JAMS Internships FAQ

The JAMS webpage explains some of the requirements and the frequently asked questions should explain the rest. If you have further questions after reading this information sheet, send questions to jams-internships@uwm.edu.

An internship committee comprised of three or four members of the JAMS faculty and staff review internship applications and check to make sure that internship applicants meet the requirements as defined by the JAMS department.

Yes. Depending upon your sub-major area of focus, you will have to have taken certain classes, as well as be a JAMS declared major, and have a cumulative GPA 2.7 or above. See the main internship page for more details.

Make this about one page, double-spaced. Explain to us 1) Why you want an internship; 2) Why you would be a good representative of the JAMS Department in an internship; 3) Which area you are wishing to intern in, and whether you already have an internship lined up; 4) Any holistic details you want us to know about you and your background to help us understand your academic potential.

All applicants will be notified by email telling them if their application is approved or denied. If you haven’t heard from the internship coordinator two weeks after the application deadline, then it’s time to check in with us.

No. After you’ve applied and been accepted into the program, your next step is to apply for internships. *Please note the program application deadline is one week prior to the start of the next semester. Journalism interns are encouraged to apply two to three months prior to the start of the semester due to the nature of the industry hiring.

You may take one on-campus internship and one off-campus internship for major credit through JAMS. That is a total of 6-internship credits for the major. You also may take two off-campus or two on-campus internships instead for a total of 6 credits of 399 or 600. Additional options are available to students who have completed JAMS 399/600. These additional options do not count toward the major credit requirements.

No. Just as with any job experience, you will have to apply to companies and organizations for internship positions. The companies and organizations decide whom they wish to hire as interns. We will give you leads for companies and organizations that are in search of interns, or who have hired JAMS internship students in the past. Of course, you may also search for internship opportunities beyond our list of options. You are responsible for finding, applying, interviewing and landing the internship. We do not place students in jobs. Check the JAMS Internships Facebook page for ideas.

Sometimes, yes. It will depend somewhat on how long you have been at your current internship and what your job duties are at the internship. For instance, if this is a relatively new internship (six months or less), you will usually be approved to continue for credit. If you have been at this internship for six months or more, we may ask you to consider finding a new internship to broaden your experience, to earn credit. We do not grant retroactive credit for already completed internships, however.

No. Some are paid and some are not. It depends on the organization. However, some unpaid internships are wonderful opportunities, providing students with a lot of work to fill their portfolios or that eventually lead to a paid position. Others are paid, and we do encourage sites to pay our interns some type of compensation, even if it is an “end-of internship” stipend. But, not all sites offer or are able to provide paid compensation.

Not always. You may simply be asked to submit a new transcript to verify your current GPA. Simply tell the internship coordinator of your decision to wait or of your inability to find an appropriate internship. As long as you find an internship opportunity within one year of being accepted for an internship, you need only to resubmit your transcript to ensure you still meet the general requirements. Basically, we approve you for credit, but you don’t actually register for and pay for the credits until you get an internship.

Once you are notified (by email) that you are accepted, you should begin your search right away. You can even start looking before you are accepted. Some students approved for a fall internship may choose to wait until mid-summer to begin their search, and that’s fine. But don’t wait too long. The longer you wait, the less likely you are to find a great opportunity and the less choices you’ll have to choose from. Journalism interns should have their internship in place two – three months prior to the next semester.

If there is any question as to whether a site meets JAMS internship experience requirements (enough hours, career related duties, reporting to a communications professional, etc.), your internship supervisor will need to provide the JAMS internship coordinator with a job description. This should be done as early as possible. If a site cannot meet our minimum requirements, then we can either work with the site to get the requirements up to standard, or, as is sometimes the case, the intern may need to look for a new site to fulfill his/her internship. We want interns to get a great experience, learn a lot and get items for their portfolios.

Before the internship begins you will need to secure the following documentation:

• Proof you were offered the internship (email is fine)
• An internship (job) description, or detailed explanation of anticipated duties (unless already provided by the site; ask the internship coordinator)
• This letter should also include the number of hours of expected service each week
• Proper title and contact information for your internship supervisor

Your supervisor will be required to complete a mid-term and end-of-semester evaluation form on your performance. It’s your responsibility to make sure they complete the forms and that the forms are received by the JAMS internship coordinator by the due date.

Yes. In addition to completing your internship and submitting your supervisor evaluations, you will need to submit assignments, such as journals, to the course D2L site. You are also required to participate in discussions posted by you and your fellow classmates and to submit social media posts. Details on the assignments are explained when you are allowed access into the course.

Not at all. Not if you and the site decide mutually that the position will remain yours. This could be an extended internship or, as has happened after good interns complete their internships, you could be offered a job. However, you may only receive up to 6 credits of any combination of JAMS 399 and JAMS 600.

