Pre-Internship Responsibilities Internship Prerequisites
Each student must meet the prerequisites of the internship before being registered for the RPTS 484 course. These prerequisites are as follows:
Completion of a minimum of 18 hours of RPTS courses
Completion of RPTS 481
A major grade point ratio of 2.25 or above
Completion of a minimum of 80 hours total
An overall grade point ratio of 2.0 or above
A minimum of 100 hours previous experience (paid or volunteer) in a professional/work environment, preferably related to recreation, parks, tourism or hospitality
Each student must complete FORM A: Internship Course Application and turn it in at the beginning of the semester prior to your internship. You will notice you should indicate your first and second choice of advisors. A list of students and their internships will be compiled for the faculty to rank 1-5 whom they wish to work with as well. Based on preferences given by students, faculty and location of internship, assignments will be made. Credit hour and GPR information can be found on Bonfire. Prerequisites will be checked again by your advisor at the end of the semester prior to internship before registering you in RPTS 484.
The basic requirements for an organization to participate in the internship program are as follows:
Willingness to provide a minimum of 400 hours of work experience to the student.
Willingness to allow intern to be exposed to a variety of jobs and aspects of the organization.
Willingness to submit a tentative outline of what the intern will be doing during their internship.
Willingness for the direct supervisor to meet with the student on a weekly basis for 10 to20 minutes to discuss problems, give constructive criticism, reinforce good work, and to allow the intern to ask questions.
Willingness of the direct supervisor's superior to meet with the student every 2 to 3 weeks to discuss the same as above, including any problems with the direct supervisor.
Willingness of the supervisor to give a written evaluation at the mid-point of the internship as well as at the end.
Willingness of the supervisor to discuss each evaluation with the student.
Some internships are paid positions, and others may be volunteer, unpaid positions or a combination of the two. An internship should, ideally, expose the student to a broad range of activities or functions within the cooperating organization. Some internships involve a primary job or work responsibility, but in order to receive approval these must be coupled with the opportunity for exposure to other aspects of the cooperating organization's operation. The RPTS Department receives position announcements from many organizations, and hard copies are posted on a bulletin board in Francis Hall. Also check out the list of possible jobs in the field of recreation
When applying for an internship, it may be appropriate to send a letter describing the RPTS internship program (Letter to Agency). This letter thanks the agency for its consideration of participation in our internship program and requests that you be notified of acceptance at least one month prior to your internship. (This will give you sufficient time to make living arrangements, meet with your faculty advisor, etc. before the internship.)
After Identifying Your Place of Internship
After you have been offered an internship you must fill out FORM B: Internship Description and Employer Contact Information. This form may be sent with a cover letter from you to the cooperating organization to complete the lower half of the form, or you may obtain the information via e-mail/phone/interview and complete the form. This form, along with a tentative outline of your duties as an intern, should be sent from the cooperating organization to the Intern Coordinator. NOTE: If there is an area in which you are particularly interested, for example "tourism marketing," you might include a request to work in this area in your cover letter.
Registration
During pre-registration advising fill out a trial schedule for the semester you plan to intern. The internship is RPTS 484 for 6 credit hours. Students are normally not allowed to register for any other classes while enrolled in RPTS 484 during summer sessions - see Mrs. Scott if you wish to discuss unusual circumstances (i.e. working part-time at an internship over two semesters). During Fall and Spring semesters, a list of interns will be sent to the registrar's office with a request to flag each student as "full time" for financial aid and insurance purposes. Six credits during Summer semester constitutes full-time status. The section number of the course will also indicate to the fiscal department if you are "in absentia" (off campus) which will exempt you from some fees.