SCHOOL OF COMMUNICATION
Senior Professional Internship
COMM 491
SUMMER 2016
Summer session—May 9th---August 5th
Professor Gemma Puglisi
E-mail address:
Office Phone:
Office:
Office Hours:
Puglisi@american.edu
202-885-2153; cell 703-772-9174
McKinley, 2nd Floor, Room 207
TBA
Purpose of the Course
An internship offers a student the opportunity to learn firsthand about some of the realities
of working in the communication field that he or she has chosen as a career path.
This opportunity is generally seen as a capstone experience that both builds on and
supplements a student’s academic work.
It is also an incredible opportunity to apply everything you have learned in our field
by working with a nonprofit, a corporation, or a small business.
Course Description
An internship is a unique part of a communication student’s education.
For many students, an internship ultimately proves to be a highlight—sometimes even the
absolute pinnacle—of his or her undergraduate studies. On occasion, an internship also opens the
door to a full-time job.
At the same time, however, an internship is a highly unconventional course and, therefore,
one that demands a very different mindset and commitment than other courses.
Information regarding last day to Drop for a refund or Withdrawal
“Refunds for face-to-face courses for summer session and courses with non-standard
meeting times are calculated proportionately, based on the percentage of the internship completed;
on-line course refunds are calculated proportionately using percentage of days elapsed from the first
day of the internship until the last day of the internship and also depends on how many hours are
worked (100% refund through 13% of the internship; 50% refund through 20% of the internship;
25% refund through 27% of the internship).”
http://www.american.edu/summer/summer-calendar-2015.cfm
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PLEASE NOTE: If you no longer wish to continue at your internship, please contact your academic
advisor immediately, so they can process your withdrawal. Please also reach out to me should you
have any other concerns or issues that must be addressed asap. Please see section on Challenges.
COURSE GOALS/OBJECTIVES:
o Develop your interpersonal skills and the basic PR techniques
o Help you think more creatively and strategically—by actually working in a professional
setting
o Further improve your Portfolio to show to prospective employers your work
o Provide the opportunity for you to collaborate and work as a “team player” and
understand how to contribute your talents/ skills
o Help you learn how to structure YOUR OWN TIME and accomplish goals
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
o Define the relationship between you and your supervisor/co-workers and the goals you’ve
accomplished
o Understand all the theories you’ve learned in your classes and fully grasp how they apply
to your actual internship
o Synthesize all the elements of strategic communication and understand their impact
o Understand what it’s like to work in a professional environment in your field—and
maintain professionalism, offer team support, and overall great results
GRADING
I will base your grades on the following:
A 97-100 Your work is outstanding and a NOTCH above the rest. Your material,
effort, research, and writing demonstrate excellent work.
A- 93-96 Represents good work with minor errors. Overall excellent work.
B+ 87-92 Very Good. Represents well-written material, research, and
presentation, but needs some minor work.
B 85-86 Good work but needs reworking and more effort.
B- 84-78 You’ve completed assignments but you are not meeting all the
requirements of the class and keeping up with other colleagues who are also taking
internships.
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C+ 77-83 Satisfactory. Needs reworking, effort and research. Shows little
motivation and concern.
C
75-76 Below satisfactory.
D+ 74—69 Poor performance. Major errors, too many misspellings, problems
with accuracy, grammar, etc.
F 68 and below. Unacceptable performance. You may want to consider majoring
in fencing, acrobatics, or drama.
Professional Component
A School of Communication student who enrolls in an internship is required to commit a
minimum of 210 hours to the on-site internship experience. For a student’s own well-being
academically and personally, he or she should not work more than the agreed-upon hours.
A student intern is expected, at all times, to perform in a professional manner. That means
that the student intern arrives on time and is dressed appropriately for the specific environment
where he or she is working. The student intern also should consistently be enthusiastic and
dependable, as well as pro-active and creative in attempting to resolve any problems that may arise.
Academic Component

Each student must meet with his/her faculty advisor, Professor Gemma Puglisi, prior to
leaving for the summer at the university. This one-on-one meeting will help the student
determine his/her objectives as well as determining the impact the internship may have
on his/her major. There are many students who are fortunate—following their
internships—to gain employment. This meeting is to help the student understand the
possibilities of this as well as getting the most of this internship and experience.
PLEASE NOTE: If your internship is secured after you leave DC for summer, you
must schedule a SKYPE meeting or phone call with Professor Puglisi to discuss the
syllabus, your internship, and any other questions you may have.

Each student intern is required to write an Internship Report consisting of three major
sections.
The first section of the report consists of three to four double-spaced pages—absolutely no
more than four pages because a communication student must learn to write concisely! In this first
section, the student answers the question: What did you do during your internship?
More specifically, this section describes the tasks that you performed and the responsibilities
that you fulfilled. This section may include answers to such questions as:
What aspects of the work did you enjoy (and why)?
