Internships and the English Department
English Department Internship Coordinator and Chair: Professor Jon Naito
Students pursuing one of the English Department’s majors have undertaken a wide variety of internships in fields including publishing, library science, the law, literary studies, business, education, government, arts management, television, radio, digital media, and print journalism. In some cases these internships are credit-bearing, while in other cases they are non-credit bearing. Internships can be undertaken on-campus or off-campus, domestically or internationally.
Generally speaking, the first step in finding an internship is to visit the Piper Center and request their help in finding an internship that matches your interests and needs. The Piper Center can also provide individualized guidance about the choice between a credit-bearing and non-credit-bearing internship. Before making this decision, there are a number of factors to consider. Click here for more information.
In most cases, students who opt to pursue credit-bearing internships seek approval for their internship through the department of their major. For students pursuing the English major, the English major with CAL Licensure, or Creative Writing, that department is the English Department. In the English Department, students can earn credit for up to two internships. The first credit-bearing internship is given the course number ENGL 294; a second credit-bearing internship is given the course number ENGL 394, and, in the words of the Piper Center, requires “a higher-level involvement or intensive research” and a previous internship undertaken as ENGL 294. Note that ENGL 394 cannot be used to satisfy the 300-level elective requirements for English, English with CAL Licensure, or Creative Writing.
A student who wants to earn academic credit in the English Department should proceed as follows:
- Secure an internship for the upcoming fall, interim, spring, or summer. For help with finding an internship, contact the Piper Center.
- Contact the English Department Chair to ask about the suitability of the internship for course credit in the English Department.
- Find a faculty member to act as your on-campus internship supervisor. Discuss the goals of the internship and college and department policies on internships.
- Work to secure official approval for your academic internship (credit-bearing internship) by following the process outlined on the Piper Center website (here). The Piper Center currently estimates that it may take 1-2 weeks to secure approval. Keep this in mind, as well as the relevant deadlines.