COMS/JOUR 195

Course Requirements

• In addition to completing the minimum hour requirements for your amount of enrolled units, you will submit two self-evaluations (a midterm and a final) assigned via Canvas.
• Concurrently, the Internship Office will also coordinate two brief evaluations from your academic internship supervisor.
• Grades are awarded on a credit/no credit basis. (Credit/no credit does not affect your grade point average, only your units earned.)
• NOTE: It is the student’s responsibility to ensure evaluation deadlines are met. Late, incomplete, or missing evaluations may result in no credit for COMS/JOUR 195.

Internship Process

Applying to Internships

Students are responsible for applying to and interviewing for their internships, with the support of the ComS internship office.

NOTE: Students should begin planning their internships at least one semester before they intend to enroll in COMS/JOUR 195. Students must have an internship approved by the Internship Coordinator and have an active Student Learning Agreement in place before receiving COMS/JOUR 195 credit.

Finding Academic Internships Available

• Community Partner List
• Sac State’s handshake job and internship board.
• Alternatively, find a Communication Studies/Journalism-related academic internship on your own and propose the internship using the Academic Internship Proposal form.

Internship Approval Process

Once your academic internship is approved by the Internship Office and arranged with the internship site/supervisor, you may enroll in COMS/JOUR 195 (through MySacState) for the appropriate number of units.

• One unit equals a minimum of 45 internship hours per semester. Depending on how many COMS/JOUR units you enroll for, the hour requirements break down as follows:

• 1 unit: 45 hours/semester (roughly 3-5 hours per week)
• 2 units: 90 hours/semester (roughly 6-8 hours per week)
• 3 units: 135 hours/semester (roughly 9+ hours per week

Complete Student Learning Agreement (SLA)

Those without a finalized SLA by the end of the second week of the semester will be dropped from COMS/JOUR 195.

Types of Academic Internships

Approved Internships

These internships can be found on the Community Partner List .These are pre-approved internships offered by sites that officially partner with Sacramento State.

Proposed Internships

These are internships that students propose based on postings or opportunities found outside the pool of approved academic internships. Before an internship can be approved for academic credit, it must be reviewed (including a site visit, supervisor meeting, and development of specific learning outcomes) and approved by the Communication Studies internship coordinator.Contact the Internship Coordinator (Comsinternoffice@csus.edu) at least 1 semester prior to the start of the internship to begin the site approval process.

Recent Internships Offered by Community Partners

A partial list of organizations that have worked with Sac State Communications Studies (ComS, Film, Journalism, and PR) students.

NOTE: Current ComS students may join the Communication Studies Internship Office course page on Canvas to review a current, regularly updated list of internships.

Recent internship sites in ComS, Film, Journalism and Public Relations include:

• Bicker, Castillo & Fairbanks Public Affairs
• Big Brothers Big Sisters
• California Academy of Family Physicians
• California Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
• California Dept. of General Services
• California State Senate - Speaker's Office
• City of Citrus Heights
• City of Citrus Heights - Vice Mayor's Office
• The Davis Enterprise
• Hornet Athletics
• Intel
• League of Women Voters of California
• Sacramento City Council
• Sactown Magazine
• Sacramento Area Bicycle Advocates
• Sacramento Metro Chamber Foundation
• San Francisco Examiner

...and more.

Additionally, students may propose their own academic internship with an agency not currently listed with the Communication Studies Department. Contact Internship Coordinator to determine if your proposed internship is compatible with department and/or university requirements.