The
naked truth: Journalism is a competitive profession, and you won't
land a good job without experience. Few editors or news directors
will ask you what grade you earned in your first reporting class.
Instead, they'll demand examples of your work.
The best way to get that experience is through an internship.
The School of Journalism at the University of Montana requires
that all undergraduate majors and graduate students successfully
complete a school-approved professional internship before they
graduate.
Basic requirements:
Students can fulfill the school's experience requirement by arranging
and successfully completing a school-approved internship that
will provide a professional experience in some aspect of print
reporting, editing or design, broadcast news, photojournalism,
or in radio-TV production.
All students in the professional program must successfully complete a one-credit course, called Preparing for an Internship, before they do their internship. For print and photo majors, the course number is J488; for broadcast journalism majors and radio-TV production majors, RTV 395.
The one-credit course is designed to help students find internships and prepare for the experience, and must be taken fall semester of the junior year or during the first semester of graduate studies.
Students who complete the Preparing for an Internship course
will then register for another one-credit course, called Supervised
Internship, to be earned during
the term the internship takes place. For print and photo majors, the Supervised
Internship number is J490 (J690 for graduate students); for broadcast journalism
majors and radio-TV production majors, RTV 490 (J690 for graduate students).
The school will not approve internships in which students are supervised by other
students. (That means no internships at the Kaimin or KBGA, for example.) However,
we strongly recommend that students work for student-run media because those
jobs typically help them land competitive professional internships later.
While students are encouraged to get as much practical experience as possible,
no internship experience gained before students are accepted into the professional
or graduate programs will satisfy the formal internship requirement. Even then,
no internship will be approved until undergraduate majors and graduate students
earn a "C- ” or better in the following courses within their chosen
option:
•
Broadcast journalism majors – RTV-361 or J551
•
Print majors — J331 or J571 (for reporting internships);
J381
(for editing/design
internships).
•
Photo majors — J327 or J527.
•
Radio-TV majors — RTV351 or J551
Other requirements and restrictions:
• All summer internships should be the equivalent
of at least six weeks of full-time work. Students planning to
serve in an internship during fall or
spring semester
should average at least 16 hours of work per week.
• Students may take more than one internship after entering the professional
program (and are encouraged to do so), but cannot receive more than two internship
credits
from the J-school.
• Both one-credit courses, Preparing for an Internship, and Supervised
Internship, will be taken for credit/no credit grades.
Before any internship can be approved:
Students must complete and submit an internship
agreement form to the faculty internship adviser in their option.(See
below for downloadable forms. These require Adobe Acrobat.)
In print, the adviser is
; in photo,
; in broadcast,
.
Before credit can be given for a supervised internship:
1.Halfway through an internship, students must submit a mid-term evaluation
to their faculty internship adviser. At the internship's end, students must
provide
their faculty internship adviser with an evaluation form completed and signed
by their employer. (See below for downloadable forms.)
2. At the internship's end, students must provide three samples of
their best work (news clips, tear sheets, video or audio tapes,
etc.) These samples must be turned in to the student’s internship adviser and added to the student’s
academic advising folder before credit for the internship will be granted.