What aspects of the work did you not enjoy (and why)?
What aspects of the internship did you find worthwhile (and why)?
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What aspects of the internship did you find less than worthwhile (and why)?
(Incidentally, be assured that the Internship Report is read only by the professor—NOT
by anyone at the internship site.)
The second section of the Internship Report consists of four to six pages (absolutely no
more than six). In this section, the student answers the question: How did your internship relate to
your academic coursework?
The point of this assignment is to give the student the opportunity to reflect both on her
or his internship and academic career as a whole—and then to articulate those thoughts. In
preparing this section of the report, the student should consider such questions as:
What did you learn in the internship that reinforced what you learned in previous courses
(including which courses)?
What did you learn in the internship that contradicted what you learned in previous courses
(including which courses)?
Did your previous courses prepare you for the internship?
What, if anything, was lacking in your previous courses that would have better
prepared you for your internship?
The third section of the Internship Report consists of one to two pages. In this section, the
student answers the question: How did your internship experience affect your career planning?
In other words, this section requires you to discuss your goals vis-à-vis the kind of job you
intend to pursue after graduation and how those goals either changed or did not change because of
the internship you have just completed.
All Internship Reports are due no later than Monday, August 8th via e—mail or hard copy.
Obviously, many students may still be interning when the reports are due. It is imperative that the
reports are received on this date so the grades may be posted. Thus your reports will represent your
work throughout the summer, including any upcoming projects you are coordinating. Should you
have any questions or concerns, please contact Professor Puglisi. Students should e-mail professor
Puglisi at Puglisi@american.edu. If you are in DC, please arrange with her when you would like to
drop off your project. The grade on the report is lowered by one letter grade for each day the report
is late.
OTHER ASSIGNMENTs—BY Monday, May 30th, please e-mail Professor Puglisi a two-page
single spaced commentary describing your first week experience at your internship. Include who
you met, your supervisor, working with other colleagues, your feelings, concerns, etc.
By Friday, June 17th: You must arrange either a SKYPE interview or phone call with
Professor Puglisi. This is just to touch base and let me know what the status is, your experience,
etc.
Monday, August 8th, your internship report is due---this should be at least 10-12 pages long and
should include examples of your work, etc.
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Again—HERE ARE YOUR ASSIGNMENTS and DUE DATES:
o May 30th, Monday: Two-page single spaced commentary describing your first week experience
at your internship. Include who you met, your supervisor, working with other colleagues, your
feelings, concerns, etc.
o June 17th--Friday: Arrange time with Professor Puglisi for SKYPE or phone call to discuss your
experiences.
o August 8th, Monday: your final internship report—10-12 pages is due.
Grades
The grade in the course is calculated by weighing the evaluation of the internship
supervisor 40 percent and the grade from the professor on the Internship Report 60 percent.
It is important for the student to note that this breakdown reflects the fact that the Internship
is, in fact, an academic course. *****Please make certain that we have the correct name of your
supervisor, including their e-mail and phone number. There may be times that the supervisor may
change. It is the responsibility of the student to notify both the faculty advisor and academic
advisor of the change.
Academic Integrity
By registering for this course, a student has acknowledged his or her awareness of American
University’s Academic Integrity Code and is obliged to become familiar with a student’s rights and
responsibilities as defined by that code. The professor will not treat violations of the Academic
Integrity Code lightly, and he will take disciplinary action should such violations occur.
Liaison between SOC and the “Real World”
A student intern has, during the last several years, become intimately familiar with
American University and is now, for one semester, committing a significant amount of time, talent,
and energy to a particular organization in the “real world” of communication. Because of this
unique perspective, an intern serves as a liaison between the academic environment and the
professional environment.
In every activity and every interaction during the internship, the student is representing not
only himself or herself but also the School of Communication and American University.
Challenges
Because of the unconventional nature of the Senior Professional Internship, there could be
a higher-than-usual potential for challenges related to this course. It is very important, therefore,
for students to be vigilant in watching for any situations related to their internships that have the
potential of developing into significant challenges—this is one of the important responsibilities
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of a professional.
If you encounter difficulties or have a concern at your internship, please contact your
academic advisor in the School of Communication. If you are unsure who to contact, please
call the SOC Office of Student and Academic Affairs at 202-885-2061.
Attitude
An internship can be an enriching and rewarding experience. For that payback to occur,
however, a student must be more than a passive participant in the process. Any number of factors
may affect the quality of an internship—a supervisor may be distracted by other responsibilities, the
office workload may be either unusually heavy or unusually light, a supervisor may have had a
negative experience with a previous intern, etc.
For an internship to reach its full potential of success, therefore, a student often must be
more pro-active and more creative than in other courses. This is all part of the experience—and the
challenge—of an internship. So if the situation is not going as well as a student would like, she or
he must think about what can be done to improve the situation . . . and then do it!
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