasis number, company name, semester and date.

Content:
The report should be a formal assessment of the learning experience. Here are some questions and issues that should be addressed in the paper:

• Describe the company for which you worked. What was your position? What were your duties? Describe your department and its relationship to the organizations total structure and/or the organization’s working relationship with outside agencies.
• Was the experience useful? In what way? Was it what you expected? Clarify your response.
• What did you learn from this work experience? Did you meet your learning goals?  Cite specific situations that you confronted and the insights you gained.
• Were you able to use what you learned in your classes during the internship? Were you able to use what you learned from your internship in your class work? Cite examples.
• What areas do you now perceive as needing more work? What strengths were reinforced by your experience? Has this internship contributed to your long-term goals?
• If possible, enclose samples of your work. (Photographs, photocopies, copies of magazines, etc.)

If this internship is a continuation from a previous semester, please use these guidelines, but explain how your placement differed from the previous semester and why you decided to stay on for another semester.

Grading Criteria
The paper will be graded on both content and style. If the paper does not include the content above, the student will receive an incomplete. There are no exceptions.
Letter of Eligibility
Qualified students may request a Letter of Eligibility to present to the internship supervisor. This letter verifies that the department will award college credit to the intern. Students should request this letter from their internship coordinator well in advance of the internship interview.

Academic Integrity

Students at Columbia College Chicago enjoy significant freedom of artistic expression and are encouraged to stretch their scholarly and artistic boundaries.  However, the College prohibits all forms of academic dishonesty.  For present purposes, “academic dishonesty” is understood as the appropriation and representation of another’s work as one’s own, whether such appropriation includes all or part of the other’s work or whether it comprises all or part of what is represented as one’s own work (plagiarism).  Appropriate citation avoids this form of dishonesty.  In addition, “academic dishonesty” includes cheating in any form, the falsification of academic documents of the falsification of works or references for the use in class or other academic circumstances.  When such dishonesty is discovered, the consequences to the student can be severe.

Students with disabilities are requested to present their Columbia accommodation letters to the Internship Coordinator at the beginning of the semester so that accommodations can be arranged in a timely manner by the College, the department or the Internship Coordinator, as appropriate. Students with disabilities who do not have accommodation letters should visit the office of Services for Students with Disabilities in room 520 of the Congress building (312.369.8134/V or 312.360.0767/TTY). It is incumbent upon the student to know their responsibilities in this regard.