Internship Requirements and Process

Communication Studies, Corporate Communication majors/minors participate in internships to learn how to apply their academic training to their lives after Belmont.  The Communication Studies Department strongly recommends that all majors take at least one internship during their time at Belmont. The course is normally taken after a student successfully completes COM 2340: Business and Professional Communication, but that isn’t a requirement.

Internships may be paid or unpaid. By law, unpaid internships must be associated with class credit in most cases.

When taken for class credit, internships (a.k.a. COM 3000) can be counted as major or minor elective. If you’ve already counted COM 3000 as a major or minor elective course, you may take additional credits as free electives.

For more information on how to find an internship, go here.

Course Requirements

Students will be graded on a pass/fail basis. To pass, you must submit completed assignments and paperwork on time and receive a “Pass” recommendation from your internship supervisor. Specifically, there are five steps to earn academic credit for your internship:

1.  After you secure an internship, fill out a COM Internship Application prior to the start of the internship. Dr. Fyke will review your application and provide an override for you to register for COM 3000.

2.  Once your internship application is approved by Dr. Fyke and a registration override is provided, register for COM 3000 (1-3 credit hours).

  • A minimum of 50 hours of work in a semester equals one credit hour.
  • A minimum of 100 hours of work in a semester equals two credit hours.
  • A minimum of 150 hours of work in a semester equals three credit hours.

3.  Fill out an internship agreement at the beginning of the internship. This form must be signed by both the student and his/her supervisor.

4.  Complete your work at the internship and turn in three assignments throughout the semester.

5.  At the end of the semester, Dr. Fyke will obtain an internship evaluation from the your supervisor.

Contact Dr. Jeremy Fyke with any questions about the internship in the Communication Studies Department.