Course Description

The internship is a three credit course and may be used toward a Technical or Professional Writing Certificate or elective college credit toward graduation. Students majoring in English may not apply internship credit toward the completion of their English major requirements.

The internship course enables students to acquire practical experience in a variety of professional settings that draw on the skills in reading and writing that Business and Technical Writing and English courses develop. It also enables students to test the practical range of some of the ideas presented in their coursework and to experience first-hand some of the career possibilities available to writers.

All placements must be approved by the Internship Director, and approval will depend both on the general suitability of the career field in question or the specific tasks and projects that the placement will entail. All internships must require some work with writing or with the close observation of or assistance with writing in the workplace. Students who sign up for the internship must EITHER have successfully completed at least one course in Business and Technical Writing OR have declared the English major and successfully completed Principles of Literary Study. You do not need to be an English major to complete a Writing Internship.

To begin the registration process, please contact the Internship Director at (732) 932-1149 or (732) 932-8197 or via email at michael.goeller@rutgers.edu to get a special permission number. If you are writing via email, be sure to include a description of your internship position, including the company or organization you will work for, the number of hours you will work, what work you will do, and who your supervisor will be. If your employer needs a letter to certify your internship credits, please include the name and address for that letter and a Fax number to expedite delivery.

For a complete description of the internship course, please explore the links in this site (in the navigation bar to your left): Work Component, Academic Component, Supervisor's Duties, FAQs, Placements, and Class Syllabus.

Below is a summary of the internship:

A. Setting Up an Internship

B. Requirements

B1. Work Component
B2. Academic Component

C. Contact the Internship Director

A. Setting Up an Internship

• Locating a potential internship position is ultimately the responsibility of the student, but we hope to offer contacts and assistance in finding Placements. As Placements and other contacts become available, they will be posted on our web site. Meanwhile, students may find information on internships at the Career Services office on their campus.

• Contact the Internship Director to have your work placement approved and to receive a special permission number for registration.

• If necessary, contact the Internship Director to have a letter submitted to your employer. Be sure to include the name and complete address of your site supervisor with your message, along with a Fax number to expedite delivery.

• You are strongly encouraged to fill out the Internship Contract with your supervisor so that you will have no misunderstandings about mutual expectations. The contract is not required but it is strongly recommended for your own protection. If you are working for an organization with clear guidelines for interns, you may not need this.

B. Requirements

There are two components to the internship course:

B1. the Work Component
B2. the Academic Component

B1. Work Component

The Work Component will constitute 40% of your grade for 395 or 396.

• Hours worked:
  In order to achieve a passing grade, all interns should work 120 or more hours throughout the term of the internship. The intern should keep track of hours worked using the Internship Time Sheet and have the supervisor certify the sheet with his or her signature.

• Supervisor's duties:
  The organizational supervisor (i.e., the person to whom you report at your internship and who is responsible for assigning you tasks) will help you fill out the Internship Contract and will certify your Internship Time Sheet on a monthly basis. The supervisor is also asked to submit a Midterm Evaluation and a Final Evaluation of your work.

• Your work duties:
  Your most important duties are to follow your supervisor's instructions, to practice good work habits, and to keep good track of your hours while working (using the Internship Time Sheets, which you must submit to the Internship Director, signed by your supervisor, at midterm and semester meetings). As part of the academic component, you are encouraged to keep a journal of your experiences and you must collect a folder of workplace writing that you have either observed or worked upon (these documents will be kept confidential to protect company information). It is your responsibility to report problems with your work assignment to the Internship Director as soon as possible. It is especially imperative that you inform the Internship Director if you are not being given any writing-related assignments.

• Assessment of work:
  Quality of work at the internship will be assessed by the organizational supervisor in the Midterm Evaluation and Final Evaluation (at least one of these must be filled out by the end of the term).

B2. Academic Component

All interns must participate in an online class to fulfill the Academic Component of the internship. The class will require forum responses to readings about writing in the workplace and the completion of an 8-12 page paper on a topic related to the internship experience. The Class Syllabus is part of this site. Grades for the internship will be the same as those for other academic work at the University: A, B+, B, C+, C, D, F, TF. A TF will be awarded for incomplete work, and may require that students repeat either the academic or work portion of the internship.

C. Contact the Internship Director

The internship director's office is in Murray 306 and the mailing address is:

William Magrino , Internship Director
Rutgers University
Business and Technical Writing Program
72 Lipman Drive
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
(732) 932-9273
wmagrino@rci.rutgers.edu
http://bizntech.rutgers.edu

Please address all internship related matters to the Internship Director.