School of Journalism

If you're a graduate student, please see our Graduate Internships page.

Gain additional experience and credit for 1, 2 or 3 semester hours through internships at newspapers, magazines, book publishing companies, television and radio stations, web companies, advertising and public relations agencies, and large and small businesses throughout the Dallas–Fort Worth region and the nation.

The internship program maintains strong ties with industry leaders in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, which provides students with excellent networking opportunities.

The Mayborn School of Journalism offers journalism internships and jobs at the Handshake link on the UNT Eagle Careers webpage. Students and alumni can log-in to see all listings for internships and part-time and full-time jobs. Students currently enrolled at UNT will use their EUID and password. Alumni can access Eagle Careers by registering on the log-in page.

The school provides the services of a full-time career specialist who assists students with internship, job, professional and academic opportunities. To visit with a UNT Career Development Specialist about careers, resume creation, or any related advice, please contact the Career Center at 940-565-2105.

REGISTRATION FOR FALL INTERNSHIPS FOR CREDIT IS CLOSED.

TO BEGIN THE MSOJ INTERNSHIP FOR CREDIT PROCESS FOR SPRING 2020, PLEASE READ THE INFORMATION BELOW AND CLICK ON LINK PROVIDED. IF YOU HAVE DIFFICULTIES WITH THE DEADLINE, PLEASE CONTACT CATY MEZA AT 940-565-2205 OR Caty.Meza@unt.edu.

FINAL DEADLINE TO COMPLETE THE PROCESS FOR SPRING 2020 INTERNSHIPS IS 5 P.M., JANUARY 6. 

How to Earn Credit for a Journalism Internship

1. Make sure you have successfully taken required pre-requisite classes to be eligible to enroll in an internship for credit. See list below.
   • Advertising students must have successfully taken JOUR 3050 Ad Creative
   • Broadcast & Digital News students must have successfully taken JOUR 4323 Advanced Broadcst/Web News Writing AND JOUR 4343 Visual News Storytelling.
   • Digital & Print News students must have successfully taken either JOUR 3310 Feature Writing, JOUR 4321 Opinion Writing or JOUR 4350 Sports Journalism
   • Photojournalism students must have successfully taken JOUR 3700 Photojournalism.
   • Public Relations students must have successfully taken JOUR 3420 PR Writing.
2. Find an internship. You can find interships at the UNT Eagle Careers Handshake link. This website includes a list of internships for journalism students. You can also contact the newspaper, ad agency, public relations agency, television or radio station, web media organization or other organizations and apply for an internship. Many organizations list internships on their website. The internship must be directly related to your major. If you are unsure about this, speak first with your department chair (Strategic Communications or News).
3. All internships for course credit must be done during the semester a student is enrolled in. You will not receive credit for internship hours you have already worked in the past semester or before the first day of the semester you are enrolled in.
4. Register for an internship for credit. All Mayborn students are required to take at least one credit hour of either internship or practicum credit. Registration must be completed online. Once you register, you will be added to the Mayborn Internships Canvas course page and you will receive an email invitation to the Canvas page. All workshops and quizzes must be completed to gain access to your internship application form.
5. Complete the internship process on Canvas. Once you have completed all workshops and quizzes, you will be given access to the application. Fill out the application, sign it and attach your business offer letter. (You must have an offer letter from a business before you can submit the form.)
6. Once you have completed the above steps, your application will be ready for approval by the faculty supervisor of your area in journalism. Once your faculty advisor has approved your internship application in the internship Canvas page, you will be enrolled in the appropriate internship course section and notified.
7. Three hours of course credit = 300 hours of work; two hours of course credit = 200 hours of work; one hour of course credit = 100 hours of work. Consult with the Office of Student Advising to verify how many credit hours you need or check your degree audit on myunt.
8. No hours earned before the first day of the semester you are enrolled in can be counted towards your credit hour requirement. Only the hours you work the first day of classes and after will count.
9. During the internship, you must regularly submit a typed report to your faculty supervisor outlining what you have done and any problems you have encountered during your internship. Details about how often to submit and what report content should include will be provided by your instructor on the first class day. Be sure to check your myunt email account and Canvas course page regularly for communication from your instructor. Include your phone number in your reply.
10. Your supervisor on the job will receive an evaluation survey about two thirds of the way through the semester. The supervisor is expected to fill out the survey evaluation and will be asked to include hours you have completed as well as your progress in the internship.
11. At the end of your internship period you must fill out a final report form to assess your internship and then submit it to your faculty supervisor by the end of dead week. This form will be located on the Canvas website where you submitted your application.
12. The course numbers for internships are JOUR 4800.701 through 730. The Journalism administrative assistant in SYMR 206 will manage the internship processes and enroll you in your faculty supervisor’s section once your application is approved by your faculty supervisor.

Click here to start the Mayborn internship for credit process for fall 2019.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Does a student have to have “major status” to qualify for an internship?
   Yes. Students must be majors and have taken and passed at least one upper level skills class in the area of interest. See above for list of pre-requisites by concentration.
2. Can a student be paid and get credit for internships at the same time?
   Yes.
3. Are internships pass/no pass or are grades assigned?
   Grades are assigned by the supervising professor, with the feedback and help from the supervisor in the business or organization which is hosting the student intern.
4. Is there a minimum GPA before someone can apply for and receive an internship?
   Yes. The student must be a major in good standing. That means the student must have a minimum overall GPA of 2.5 based on all courses taken.
5. How should students turn in their weekly reports?
   The supervising professor will set up specific dates on which the reports are due. Deadlines must be followed. Missing a deadline will result in a lower grade for students.
6. Can students get credit for the same Internship through Journalism and other programs at the same time?
   No.
7. How many hours does a student work for Internship credit?
   100 hrs. = 1 hr. credit; 200 hrs. = 2 hrs. credit; 300 hrs. = 3 hrs. credit
8. Does a student have to enroll in 3 credit hours if they have contracted to work 300 hours for the business?
   No. If you only need 1 credit hour to graduate, you do not have to enroll in and pay for 3 credit hours. However, you do have to work the 300 hours you have contracted to work for the business.
9. Does each full-time professor have a section number for Internships?
   Yes. You will be enrolled in the journalism supervisor’s section that corresponds with the area of journalism you are studying.

Internship Tips

• What are you doing now that will get you the job you want tomorrow? Your self-motivation shows by the actions you take today.
• Join a professional organization. You will learn more about your field and will have the opportunity to meet professionals who can become part of your network.
• Meet with the professionals at their offices to learn more about what they do and their likes and dislikes about the industry.
• Volunteer to write that PSA or design that brochure for a United Way agency. You will not only help the agency but you will also be adding to your portfolio clips.
• Internship process steps (in a nutshell) to earn course credit:
  • Register at the link below.
  • Complete all modules and quizzes, earning a 100% grade on each quiz.
  • Fill out your application and attach your offer letter.
  • Wait for instructor approval. Check your myunt email account regularly in case your instructor has questions about your application.
  • Once instructor approval is received, you will be enrolled for the credit hours you indicated on your application. You will receive an email confirmation from MaybornInternships@unt.edu.

Click here to begin the MSOJ application process to earn internship course credit for fall 2019.

What do you need to know about sexual harassment before accepting an internship?

Workplaces have different policies, but in general, unwelcome or offensive sexual conduct is likely to raise a concern of sexual harassment. The behavior may be a violation of federal law if it is so frequent or severe that it creates a hostile or offensive work environment or the behavior results in an adverse employment decision.

Click here to learn more and make sure you're familiar with the issues.