Take your knowledge in communication and apply it doing an internship.
Gain experience and build professional outcomes while earning academic credit. COMM
interns attend weekly cohort meetings facilitated by the Communication Studies Internship
Advisor and arrange work schedules directly with their internship Site Supervisor.
Internship registration must be completed within three weeks of the first day of classes
for fall and spring terms, and by the last day of drop/add for and the summer semester.
Additionally:
internships are an elective for the major, not a requirement
COMM majors may earn six internship credits (maximum of three in a semester), of which
three count toward the major
every 40 hours you work on an approved internship is worth one academic credit
internships for credit must be approved in advance using the Docusign application
agreement
non-credit internships do not need approval from the internship coordinator
Follow these steps to obtain an internship approval and registration into the Communication
Studies internship program cohort.
Obtaining Internship Approval
STEP 1: MEET THE PREREQUISITES
COMM 300 Communication Research
minimum GPA of 2.5 overall
minimum GPA of 2.75 in the major
STEP 2: Use career center resources
Create a Career Center Handshake account and make an appointment
Create or update your resume
Align your future goals with internship opportunities
STEP 2: START THE INTERNSHIP SEARCH early
Internship Sites often advertise and hire interns many months prior to the start date.
Potential inroads to internships include:
Attend Communication Studies internship showcases with working professionals
Watch for Communication Studies email advertisements on internships we learn about
Your personal and professional network of contacts
The first section of the application agreement is completed and signed by the student
intern.
The second section of the application agreement is completed and signed by the Internship
Site Supervisor.
Upon review of the application agreement, the third section will be completed by the
Internship Faculty Coordinator on behalf of the Department of Communication Studies.
This portion of the application agreement will approve or deny your application.
Note: This application agreement is a formal document and will be denied based on
incomplete or inaccurate information. Please be sure to gather all necessary information
and double-check your facts prior to initiating the form.
All signing parties will receive a copy of the completed and finalized agreement and
the agreement will be saved to the student's records.
step 4: register for the internship course (COMM 490)
Once your internship has been approved, the department administrator will send the
student intern an email with detailed instructions to register for the internship
and weekly class. (This course requires department approval.)
The internship cohort class is held online.
Questions?
Contact Carol Norton, Communication Studies Internship Coordinator at cnorton AT_TOWSON.
A sample internship syllabus is linked below. Please read the internship approval
criteria in the syllabus before starting the internship search process. Internships
are not approved between June 16 and August 15 or between December 15 and January
1.
Look at a sample internship syllabus for COMM 490.
“
What I learned throughout my continued research was how valuable the set of skills
were to employers in the workforce. Strong communication skills, strong public speaking
skills, and intelligent interpersonal interaction skills are at the top of nearly
every employers list in skills needed at their job. In the field of communication,
we fine tune our ability to understand and analyze rhetoric, and then use our gained
knowledge of intercultural, interpersonal, and advocacy skills to reproduce that rhetoric
in the manner we feel most effective for the situation at hand.
”