Graduate Studies Reports Access
Graduate Course Proposal Form Submission Detail - ENG6946
Tracking Number - 4999
Edit function not enabled for this course.
Current Status:
Approved by SCNS - 2015-02-01
Campus: Tampa
Submission Type: New
Course Change Information (for course changes only):
Comments: Elective for MA/MFA/PhD English. To Chair. GC approved; To USF sys 11/18/14; to SCNS 12/1. Approved effective 2/1/15
Detail Information
- Date & Time Submitted: 2014-04-09
- Department: English
- College: AS
- Budget Account Number: 122300
- Contact Person: Laura Runge
- Phone: 49496
- Email: runge@usf.edu
- Prefix: ENG
- Number: 6946
- Full Title: Internship
- Credit Hours: 3
- Section Type: Z -
Directed Individual Study
- Is the course title variable?: N
- Is a permit required for registration?: Y
- Are the credit hours variable?: N
- Is this course repeatable?: N
- If repeatable, how many times?: 0
- Abbreviated Title (30 characters maximum): Internship
- Course Online?: C -
Face-to-face (0% online)
- Percentage Online: 0
- Grading Option:
-
- Prerequisites: All students should earn a grad of B or higher in 18 credits of coursework in the degree at 6000 level and above; PhD students must have completed 27 credits and be scheduled to take their PhD exams. PhD student require permission of major professor
- Corequisites: NA
- Course Description: This course consists of supervised work-and-learning experience in professional and technical communication or related fields under the direction of a University faculty member and an employee of a participating firm.
- Please briefly explain why it is necessary and/or desirable to add this course: Needed to compete with national trends
- What is the need or demand for this course? (Indicate if this course is part of a required sequence in the major.) What other programs would this course service? National trends in Higher Education emphasize job readiness. As part of our effort to offer professional opportunities and enhance the job placement of our graduate students, we will offer a graduate internship for our English department MA, MFA, or PhD students in all tracks. Based on the undergraduate internship in Professional and Technical Writing coordinated by Mike Shuman (http://mshuman.com/internships/), this is a semester-long, three credit elective course. Students will be placed with a company or organization that matches their career interests to work for allotted number of hours per week. The department has created relationships with an impressive list of sponsors in the Tampa Bay Area from industry and technology to the arts, law and education, and we will be seeking to expand this to highlight graduate level skills of writing, critical thinking, research and teaching. Internships create valuable opportunities to enhance students' job skills to prepare them for non-academic careers. Employers tend to look for smart, reliable candidates with excellent communication and critical thinking skills, and student often get training in specific job tasks.
- Has this course been offered as Selected Topics/Experimental Topics course? If yes, how many times? Yes, 1 time
- What qualifications for training and/or experience are necessary to teach this course? (List minimum qualifications for the instructor.) PhD. This course is taught by the Director of Graduate Studies or the Associate Chair
- Objectives: 1. Students will gain an understanding of workplace culture as they learn to adapt their academic teaching, research, and writing skills to the non-academic workplace.
2. Students will develop a series of job skills that will render them ready for non-academic employment following graduation, including professional writing
- Learning Outcomes: 1. Students will be able to identify and apply critical industry- or job-specific skills.
2. Students will be able to use their knowledge of the workplace to perform job-specific tasks to the satisfaction of their employer.
3. Students wl ilbe able to perform job specific tasks to the satisfcation of their employer.
4. Students will be able to communicate appropriately in a non-academic work environment. Students will be able to communicate effectively with a wide range of individuals, including employers, co-workers, customers, and clients.
- Major Topics: Workplace culture and employee responsibilities
Communicating with employers, co-workers, and clients
Critical thinking and problem solving in a workplace environment
Developing general and industry-specific skills
Professional writing
- Textbooks: Sweitzer, Frederick H. and Mary A. King. The Successful Internship. 4th ed. Cengage, 2014. ISBN 10 1285077199. $85.99.