First, try to work it out with your supervisor. If you’ve done that and you are still having problems, contact the JAMS internship coordinator or send an email to jams-internships@uwm.edu for advice. If needed, we will act as a mediator, although that is rarely required. Do not wait until things are unmanageable.

Set up a time to discuss your situation with the JAMS internship coordinator or send an email to jams-internships@uwm.edu.

The internship director and committee can help assess if the employer meets our requirements when the employer provides a job description related to the internship opportunity. To ensure a quality experience for both the employer and intern, if an internship site doesn’t meet the following criteria, the student will be asked to look for another internship or they can independently complete the internship, but not receive credit.

• The internship must be related to journalism, advertising, public relations, social media or some other field in mass communication.
• The student intern must be supervised by a media or communication professional with a minimum of 3 years of experience in the industry who will mentor the intern and provide formal and informal feedback, including two written supervisor evaluations during the semester.
• Interns must be doing actual journalism, advertising, or public relations activities at least 80 percent of the time; minimal administrative or support duties may be performed.
• Interns must be given ample opportunities to perform work that will directly prepare them for work in the field and create items for their portfolios, packages or resumes.
• An intern may not replace a regular staff position.

Send a detailed internship job description to jams-internships@uwm.edu. Include the name, business title and contact information of the person/people who will supervise the intern. The JAMS internship committee will discuss whether or not your opportunity is a viable option for JAMS student interns.

• Overview of company / organization
• Job duties
• Required skills and abilities
• Indicate if it is paid or unpaid. If it is paid, indicate the rate of pay or amount of stipend.
• Who will supervise the intern? Include the supervisor’s name, title, email and phone number.
• Anticipated start/end dates.
• Hours per week
• How applicants should apply and where resumes/cover letters should be sent.

Please keep job descriptions to one page.

The employer must provide a comprehensive job description for each internship opportunity.

• The internship site must have a focus on some form of media communication or an area/department within the site that does. (i.e. A manufacturing company with a marketing department would qualify)
• The student intern must be supervised by a person within the company or organization who has at least 3 years of experience working in some area of media communication (journalism, advertising, public relations, social media, etc.)
• The supervisor must fill out evaluations regarding the student intern’s performance twice a semester and return them to the internship coordinator.
• The student intern may not replace or fill a regular staff position.
• The intern’s duties must focus on journalism, advertising, social media, public relations or other media-related work. “Other duties” such as administrative work must account for less than 20 percent of their time on the job.
• The employer must be able to offer the intern approximately 10 – 12 hours of work per week and be flexible with the intern’s academic schedule.
• Interns must be provided ample opportunities to perform duties that will directly prepare them for work in the field and create items for their portfolios, packages or resumes.

This is a one-page document that will be completed twice a semester. You will rate the intern’s skill level for things such as writing skills, motivation, ability to meet deadlines and other criteria. We additionally ask that you include a short narrative regarding the student’s performance (i.e. what they are doing well and where they could improve). Your feedback will be used to calculate a portion of the student’s grade, so it is important that you submit the evaluation to the internship coordinator.

This is something for your business/organization to discuss, but we recommend that if it’s not a paid position, you grant a stipend to interns who have done exemplary work throughout the semester.

There are many reasons why you should. JAMS interns should be performing real work for your organization that you may otherwise have to pay a regular employee for doing. You will find students more interested in your internship opportunity if you offer them some monetary compensation. While we realize some nonprofits cannot afford to pay student interns, many find some way to offer interns minimum wage or a stipend when the internship has been completed. Even the smallest nonprofits often do this. We strongly encourage advertising agencies, news organizations and other for-profit businesses to compensate students for their work. We encourage nonprofits to pay interns if they are able.

Not necessarily. Often there are projects students can perform without being at your physical location. We do recommend that if you allow students to work from home, that they report your physical location/meet in person at least once/week to gain workplace experience.

Yes. Interns should not replace a regular staff position. The tasks completed by students should be supervised and critiqued by a media professional. Students should be given the opportunity to create pieces for their resumes and portfolios. Students should not be doing more than 20% administrative tasks for their overall duties. All other questions and concerns can be sent to jams-internships@uwm.edu.

That is something the employer and intern can work out. Many of our interns can perform some duties and responsibilities away from the employer’s physical location, such as social media content development. However, we highly recommend that you have an intern come into the office for a few hours weekly to offer them feedback, clarify assignment expectations, and to give them a sense of being a part of the team.

We hope that you will first approach the student and discuss the situation with them. That’s usually all it takes to resolve any issues. However, if you have done that and there are still performance or other concerns, then contact the internship coordinator, Joette Rockow at jrockow@uwm.edu

If you and the student agree to this arrangement, absolutely. However, we may not be able to give the student additional credits for the internship if it lasts more than one semester. We look at these situations on a case-by-case basis.