Tim Rumbough, Ph.D.

Internship in Communication
(Commstud.497) Syllabus

Bloomsburg University 
Department of Communication Studies

 

Instructor:       Tim Rumbough, Ph.D.            
Office:             Waller 14A 
Office Hours:   can be found here.       
Office Phone: (570) 389-4897
Department Office: (570) 389-4184
E-mail:             trumboug@bloomu.edu  
Website:          http://rumbough.wix.com/rumbough
         

PREREQUISITES: See the Internship Policy: Eligibility Guidelines (p. 1).
 

CATALOG DESCRIPTION: Integrates classroom experience with practical work experience in industrial, business, or government work settings. Students must establish the academic integrity of their proposed experience and its relevance to course work in the major.

COURSE OUTLINE
Content varies depending on the site and specific tasks of the internship.  A student will obtain an internship position appropriate to his/her area of study, fulfill the responsibilities of the position, as outlined by their internship site, and submit documentation explaining the connections between their internship and their academic work/experiences.

STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES:                   
Students who complete this course should be able to:

• Practice and evaluate theoretical principles in professional settings.

• Identify career interests in communication-related fields. 

• Develop skills and abilities through carefully planned and supervised programs related to the degree they are seeking.

 

Department of Communication Internship Policies - opens in MS Word.  Please read the Internship Policies. Many of your questions can be answered here. Please note that your specific assignments are described below.

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Grade: All internships in the Department of Communication Studies are Pass/Fail.  So the final grade will either be a "P" or "F." 

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Information about the Weekly Logs
Students are required to e-mail (or mail) to Dr. Rumbough a weekly log. 

 

Instructions:  Maintain a written log summarizing your activities and relating the experience to your academic program. Submission of these logs is mandatory in order to obtain a final grade for the experience.  It would be wise to keep daily notes.  The log is not shared with your site supervisor. Here is an example of a Weekly Log (opens in MS word).

 

The log must be typed. Include the your name, site, and the dates on the top of the first page. Summarize what was done during the course of the day or week: what was accomplished, what new connections were made between communication and the work place, what problems arose and whether these problems are ongoing. Offer observations about: the organization, your supervisor, fellow workers, the nature of your position, interactions and interrelationships between co-workers and with yourself. Attempt to relate the internship to your academic and classroom knowledge.

 

Be sure to include a start time and a stop time for each day that you work. Include a running total of hours worked for each week.

Logs will be evaluated according to: presentation (grammar, spelling, vocabulary (make sure you explain the jargon used at your site), etc.); integration (communication concepts & experience); explanation (of work, position, tasks, etc); observation (insights from carefully attending to the experience).

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Information about the Internship Final Paper
The department Guidelines state: Submit a major paper at the end of the internship period detailing the connections between the experience and the discipline of communication.  Offer a careful and contemplative analysis of the role of theory and practice in the workplace based on your experience.  The typed or word-processed paper should follow standard academic guidelines.

 

Additional Ideas: 
Discuss how particular ideas/issues/theories in your coursework here in the Department of Communication Studies at BU could be applied to the experience that you had.  For example, you could discuss the topic of conflict and how it was handled.  OR you could focus on intercultural communication and discuss examples of how you witnessed this during your internship.  Or discuss the effectiveness of the organizational communication within the company. 

 

The paper should be 8-10 pages in length.  You can e-mail it to me within one week of the end of your internship.

 

Evaluation form that student fills out at the end of the internship: At the end of the internship, the student fills out this form: https://bloomu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cSkry04s3DdtoWx

 

Evaluation Form that on-site supervisor fills out:
The on-site supervisor will evaluate the student’s on-site performance at the end of the internship: https://bloomu.az1.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_9Bk1kEs0nXMh5id

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Questions? 
Please contact me.