Internships
INTERNSHIP GUIDELINES
Objectives
1. To fully involve advance BCA students in
the procedures and environment of broadcasting
or related industries.
2. To provide students with the opportunity to
refine talents and skills in a professional situation.
3. To integrate full or half-time work experience
with the final semester of academic involvement.
Eligibility
1. Junior or senior status at Central Michigan
University.
2. Signed BCA major or minor.
3. Grade point average of at least 2.50.
4. School approval. Applicants are
carefully reviewed to determine whether the student
has satisfactorily
completed appropriate course work and participated
in relevant co curricular activities.
Attitude, ability to work well with others, and
interpersonal skills
are also considered. Department
approval consists of a positive determination by
the Internship Director
and a nomination statement
signed by two BCA faculty members.
Credit Hours
Two (2) credit hours: Minimum of 10-12 hours
per week for at least 15 consecutive weeks or
part-time during weekends throughout the school
year. (At least 175 hours work experience).
Three (3) credit hours: Minimum of a 20 hours
week for 15 consecutive weeks. (At least 300
hours work experience).
Four (4) credit hours: Minimum of 25-30 hours
per week for at least 15 consecutive weeks. (At
least 400 hours work experience).
Five (5) credit hours: Minimum of 30-35 hours
per week for at least 15 weeks. (At least 500
hours work experience).
Six (6) credit hours: Minimum of a 40
hours week for at least 15 weeks. (At least 600
hours
work experience).
NOTE: Only 6 hours of intern credit may count
toward a major and only 3 hours count toward
a minor. BCA 529 does not satisfy the requirement
that at least 6 elective hours in the major must
be chose form 400-500 level courses.
Procedures
1. Students must first file an application in
the BCA office. This must be completed no later
than the last two weeks
of the term preceding the period of the internship.
Normally the department
will act on whether to approve the application
within two weeks. The application must
be accompanied by a transcript and a completed
faculty nomination
form.
2. The School of BCA maintains
a file of materials from radio and television
stations
or related
organizations interested
in hosting interns. Students whose applications
have been approved
by the department are
invited to peruse this file and to directly contact
stations regarding an
internship. If a satisfactory
arrangement is reached, the professional supervisor
at the
station should complete
and sign the appropriate section of the internship
application. After
this is delivered to
the BCA office, the student should initiate registration
for BCA 529 in Moore
Hall 340.
3. Some students have already established
contacts with stations which are interested in
having
an intern. In this case,
the student should file an application with the
School of BCA and after
approval, ask the station supervisor to complete,
sign, and return the appropriate
section of the application. The student should
then begin
registration
in the BCA office.
4. Some students may wish to file a
general application which the school will
attempt to match
with media agencies seeking intern. Theses will
be
kept in the BCA Internship Supervisor's
office, along with the student's resume. If the
school
is asked to provide credentials
for potential interns, we will forward the names
and materials
of qualified students whose
experience and interests seem appropriate for
the positions.
Evaluation
Upon completion of the internship, the student
will be assigned a letter grade. Approximately
80% of the grade is based on the evaluations
submitted by the station supervisor. The remaining
20% is based on the monthly narrative logs and
the final intern report, which are due in the
BCA office during the last week of the internship.
Suggested formats of the logs and final report
are available in Moore Hall 340. If the internship
extends past the point when grades are due in
the Registrar's Office, an incomplete grade will
be assigned. If the internship takes place during
the last semester of the senior year, the final
report and logs must be submitted not later then
two weeks before the end of the internship semester.
Compensation
Some stations pay intern and others do not.
The matter if compensation is to be negotiated
between the station and the student. This is
not related to the amount of credit or the grade
for the internship.
Registration
Because an internship in intended to be the
result of a carefully pre-planned experience,
no inter credit can be earned in advance of a
department-approved application. Not that registration
for the internship must be initiated in the BCA
office. As is the case for other types of credit,
payment is made through the Registrar's Office.
Although the School of BCA adheres strictly
to the minimum requirements for internship credit,
there is not assumption that every student fulfilling
the minimum requirements will be approved for
an internship. Our goal is to fill each internship
with the most qualified students who will derive
the greatest benefit from the specific available
position and who will positively represent the
School of BCA.
A copy of the
Central Michigan University/School of Broadcast
& Cinematic Arts Internship Guidelines
is also
available in the BCA office, Moore Hall 340.
For more information concerning
internships,
contact
BCA Internship Director Jeff
Smith , Moore Hall 307, (989) 774-1137
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