Internships

A great place to look for internships is through Handshake (how do I use Handshake?), which functions like a job board, but feels like a social media platform. You can also find internships on company websites, via LinkedIn, or on other job search platforms.

Not sure where to begin? If you want talk through your ideas or need some help getting started, you can set up a meeting with your faculty advisor or with Lisa Blacher, the Director of HFA Career Services:

@email
W321 South College
(413) 545-9657

The skills in writing and critical thinking that you learn as an English major are in demand across many fields and industries. UMass English majors have landed a wide variety of internships, including positions with the UMass Press, UMass Magazine, the UMass Writing Center, The Massachusetts Review, The Daily Collegian, The Daily Hampshire Gazette, and The Valley Advocate. English interns have also worked for the Children's Hospital in Boston, Axiom Insurance, Executive Forum Magazine, athenahealth, Oracle, Representative Niki Tsongas, Tufts University of Medicine, Walden Media LLC and WSHM-TV Springfield.

Recurring, on-campus internships include:

• Digital communications intern for the English Department 
• UMass News & Media Relations intern, Social Media Brigade, Media Production, and Student Photographer
• University of Massachusetts Press intern
• Writing Tutor intern in the Writing Center
• Juniper Institute - Administrative Assistant for summer creative writing conferences. Must have workstudy. Applications period begins in September.

As soon as you can! UMass requires that you have earned at least 45 credit hours (and a 2.0 GPA) before doing an internship for course credits, so many students pursue internships during their sophomore and junior years. This experience helps make them more competitive for paid, higher profile internships.

Did you know that you can earn up to 18 credits by doing internships? For-credit internships can be a great way to prepare for your career while making progress toward your degree. Some internships opportunities, such as publishing internships at the UMass Press or Digital Communications Internships in the English department are available on or near campus, making them easier to fit in around your course schedule. Summer internships, which are usually done for pay rather than credit, are another great option.

HFA has an Internship Assistance Fund that supports students who need financial help in order to pursue summer internship opportunities.

1. First, make sure that you are eligible. There are two types of internships available: Engl 298 (ungraded credits) or UMass 298Y (ungraded credits).
   
   To enroll for Engl 298, you must have junior or first-semester senior standing at the time of the internship, with most required courses in English completed and a GPA of 2.5 or better.
   
   To enroll for UMass 298Y you must have earned at least 45 credits by the time you do your internship and have a GPA of 2.0 or higher. NOTE: UMass 298Y: Practicum must be graded as a Pass/Fail and will not fulfill any English Departmental requirements, but may count towards general elective credits.
    
2. See what internships are available and learn about the process for registering. You would complete an Internship Experience Contract in SPIRE. If you have additional questions, contact the Central Career Services Field Experience Program in 511 Goodell, email @email, or call 413-545-2224.
    
3. Find a faculty sponsor—perhaps your personal advisor in the department—who will agree to work with you. You and your sponsor should agree to the terms of an internship contract, which outlines the amount of work and the kind of project you will do for the internship and the number of credits you will receive.
    
4. For more information about internship credits, costs, and hours, see the UMass Careers page on the Credited Internship Process.

View a printer-friendly PDF regarding Co-ops

A co-op is a paid, non-credit position that gives you the opportunity to work with professionals in a field of interest. You will experience that workplace first-hand, develop new skills, and explore professional goals. You need to have earned at least 45 credits and have a 2.0 GPA overall to do a co-op placement. Placements must be completed prior to graduation, so if you are in your fourth year and still have no job experience you may change your graduation date in SPIRE in order to participate in a Co-op. The process of registering for a co-op is similar to that for an internship: check in with the English Undergraduate Advising Office or a Central Career Services Field Experience Program Office for details.

Sponsoring a Credited Internship 

For credited internships, students have both a site supervisor and a faculty sponsor who oversees the academic component required for their experience.  Though credits must correspond to the hours worked for the internship (example: 1 credit = 40 hours per semester*), students receive credit for the completion of the academic component.  

Typically, a faculty sponsor meets with the student prior to the student’s registration for the internship in order to establish the particulars of the academic component and decide how often to meet.  The student will then submit an Internship Experience contract on SPIRE. Once the contract is submitted, the faculty sponsor will be sent a link and will need to indicate approval of the contract in order for registration to occur.

The Field Experience Office sends the sponsor a copy of the contract. At the end of semester, the office also sends the sponsor a copy of the site supervisor’s evaluation of the student’s performance.  

If a student’s GPA is below 2.0 or they have not yet earned 45 credits, they can seek Academic Dean’s permission to still participate in an internship for credit or a co-op.

Academic Component and In-Person Meeting Recommendations

For English 298 (pass/fail English credit) or UMass 298Y (pass/fail university credit):

Recommended Meeting Frequency: 

There can be considerable flexibility in how often the sponsor and student meet in person.  An initial meeting is certainly necessary. Beyond that, the sponsor and student can decide how frequently they’d like to meet.  If deadlines for the academic component are clear and the student may submit the work to the sponsor electronically, future meetings might be minimal. 

Recommended Academic Work: 

For a 3-credit internship*, 10 pages of formal writing that might look like any of the following:

• a polished journal due at various points in the semester
• a reflection paper due at the end of the semester 
• for writing-based internships, a combination writing portfolio/reflection due at the end of the semester

*For 1- or 2-credit internships, scale down the amount of work, or scale up for internships of more than 3 credits. 

Evaluation:

These internships are graded P/F.  The sponsor derives the grade from the student’s academic component, but may take into account the site supervisor’s evaluation as well (sent by the Field Experience Office).  Grades for both English-credit internship grades and those registered under UMass 298Y are submitted on Spire. (The registration of English-credit internships is done by Mary Coty; UMass 298Y is registered by the Field Experience Office. Registration for Summer and Winter Session internships is done by the CPE Registrar; please contact Central Career Services Field Experience office for details).

For English 398 (a graded, 3-credit internship, which can count towards an English Elective):

Recommended Meeting Frequency:

A minimum of 3 meetings per semester (roughly one meeting per month) between sponsor and student, for the student to check in with the sponsor about the internship experience and the progress of the academic component.  

Recommended Academic Work:

10 pages of formal writing (journal entries, a reflection paper, a combination portfolio/reflection, a combination reflection and research paper) + two of the following career-related activities, conducted within the internship semester*:

• a substantial informational interview with a professional in a field related to the internship—short paper required
• attendance at a job fair, networking event, alumni panel, or info session—short reflection required
• attendance at a professional development workshop, such as those offered by Here to Career in the spring (on resumes/cover letters, building a linkedin profile, conducting an informational interview, etc.)—short reflection required
• individual advising session on career planning at HFA Advising Center—short reflection required 

           OR, alternatively:

• a 15-20 page research paper (ideally exploring the student’s professional interests)

Evaluation:

The sponsor derives the grade from the student’s academic component, but may take into account the site supervisor’s evaluation as well (sent by the Field Experience Office). Registration for English-credit internship grades are done through Mary Coty; grades are submitted on Spire. Registration for Summer and Winter Session internships is done by the CPE Registrar; please contact Central Career Services Field Experience office for details.

*Sponsor may make adjustments/substitutions to any recommendation, based on student interest and opportunity.