Alred, Gerald J. et. al. The Business Writers Handbook. 10th ed. New York: St. Martin’s, 2012. ISBN- 10 0312679432 $45.00
- Course Readings, Online Resources, and Other Purchases: TBA. Will vary by employer and workplace setting
- Student Expectations/Requirements and Grading Policy: Weekly Status Reports 20%
Faculty Supervisor Meetings: Status Discussion 10%
Internship Sponsor Evaluations 35%
Professional Portfolio or Research Report & Reflective Essay 35%
Also note - All students should earn a grad of B or higher in 18 credits of coursework in the degree at 6000 level and above; PhD students must have completed 27 credits and be scheduled to take their PhD exams. PhD student require permission of major professor
- Assignments, Exams and Tests: Periodic Meetings – Students must contact the faculty supervisor, during the fourth, eighth, twelfth, and fifteenth weeks of the semester to schedule a face-to-face meeting regarding internship progress. During the meeting during Week 15, students will schedule a final meeting to discuss the experience, present the internship portfolio, and deliver the completed internship evaluation form. While meetings are required every four weeks during the internship, remember that the supervisor is available at any time to discuss important issues or concerns related to the progress and experience.
• Weekly Status Reports – On Friday of each week students must deliver a formal status report detailing work activities for that week, including work hours and the amount of time devoted to specific assignments and tasks. Students also should include a paragraph or two reflecting on what they are learning about the profession and how this experience may help them advance in a career. Students should also detail any problems or concerns they may have about work or professional relationships in the workplace.
• Midterm and Final Internship Assessments—During Week 8 and Week 15, students will be required to complete a formal assessment form related to the internship. Copies of these two forms are available on the Internship Program website.
• Portfolio – Students must maintain a professional portfolio containing significant examples of the work completed during the internship (e.g. reports, proposals, manuals, websites). This portfolio should be available during each face-to-face meeting and may be either hard-copy, online, or both. Regardless of the format, the portfolio should be well-designed and professional in every way.
o Research Option – Available to PhD students in Rhetoric and Composition with advanced permission of major professor. In certain cases, research from the job site might be appropriate for the PhD student to collect for dissertation work. Because IRB and site permissions need to be granted prior to conducting research, this option needs to be explicitly planned and agreed upon in advance of the start of the internship. It would replace the portfolio as a course requirement.
• Reflective Essay – Students must write a final, reflective essay (approximately 2100 words) discussing the internship and addressing the following points:
a. What duties/tasks were successful because of training as an English graduate student
b. What duties/tasks were inadequately prepared for
c. The overall workplace culture of the company sponsoring the internship
d. Contribution to the workplace culture
e. What was gained from this experience
- Attendance Policy: Course Attendance at First Class Meeting – Policy for Graduate Students: For structured courses, 6000 and above, the College/Campus Dean will set the first-day class attendance requirement. Check with the College for specific information. This policy is not applicable to courses in the following categories: Educational Outreach, Open University (TV), FEEDS Program, Community Experiential Learning (CEL), Cooperative Education Training, and courses that do not have regularly scheduled meeting days/times (such as, directed reading/research or study, individual research, thesis, dissertation, internship, practica, etc.). Students are responsible for dropping undesired courses in these categories by the 5th day of classes to avoid fee liability and academic penalty. (See USF Regulation – Registration - 4.0101,
http://usfweb2.usf.edu/usfgc/ogc%20web/currentreg.htm)
Attendance Policy for the Observance of Religious Days by Students: In accordance with Sections 1006.53 and 1001.74(10)(g) Florida Statutes and Board of Governors Regulation 6C-6.0115, the University of South Florida (University/USF) has established the following policy regarding religious observances: (http://usfweb2.usf.edu/usfgc/gc_pp/acadaf/gc10-045.htm)
In the event of an emergency, it may be necessary for USF to suspend normal operations. During this time, USF may opt to continue delivery of instruction through methods that include but are not limited to: Blackboard, Elluminate, Skype, and email messaging and/or an alternate schedule. It’s the responsibility of the student to monitor Blackboard site for each class for course specific communication, and the main USF, College, and department websites, emails, and MoBull messages for important general information.
- Policy on Make-up Work: Late assignments generally should not be an issue for a course of this nature. However, students must complete all assigned readings and be prepared to discuss them during periodic meetings with the faculty supervisor, and students must complete all tasks assigned by the internship sponsor in a timely manner consistent with the employer’s direction and the student's own sense of professional responsibility. Please see the University Policy on Academic Integrity: http://www.grad.usf.edu/policies_Sect7_full.php#integrity.
- Program This Course Supports: This course supports the MA, MFA, and PhD in English
- Course Concurrence Information: None.
- if you have questions about any of these fields, please contact chinescobb@grad.usf.edu or joe@grad.usf.edu.