Internships

Journalism is a competitive profession, and you won't land a good job without experience. The best way to get that is is through an internship.

The School of Journalism requires that all undergraduate majors successfully complete a school-approved professional internship before they graduate. Full-time summer internships usually offer the best experience.

What you do for your internship is up to you. Students intern in traditional mediums as such as newspapers, magazines and TV stations, but many work for online news media too. Some hone their journalism skills by doing communication work for non-profits or government.

To see the variety of jobs interns are doing, check out "Montana J-School Interns" on Facebook.

Faculty can help you hunt for opportunities, but students are responsible for landing their internships. Consider it practice for getting a job.

Basic requirements:

You can fulfill the school's internship requirement by arranging and successfully completing a school-approved internship that allows you to use skills you have learned in the program.

Before any internship can begin, you must complete and submit a Learning Agreement for approval by your faculty internship supervisor. You must also register for one credit of Supervised Internship (JOUR 490) in the semester that the work begins.

The school will not approve internships supervised by students. That means no internships at the Kaimin or KBGA, but we strongly recommend that you work for them. The experience will help you land internships and jobs down the road.

Other requirements and restrictions:

  • All summer internships require 240 hours, or the equivalent of six weeks of full-time
    work. Interns working during fall or spring semesters should average at least 12 hours of work per week.
  • Students are encouraged to do more than one internship, but you cannot earn academic credit for internships performed before you complete the first semester of the professional program. Students may take no more than two credits of JOUR 490.
  • Supervised Internship is offered for credit/no credit.

How to get credit for your internship:

  1. Complete and submit the Learning Agreement to your faculty internship supervisor for approval.
  2. Register for one credit of Supervised Internship in the semester you intend to begin work.
  3. Join the "Montana J-School Interns" group on Facebook and share your experiences.
  4. Halfway through internships, complete and submit the Mid-term Evaluation to your faculty supervisor.
  5. Have your employer complete and submit the Supervisor's Evaluation to your faculty internship supervisor during the final week of your internship. Evaluations may be faxed to the School of Journalism at 406-243-4650 or mailed to: Internships, School of Journalism, University of Montana, 32 Campus Drive, Missoula, MT, 59812.
  6. Submit three samples of your work (clips, audio, video, pdfs) on a DVD to your faculty internship supervisor.

Here's a link to information on internships in the print and online media:

Links to other internship resources:

Internship Forms: (PDF files)