Undergraduate Program

Internships

Internship Guidelines

Applying for an Internship

Internships offer students the opportunity to bring together the insights and skills gained through coursework into a specific project, and Writing Studies, Rhetoric, and Composition has developed a series of partnerships that offer a rich context for this work. All internships must be approved during the semester prior to the semester in which they will occur. Students interested in an internship offered byWriting Studies, Rhetoric, and Composition should discuss their preferences with their faculty advisor during registration and then contact Assistant Director Faith Plvan (fsplvan@syr.edu) to set up an interview. If the student is accepted for the internship she will work with the faculty site sponsor to discuss expectations and prepare the course proposal that will be submitted to registration. Each internship must be taken for 3 credits and for a letter grade.

Although students should make every effort to choose from among the internships offered by Writing Studies, Rhetoric, and Composition during the academic year, students may petition to have an independent internship count toward their major. If you are interested in an independent internship, contact Faith Plvan with a description and contact information for the internship. If the independent internship is approved, you will work with Faith Plvan to contact a Writing Studies, Rhetoric, and Composition full-time faculty member who will be your site advisor.  This should be a full-time faculty member who knows your work well.  

While independent internships during the academic year can usually be accommodated, independent internships during the summer are more challenging because full-time faculty sponsors are less available. The Department of Writing Studies, Rhetoric, and Composition does not maintain summer internships so students will need to purse the internship on their own. Students interested in a summer internship should contact Faith Plvan as soon as possible.

While each internship will necessarily be different, students should consider the following:

1. Students should understand how an internship site allows them to implement skills/concepts developed in their course work.
2. Students should frame a proposal that includes both written work produced for the internship site and additional writing submitted to the faculty site sponsor, including a reflection paper.
3. Students and faculty site sponsors will determine how many hours must be spent at each site.
4. Students need to discuss with the Assistant Director the specific transportation/scheduling issues involved with each site prior to committing to an internship.

Writing Studies, Rhetoric, and Composition Internship Sites

Any additional questions concerning the internship requirement should be directed to Faith Plvan, 315.443.9314, fsplvan@syr.edu