Undergraduate Internships | Mayborn School of Journalism
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Undergraduate Internships

If you're a graduate student, please see our Graduate Internships page.

NOTE: AN INTERNSHIP IS A COURSE. YOU CAN ONLY ENROLL IN IT DURING REGISTRAR'S ENROLLMENT PERIODS FOR FALL, SPRING AND SUMMER 10W.

Gain additional experience and credit for 1, 2 or 3 semester hours through internships at newspapers, magazines, book publishing companies, television and radio stations, web companies, advertising and public relations agencies, and large and small businesses throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth region and the nation.

The internship program maintains strong ties with industry leaders in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, which provides students with excellent networking opportunities.

The Mayborn School of Journalism offers journalism internships and jobs at the Handshake link on the UNT Eagle Careers webpage. Students and alumni can log-in to see all listings for internships and part-time and full-time jobs. Students currently enrolled at UNT will use their EUID and password. Alumni can access Eagle Careers by registering on the log-in page.

The school provides the services of a full-time career specialist who assists students with internship, job, professional and academic opportunities. To visit with a UNT Career Development Specialist about careers, resume creation, or any related advice, please contact the Career Center at 940-565-2105.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE FOR SUMMER 2022 INTERNSHIPS IS MONDAY, MAY 30, 2022.

REGISTRATION DEADLINE FOR FALL 2022 INTERNSHIPS IS MONDAY, AUGUST 22, 2022.

Start the internship for credit process

Important Note About Digital & Virtual Internships

The Mayborn School encourages internships that are supervised in person and provide a professional working environment to facilitate interactions with the supervisor and colleagues. Therefore, internships for digital entities that are done remotely from the supervisor may not be approved to earn credit. The approval of such internships will be at the discretion of the faculty internship supervisor in consultation with the associate dean for undergraduate studies.

However, the Mayborn School recognizes more communication positions allow for remote work environments. In these cases, we encourage the supervisors to offer paid internships and not ask the students to seek credit. Again, internships done remotely with limited interaction with the supervisor may not be approved.

In some instances, when the intern is able to work from his/her home, certain qualifications must be met.

The parameters are:

  • Bi-weekly Skype (or other video online service) interactions with supervisor that include feedback
  • At least 4 in-person meetings with supervisor in a public location
  • Supervisor interactions will be evaluated at mid-term

Again, the approval of all internships will be at the discretion of the faculty internship supervisor in consultation with the associate dean for undergraduate studies.

Please note, at no time will the school allow a for-credit internship where a student works from an employer/supervisor's home.

Internship Location & Supervisor Requirements The Mayborn School encourages internships with professional outlets - businesses and organizations that are devoted to or have a component unit dedicated to the mass communication industry. Internships should also promote writing and processes that follow mass communication professional norms. Additionally, the supervisor must be a professional in the mass communication field or have served as the communications person within his/her place of employment.

Student Media/Student Organizations A Student Media job or a student organization position may not receive credit as an internship. The school defines an internship-for-credit as an experience beyond the boundaries of the Mayborn School--whether in another campus unit or outside the university in a real-world, professional setting.

