What type of internship should I pursue?
- A bachelor’s or master’s degree in English offers training in the skills needed to
succeed in many fields. Graduates with English degrees are qualified for positions
in business, industry, entertainment, radio and television commentary, and museum
work, to name a few.
- It is important for you to learn about your options and develop a plan that will
enable you to achieve your goals. An internship in a field of interest can be a great
place to start. If you don’t know where to begin, visit the Career Development Services
website’s “what can I do with this major?”
How do I find an internship in my field of interest?
There are several excellent resources for locating an appropriate internship:
- Make an appointment with the Office of Internships and Sponsored Programs.
- Visit FGCU’s Career Development Services website, which provides valuable information
about FGCU’s internship policies and procedures, as well as the resources available
to FGCU students https://www.fgcu.edu/careerservices/
- Make an appointment to speak with a Career Development Services advisor.
- Attend recruitment events: Career Development Services hosts job and internship fairs
throughout the year, as well as employer information sessions.
- Visit one of these user-friendly websites that help to connect aspiring interns with
prospective businesses and organizations:
EagleCareerLink: this is FGCU’s centralized internship monitoring system. You can
use it to search for potential internship opportunities, and this is where you will
register for your internship once it is approved by the Department of Language and
Literature’s Internship Coordinator.
Indeed.com: this is a website external to FGCU where you can locate internship opportunities
in your area.
Idealist.org: this is an external website specifically for people interested in working
for non-profit organizations.
*On each of these websites, you can search for internships generally, or you can do
a more focused search. For English majors, it is important to know the search words
that will yield the best results. Some possibilities include:
“editing writing internship”
“writing intern”
“editorial intern”
“internship”
Just because you are using search words that seem limited, you will be surprised at
the range of opportunities that will emerge, not only in publishing but also in journalism,
marketing, digital media, and many other fields.
- Contact FGCU’s Office of Service Learning: all of the businesses and organizations
for which FGCU students volunteer to gain service-learning hours can also be sources
of internship opportunities.
How do I make myself marketable?
- Develop a professional resume, highlighting your skills, accomplishments, and experience.
- Write a cover letter tailored to each internship.
- Create a LinkedIn account.
*The Office of Career Development Services can help you to develop all of these materials.
Once I have secured an internship opportunity, how do I go about registering for it?
- Complete and sign the Internship Proposal Form (IPF).
- With your internship supervisor, complete an Internship Schedule and Assignments document,
which should include:
Internship Position Title
Location
Description of responsibilities
Hours
Learning Outcomes and Strategies
Application of Academic Knowledge
Skills to Be Developed
Internship Assessment Method
- Email the Internship Proposal Form and the Internship Schedule and Assignments document
to the appropriate Internship Coordinator:
For BA students: Carol Bledsoe, BA Internship Coordinator
For MA students: Dr. Masami Sugimori, English MA Coordinator
These documents must be submitted to the appropriate Internship Coordinator at least
two weeks preceding the semester in which the internship begins. Upon approval, the
Internship Coordinator will create a CRN, and the Intern must register for the course
through Gulfline and complete a Verification of Attendance task.
- Once your internship has received the Internship Coordinator’s approval, send an email
to the appropriate Internship Coordinator requesting that your internship be registered
with the Office of Internship and Co-operative Programs. In this email, state 1) the
intern’s name and UIN number 2) the name of the employer/the sponsor of the internship
3) the name of the internship supervisor 4) the email address of the internship supervisor.
How many credit hours should I register for?
Both ENG 4940 English Internship and ENG 6940 English Master’s Internship are variable-credit
courses. Each can be taken for 1-6 credit hours. The number of credit hours corresponds
to the total number of hours you and your internship supervisor expect you to do internship
work over the course of the semester.
One credit hour corresponds to 45 hours of internship work, so you would apply the
following formula:
45 hours of work = 1 credit hour
90 hours of work = 2 credit hours
135 hours of work = 3 credit hours
180 hours of work = 4 credit hours
225 hours of work = 5 credit hours
270 hours of work = 6 credit hours
What is required for successful completion of an internship?
- You must complete all hours and tasks agreed upon by you and your internship supervisor.
- You must submit all of the following assignments via the Internship Canvas course
for either ENG 4940 or ENG 6940:
Attendance Verification Quiz (on Canvas)
New Experience Application in EagleCareerLink
3 Time Logs in EagleCareerLink
Mid-Semester Evaluation in EagleCareerLink
Student Self-Evaluation in EagleCareerLink
Semester Report in EagleCareerLink
Program Evaluation in EagleCareerLink
Mid-term Reflection (ENG 4930 only)
End of Semester Reflection (ENG 4930 only)
“Researching a Career Essay” (ENG 6940 only)
Once you register for ENG 4940 or ENG 6940, you will have access to the course Canvas
site throughout your internship semester. The Canvas site includes both the course
syllabus and all required assignments.
