IUPUI’s urban location gives students access to a wealth of internship opportunities. Interns work with diverse populations of clients, mentees, readers, patrons, etc. and receive the satisfaction of performing meaningful work for a company or organization.
Students may earn credit and pay while gaining hands-on experience, learning new skills, and applying the skills learned in their college courses.
Companies and organizations may advertise any temporary position as an internship, and students may apply for any position they find desirable. However, when students wish to earn college credit for an internship position, the organization is asked to guarantee that 90% of a student’s work will provide a meaningful learning experience.
For English majors, 90% of the work should include research, writing, editing, fact checking, teaching, tutoring, mentoring, or a combination of those tasks. No more than 10% of the work can be spent on general office tasks, such as filing or making copies.
Students may serve as interns for small businesses, large corporations, community organizations, non-profits, campus offices and organizations, and individual faculty members. Students whose current part- time or full-time jobs offer relevant work experience may also apply to earn internship credit for that work.
IUPUI’s English Department offers internships for English majors under the course numbers ENG W398: Internship in Writing (for 1-2 credits) and ENG E398: Internship in English (for 3-6) credit hours. Each credit hour requires 50 hours in a workplace. These hours may be completed within one semester, or they may span two semesters, or both summer sessions.
The Department of English also offers W496, a writing center theory and training course for students interested in becoming consultants at the University Writing Center (UWC). In this course, students read writing center theory and gain hands-on experience consulting with students about their writing. After completing the course, students are eligible to apply for paid writing consultant positions at the UWC. UWC employees may earn additional E398 credit for their work if they wish. For more information about becoming a UWC consultant, contact Dr. Marilee Brooks-Gillies (mbrooksg@iupui.edu).
Students who have completed the W280: Literary Editing and Publishing course and become editors of genesis, IUPUI’s literary magazine, may earn one credit per semester of work and register for W398: Internship in Writing if they wish. The first semester, interns are asked to complete all of the brief, W398 assignments. In subsequent semesters, editors need only submit the midterm and final evaluation surveys and the reflective essay.
To be eligible to apply for English Department internship credits, students must:
*Please note that no more than six internship credits can be counted toward your degree.
Hands-on work can be particularly satisfying. Internships provide the opportunity to work in diverse settings and serve a wide range of audiences. Internships also help students prepare for graduate school and careers.
English majors have a wide variety of career options. Students who wait until graduation to explore those options may find that they neglected to take courses that would have made them more competitive candidates for desirable positions. They may also find that they do not like the day-to-day work involved with a career that sounded promising.
Internships offer the opportunity to:
For more information, contact:
Hannah Haas
Internship Coordinator
Cavanaugh Hall, Room 343
hhaas@iupui.edu
(317) 278-8582
Internship position listings can be found:
When reviewing position listings, be sure not to overlook marketing positions and positions in the life and health sciences that involve writing and research.
In addition to pursuing internships at organizations that have posted job listings, students are encouraged to network and seek their own internship opportunities at businesses and organizations.
The Office of Career Development in CA 243 has handouts with tips for writing cover letters and resumes, and the staff members are happy to help you with your application materials. The office is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.. The staff will see students on a walk-in basis when possible, however, appointments are encouraged. Stop by CA 243, or go to http://liberalarts.iupui.edu/careers/ to schedule an appointment with a career coach.
The University Writing Center tutors can also be of help with resumes and cover letters. Go to http://liberalarts.iupui.edu/uwc/ for more information or to schedule an appointment.
The E398 and W398 course work helps demonstrate that students are keeping up with their internship hours, applying their classroom knowledge, and learning new skills. It also offers support for students as they adjust to new work environments. The course work includes:
*Once you have registered, see the internship course’s Canvas site for assignment guidelines and due dates.
Students are eligible to receive hourly pay, stipends, and/or tuition reimbursements in addition to college credit. While some businesses and organizations may not offer pay, some do. Paid positions tend to be listed most frequently on JagJobs.org and other internship sites within a week or two of the beginning of the internship semester. Upaid positions tend to be advertised earlier, so be persistent in your search if you need a paid position.
If you obtain an unpaid internship with a campus, government, or nonprofit organization, you may wish to ask your manager if the organization is able to offer work-study pay. Nonprofit or government agencies approved by the Office of Community Work-Study may offer work-study pay to Federal Work-Study eligible students. Visit this site for for more information.
Internship application and employer agreement forms are due to the Internship Coordinator before the end of the first week of classes in a given semester. However, students who are hired for internship positions after the first week in a semester may still be eligible to apply for credit. Please contact the internship coordinator.
What can you do with an English degree? Your parents or friends may have asked you this question, or you may be wondering yourself.
The answer is, most anything. Imagine the skills any employer might need:
Have you learned or practiced any of the above skills while earning your English degree? In fact, these skills rank among the top attributes employers want to see on your resume, according to the 2016 Job Outlook Survey sponsored by the National Association of Colleges and Employers. But employment ads don’t often specify an English degree, so how do you find an employer who values these skills?
IUPUI graduates have found employment in a number of surprising places, most close to home. In fact, 65% of recent IUPUI graduates found their first full-time jobs in Indianapolis, and 91.6% found their full-time positions in Indiana.
English alumni work in the medical field, as technical writers, as editors, as lawyers, in the education field, for non-profits, for local government, or are self-employed.
Check out the stories of our own graduates and their current employment.