How to Earn Credit for a Journalism Internship

  1. Make sure you have successfully taken required pre-requisite classes to be eligible to enroll in an internship for credit. See list below.
    • Advertising students must have successfully taken JOUR 3050 Ad Copywriting AND JOUR 3055 Ad Art Direction.
    • Broadcast & Digital News students must have successfully taken JOUR 4323 Advanced Broadcst/Web News Writing or JOUR 4353 Audio & Video Long Form Storytelling or JOUR 4360 Audio & Video Sports Journalism
    • Digital & Print News students must have successfully taken either JOUR 3321 News Reporting and Writing OR JOUR 3322 Copy Editing
    • Photojournalism students must have successfully taken JOUR 3700 Photojournalism.
    • Public Relations students must have successfully taken JOUR 3420 PR Writing.
    • Teaching Certification students must have successfully taken JOUR 3340 Digital Media for Journalists
  2. Find an internship. You can find interships at the UNT Eagle Careers Handshake link. This website includes a list of internships for journalism students. You can also contact the newspaper, ad agency, public relations agency, television or radio station, web media organization or other organizations and apply for an internship. Many organizations list internships on their website. The internship must be directly related to your major. If you are unsure about this, speak first with your department chair (Strategic Communications or News).
  3. All internships for course credit must be done during the semester a student is enrolled in. You will not receive credit for internship hours you have already worked in the past semester or before the first day of the semester you are enrolled in.
  4. Register for an internship for credit. All Mayborn students are required to take at least one credit hour of either internship or practicum credit. Registration must be completed online. Once you register, you will be added to the Mayborn Internships Canvas course page and you will receive an email invitation to the Canvas page. All workshops and quizzes must be completed to gain access to your internship application form.
  5. Complete the internship process on our Canvas page (this is not the course). Once you have completed all workshops and quizzes, you will be given access to the Mayborn Request for Internship Credit form. Fill out the form, sign it and attach your business offer letter. (You must have an offer letter from a business before you can submit the form and the offer letter must include your job duties. You cannot load more than one page to Canvas unless you have combined pages into one PDF document.)
  6. Once you have completed the above steps, your internship will be ready for approval by the faculty supervisor of your area in journalism. Once your faculty advisor has approved your internship application in the internship Canvas page, you will be enrolled in the appropriate internship course section and notified.
  7. Three hours of course credit = 300 hours of work; two hours of course credit = 200 hours of work; one hour of course credit = 100 hours of work. Consult with the Office of Student Advising to verify how many credit hours you need or check your degree audit on myunt.
  8. No hours earned before the first day of the semester you are enrolled in can be counted towards your credit hour requirement. Only the hours you work the first day of classes and after will count.
  9. During the internship, you must regularly submit a typed report to your faculty supervisor outlining what you have done and any problems you have encountered during your internship. Details about how often to submit and what report content should include will be provided by your instructor on the first class day. Be sure to check your myunt email account and Canvas course page regularly for communication from your instructor. Include your phone number in your reply.
  10. Your supervisor on the job will receive an evaluation survey about two thirds of the way through the semester. The supervisor is expected to fill out the survey evaluation and will be asked to include hours you have completed as well as your progress in the internship.
  11. At the end of your internship period you must fill out a final report form to assess your internship and then submit it to your faculty supervisor by the end of dead week. This form will be located on the Canvas website where you submitted your application.
  12. The course numbers for internships are JOUR 4800.701 through 730. The Journalism administrative assistant in SYMR 206 will manage the internship processes and enroll you in your faculty supervisor's section once your application is approved by your faculty supervisor.

Fall and Spring faculty internship supervisors:

Summer faculty internship supervisors:

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Does a student have to have "major status" to qualify for an internship?
    Yes. Students must be majors and have taken and passed at least one upper level skills class in the area of interest. See above for list of pre-requisites by concentration.
  2. Can a student be paid and get credit for internships at the same time?
    Yes.
  3. Are internships pass/no pass or are grades assigned?
    Grades are assigned by the supervising professor, with the feedback and help from the supervisor in the business or organization which is hosting the student intern.
  4. Is there a minimum GPA before someone can apply for and receive an internship?
    Yes. The student must be a major in good standing. That means the student must have a minimum overall GPA of 2.5 based on all courses taken.
  5. How should students turn in their weekly reports?
    The supervising professor will set up specific dates on which the reports are due. Deadlines must be followed. Missing a deadline will result in a lower grade for students.
  6. Can students get credit for the same Internship through Journalism and other programs at the same time?
    No.
  7. How many hours does a student work for Internship credit?
    100 hrs. = 1 hr. credit; 200 hrs. = 2 hrs. credit; 300 hrs. = 3 hrs. credit
  8. Does a student have to enroll in 3 credit hours if they have contracted to work 300 hours for the business?
    No. If you only need 1 credit hour to graduate, you do not have to enroll in and pay for 3 credit hours. However, you do have to work the 300 hours you have contracted to work for the business.
  9. Does each full-time professor have a section number for Internships?
    Yes. You will be enrolled in the journalism supervisor's section that corresponds with the area of journalism you are studying.

Internship Tips

  • What are you doing now that will get you the job you want tomorrow? Your self-motivation shows by the actions you take today.
  • Join a professional organization. You will learn more about your field and will have the opportunity to meet professionals who can become part of your network.
  • Meet with the professionals at their offices to learn more about what they do and their likes and dislikes about the industry.
  • Volunteer to write that PSA or design that brochure for a United Way agency. You will not only help the agency but you will also be adding to your portfolio clips.
  • Internship process steps (in a nutshell) to earn course credit:
    • Register by clicking on the link above: "Start the internship for credit process"
    • Complete all modules and quizzes, earning a 100% grade on each quiz.
    • Fill out your application and attach your offer letter.
    • Wait for instructor approval. Check your myunt email account regularly in case your instructor has questions about your application.
    • Once instructor approval is received, you will be enrolled for the credit hours you indicated on your application. You will receive an email confirmation from either Cathy.Turner@unt.edu or MaybornInternships@unt.edu.

What do you need to know about sexual harassment before accepting an internship?

Workplaces have different policies, but in general, unwelcome or offensive sexual conduct is likely to raise a concern of sexual harassment. The behavior may be a violation of federal law if it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or the behavior results in an adverse employment decision.