Earn Credit for an Internship!

Would you like to apply the concepts you’re learning in your COMX classes to real-world situations? How about earning college credit for getting hands-on experience in a communication-related internship? If you are a COMX Major (no minors, sorry!) and you’ve already taken 30 credits total,  you are eligible to earn COMX Internship credits.

 How does it work?

• You can take up to 3 credits’ worth of Internships each semester, and no more than 6 total credits of internship. The number of credits depends on your workload: for every 50 hours you work at your internship over the course of the semester, you are eligible for 1 credit. (3 credits = 150 total hours worked during the semester, or 10 hours per week).
• Internship credits cost the same as regular courses; additionally, there is a $48 “online learning” fee for each credit, since the class assignments are handed in entirely online.
• You don’t need to intern with a communication-specific company, but you must complete communication-related tasks while working there. For example, if you regularly interact with/about customers, attend staff meetings, organize public-facing events, work with social media accounts or customer-facing communications, create or plan internal communication tools (i.e. weekly email blasts or newsletters), or other related tasks, you could be eligible for COMX 398 credits.
• Your internship can be paid or unpaid, but your duties must be related to communication. If you have an unpaid internship, you may be eligible for a scholarship (up to $2,000) to help support your efforts. Click here to learn more. 

This sounds great. Where do I find an eligible internship?

The COMX Department does not locate internship opportunities for you. You must find, apply for, and be accepted into an internship on your own.

• Log into UM’s Handshake service for local options, or make an appointment to talk with Cheryl Minnick, Director of Career Success for all of Humanities and Social Sciences.
• Personal networking is beneficial, too – does a family friend own their own business and want an intern’s help?
• Another good resource is job-hunting websites like Indeed.com or Glassdoor.com. Try a quick search for “Missoula internships” or “Missoula, communication.”
• You may also speak directly with local non-profit organizations, such as the Missoula Food Shelf, Soft Landing Missoula, or the Povarello Center. They might not list internship opportunities on their websites, but if you personally contact someone in charge, they may be willing to create an opportunity for you.

 How do I earn credits, though?

• Once you have found an internship and are officially enrolled in COMX 398, you will be tasked with writing a series of four 5-page essays throughout the semester. The essays ask you to apply COMX terms, theories and concepts to your internship experience, and to reflect on what you’re learning/gaining.
• You must complete all four essays by their assigned deadlines AND score at least 70% on them to earn course credit.
• You cannot “pre-load” all the essays by writing them all at the beginning or end of the semester; they must be completed “along the way.”

How do I sign up?

• First, connect with Heather Voorhees, the COMX Internships Coordinator, at heather.voorhees@umt.edu.
• You will be asked to create a Learning Agreement with the Experiential Learning and Career Success Center. Once their team approves it, Prof. Voorhees reviews it. If it is acceptable, you will be given a course override into COMX 398: Internships.