Graduate Syllabus

Internship Requirements

Fall and spring semester interns are required to intern at least 200 hours during the semester to earn 4 credits. Two-credit internship require a minimum of 100 hours. Please note: Students do not meet in the classroom for this course. (Although your schedule will read: Fridays 1:00-2:00, that’s just a placeholder.)

Eligible Organizations

Students may choose to intern at a company, public relations firm, non-profit organization or governmental organization. To be eligible for a Boston University intern, participating organizations (sponsors) must provide an overview of the goals and objectives for each internship project as well as a detailed description of the intern’s duties and responsibilities. Sponsors must designate a supervisor who will provide ongoing direction, support and guidance to the intern.

Paperwork

Each student must complete an internship contract with his/her supervisor and return it to me prior to the start of you internship. I will add you to the course once your internship contract has been submitted to me and approved. (You cannot WebReg for this course.) The contract must be signed by the student and the supervisor and submitted to me for approval before February 5th. Supervisors are also required to complete a detailed, formal evaluation at the end of the semester. (I will mail the evaluation directly to your supervisor and ask him/her to return it to me.) The supervisor evaluation represents a major portion of the student grade. Final grades are awarded on a pass/fail basis. You will receive a copy of your supervisor’s evaluation.

Compensation

Sponsors are encouraged but not required to compensate interns for their services.

Internship Report

All students are required to submit a detailed internship report at the end of the semester. If you complete your internship requirements early, you many submit your report to me upon completion. All internship reports must be submitted no later than 5:00 p.m., May 3rd.

Grades

This is a pass/fail course. Grades are determined by the quality of the end-of-semester internship report and the final evaluation submitted by the internship supervisor.

Problems and Concerns

Most internships include a short “getting-up-to-speed” period in the beginning. Many also include some administrative work, which should be accepted as part of the learning experience. However, if you find yourself with little meaningful work to do or spending most of your time on administrative or clerical tasks, notify me immediately. Please be sure to bring any problems and concerns to my attention, as early in the semester as possible, otherwise we may not have time to address the problem.

International students must obtain approval from BU ISSO in addition to submitting a completed contract to Stephen Quigley