Internships
Fast-track your career success with an internship.
Writing Internship Course
Writing Internships are beneficial in many ways as they provide professional on-the-job writing experience, establish valuable workplace connections, and help in making career decisions. Writing Internships can also lead to full-time employment. TCU’s Writing Internship course is your chance to gain valuable work experience while you explore writing-related careers. Both English majors as well as Creative Writing majors are welcome to enroll in WRIT 40273: Writing Internship. For Writing and Rhetoric majors, however, WRIT 40273 is a degree requirement.
Requirements
Students with 60 credit hours and a 3.0 GPA in English or 2.8 cumulative GPA may receive workplace experience from companies in publishing, advertising and many other fields. Duties are arranged to fit each student’s schedule, and work opportunities may include research gathering, editing, report writing, or document production. Students must work a minimum of eight hours a week during the semester to receive three hours of credit.
WRIT 40273 provides a space to demonstrate and reflect upon the kinds of written and oral communication done in a professional setting. Requirements include working a minimum of 120 hours in the semester, documenting work in a portfolio, producing a final project, contributing to online postings with others enrolled in the internship, and individual conferences with a supervising faculty member throughout the semester.
The deadline for confirming internships with the coordinator is August 1 for fall internships and the last day of finals week in December for spring internships. Please be aware that some internships require applications six to 24 weeks in advance. This course may be repeated once for credit.
Getting Started
Study the agency website before requesting an interview. You will also need to polish your resumé and understand expectations for a professional interview (see resources available through the Center for Career and Professional Development). You will interview with one or more agencies and, provided an offer, select an agency to work with.
Before you can enroll in WRIT 40273, you must submit a Letter of Agreement signed by you, the agency supervisor and the internship coordinator. Request a letter of from the internship coordinator, have the agency supervisor sign it, and return the signed letter to the coordinator, who will then give you a permission number to register for the course. Do not accept an internship without the coordinator’s approval.
Access the TCU Online course site on the first day of class to obtain the course syllabus and other required forms (Informed Consent and Assumption of Risk, Student Driver Form, Social Media Policy) and to locate the threaded discussion area where you will write weekly responses. You must attend an orientation session with the internship coordinator early in the semester. Check your TCU email daily and respond promptly to coordinator emails.
Benefits
A writing internship can be beneficial in many ways:
- Provides professional writing experience
- Establishes valuable workplace connections
- Helps in making career decisions
- Could lead to full time employment
- Provides on-the-job experience
TCU’s Policy on Internships
TCU offers hundreds of internships in any given semester and does not support political or personal statements associated with any of them. We evaluate each opportunity to ensure academic value as it relates to a course of study. Beyond that, we encourage you to seek the opportunities that best match your interests and to choose how to best fulfill your internship requirements.