Creative Media

If you are interested in interning with a specific organization, be sure to browse their website for information on opportunities. In the past, JCM students have interned with such organizations as Viacom, MTV, Paramount, NBC Universal, Comcast, Fox, BET and more.

Get to work!

After you have been accepted an internship position, you will need to complete the internship contract form and enroll in JCM 387 to receive proper credit and fulfill the requirements of JCM majors on the production track.

Enrolling in JCM 383

• Decide how many credits you would like to enroll in for each semester. You are required to complete three credit hours for an internship, enrolled through JCM 383.

• While the required three credits can be taken as 1, 2, or 3 credit hours each semester, in order to fulfill the 3 required credit hours in JCM 383, you must complete 270 hours working for your internship.

• This can be broken up each semester as follows:
  • 1 credit hour – 90 hours
  • 2 credit hours – 180 hours
  • 3 credit hours – 270 hours

• Plan out your class and internship schedule

• Have your supervisor fill out the supervisor form.

• Submit a copy of the internship contract form to your supervising faculty member and Susan Givens in the JCM office (jcmadvising.ua.edu). You will be permitted to enroll in JCM 383 within 24-48 hours of submitting your completed paperwork to Ms. Givens.

Completing your required assignments

• Keep a brief and informal INTERNSHIP JOURNAL. For every day that you work/intern you should have an entry that details date, hours worked and bullet point of tasks you are assigned and/or accomplish. Be sure to note date and times that you work – this will become a log of working hours, and documented proof of what you did during those 345 hours of internship. Approximately once a week, write a substantive post in your journal, reflecting on what you are learning; let your journal be an honest evaluation of your internship and personal reflections of your experience. Ask yourself things like, “Is this what I expected to do on in this position?, What have  I learned about technology? Professional working environments? My skill set?  What does it takes to do this job? Could this be a place where I’d like to work after graduation? What more do I need to work on, studying in JCM? These prompts are just a guide to help you think through this experience on a day to day level as well as part of a larger experience.

• Write a 4-5 page formal paper by selecting segments from your journal or writing about other relevant job aspects (positive and negative) to reflect on.  If you are enrolled only 1 or 2 credit hours, write a 2-3 page formal paper for each internship position.

• After completing your hours, make sure your supervisor has filled out and sent in the Intern Performance Review Form.

• Set up a post-internship debrief appointment with your faculty supervisor (the faculty member that you’re enrolled with). During this short meeting (approx. 15 minutes), you will submit your journal, paper, and evaluations for grading. (Please note: your journal will not be returned to you, so please copy any important notes before your debrief appointment.)

Don’t forget:

You must enroll in the JCM 383 internship course by the registration deadline – the last day of the add/drop period of the registration semester, otherwise we cannot grant you credit or enrollment for that semester term.

You must complete your internship requirements, and complete your debrief appointment before grades are due in the semester you are registered for. Do not wait until the last day before grades are due to schedule your debrief. In fact, consider that you may set up a debrief appointment as soon as you are finished with your requirements, and we will all be less stressed.

Please note that we cannot give credit for past internships.