Guidelines for Internships

Walter vom Saal

This paper summarizes standard guidelines for internships supervised by me. In all cases, the guidelines should be reviewed with me before the internship begins, so that we agree on all components, and so we can examine whether any adjustments or additions are appropriate for your particular internship.

Normal requirements are to participate at a facility 3 hours per week for each course credit. A three-credit internship will normally involve 9 hours per week, for a minimum of 15 weeks.

All written materials are due the last class day of the semester.

Written materials include the following:

1. Log of hours. This should be a daily record of hours you work at the facility, including a brief one-line entry of what you did on each visit. It should be signed by your site supervisor before submission.

2. Journal. This is a written record of your day-to-day experiences and what you are learning from them. A normal guideline is to make an entry for each day of work. Some entries can be just a brief paragraph, but at least one a week should be longer and should address some of the topics listed below for the final paper. Consider the journal to be two things: first, a record of what you are doing, and second, a record of what you are learning. If you make entries on the topics below throughout the semester, your final paper will be much easier to write.

3. Final paper. This paper will be a summary of what you have done and what you have learned. Be sure you look at the handout on overall guidelines for writing papers referred to below.

The paper should use the outline below. Each section and subsection should begin with a heading according to the outline.

TITLE PAGE: Name, date, course and number of credits, and the title “Final Internship Paper.”

1. Summary of activities. This section may refer to your journal, but the reader must be able to understand it without reference to your journal.

2. What I learned –

2a. About the facility

2b. About the careers and jobs illustrated by the facility

2c. About the clients or patients served by the facility

2d. [Optional: About people in general or facilities in general]

2e. About myself

Your strengths and weaknesses

Your likes and dislikes

Any other insights or realizations

3. Summary and conclusions.

In terms of length, here are guidelines. One page means at least one full page, typed and double-spaced. These are guidelines – depending on the situation, it might be appropriate to expand some sections and reduce others. The most important section is Section 2e, on what you learned about yourself.

Section 1 – minimum 1 page.

Section 2a – minimum 1 page.

Section 2b – minimum 1 page.

Section 2c – minimum 1 page.

Section 2d – optional – no minimum length.

Section 2e – 3 pages minimum.

Section 3 – 1 page.

Your paper should follow my overall guidelines for writing papers. Look at my website at http://employees.oneonta.edu/vomsaaw, click on Handouts, see the second handout, named Guidelines for Writing Papers. Or you may click here to go directly to http://employees.oneonta.edu/vomsaaw/w/handouts_general/papers.pdf