IUPUI Department of Sociology

Student Guidelines

The R494 Internship Experience  (1/07)

Many Sociology majors have found the Internship Experience to be an excellent preparation for their subsequent careers.  You can do an Internship as one of your 5 sociology electives, or as your Capstone Course.  In either case, a Sociology Internship involves earning 3-6 academic credit hours (under Sociology R494) by working in an organization where you can apply or gain practical insight into sociological concepts, theories and knowledge.  Some internships are paid; others are not.  All involve working a minimum of 10 hours per week (3 credits) to 20 hours per week (6 credits) for the entire semester in a placement located by the student and approved by Sociology Department.

Who can do an Internship?

Any IUPUI sophomore, junior, or senior with a minimum overall GPA of 2.5 and a Sociology GPA of 3.0 can do a Sociology internship. You must also

• be a declared major or minor in Sociology.
• have completed 12 credit hours of Sociology courses (6 of which must be taken at IUPUI) in subjects related to the internship placement.  The Sociology Advisor and/or the supervising faculty member will determine whether the Sociology courses you have taken are sufficiently related to the internship placement.
• have a schedule which permits you to schedule 4-8 hour blocks of time during the regular week to work at the internship organization.  Plan to work at the internship site 3 hours per week for every 1 credit you receive.

If you intend to use the internship as your Capstone, you must meet all of the above requirements. In addition, you must also be a second semester junior or a senior and have completed – at the very least – Theory, Research Methods, and at least 4 of your 5 electives.  Note that, if you do an internship as a Sociology elective, you cannot change your mind later and have it count for your Capstone Experience.

How do I set up an internship?

Here are the “Nine Steps to Arranging your Internship:”

• Check to see if you meet the academic prerequisites listed above.
• Check out the internship information on the Career Center’s webpage: http://www.career.iupui.edu/intern.asp.
• Determine what you are interested in.  It is helpful to take stock of the sociology courses you have taken, your particular interests and abilities, and your career goals.  An excellent resource is service learning placements from other sociology courses.  Often these placements are interested in interns as well. You might also attend the job fairs listed on the Career Center’s webpage: http://www.career.iupui.edu/upcomingevents/jobfairs.asp.  Finally, consider asking friends, family, neighbors, etc.  Make sure that everyone in your life knows that you are seeking an internship.  Let them know what specific kind of work you’d like to experience.  In addition, arm them with one of your resumes for information and distribution.
• Visit the Sociology Advisor, Patricia Wittberg, and fill out an Internship Interest and Eligibility Form.  You must do this step before doing steps #5-9.
• Decide on a subject for the internship and locate a faculty internship advisor.  This should be someone who has taught you in class and knows your interests and capabilities, and who is also somewhat familiar with the area of your internship. 
• Locate an internship opening, arrange an interview, and fill out, with the job supervisor, the Internship Proposal Form.   Have the job supervisor sign the Internship Proposal Form.  You should provide the supervisor with an unofficial copy of your college transcript so they know what relevant courses you have taken, as well as the Employer packet of guidelines and forms.”
• Meet with your faculty internship advisor to finalize the academic component you will submit at the end of the internship, how often the two of you will meet, deadlines throughout the semester, etc.  The academic components should include:
• Keeping a weekly electronic journal of your internship experiences,
• Keeping a portfolio of any tangible items (e.g. training materials, reports, webpage designs, etc.) you produce in the course of your internship,
• Writing a paper (see Internship Paper Guidelines) evaluating your internship.
• Have your faculty internship advisor sign the Internship Proposal Form.
• Along with your faculty internship advisor for the internship, see Velma Graves, the Sociology office manager, who will assign you a section number for the internship.

Grading the Internship:

At mid-semester and at the end of the semester, you will be asked to submit a Student Midtern Evaluation and a Student Final Evaluation of your Internship Experience to your faculty internship advisor.  At the same time, your employer will be asked to submit an Employer Midterm Evaluation and an Employer Final Evaluation of your work.  These evaluations, plus the grade your faculty internship advisor gives you on the academic component(s) of your internship, will comprise your grade for the course.

What kinds of internships are appropriate for Sociology Majors and Minors?

A wide variety of internships are appropriate for Sociology Majors and Minors.  Here are just a few examples of the employers who have hosted Liberal Arts interns since 1999:

American Cabaret Theater                                            Hispanic Center                  Marion County Prosecutor’s Office

Calvary Temple                                                                Indiana Pacers                   National Kidney Foundation

Customer Loyalty Research                                           Indy Parks                            Planned Parenthood

How do I evaluate the quality of an internship opportunity?

Get the facts!  In order to identify the best internship for you, ask questions!  Here are some questions to ask BEFORE you accept an offer.  (Be sure to word these questions in a way that is comfortable to you.)

• What experiences and skills do you look for when hiring entry-level employees?
  Take notes!  You’ll need this information for your next couple of questions.

• What are the intern’s duties?
  Listen for clearly defined duties.  Beware answers like “Duties as assigned.”  Are the duties designed to give you the same experience and skills the employer listed for you in the first question?

• How will these duties make me more marketable in this field?
  Listen for how these experiences may be promoted on your next resume.  Again, compare the employer’s answers to what they look for when they are hiring entry-level employees.

• Who will be my supervisor and mentor?
  It is important that the employer recognizes they s/he would also be your mentor.  An internship experience is supposed to be a teaching relationship.

• How often will I meet with my supervisor/mentor to discuss my progress, questions, concerns, etc?
  Listen for answers that indicate the supervisor/mentor has quality time to spend with you.  Also listen to see if you will be provided adequate supervision – remember, you’re not supposed to be the expert on your job!

• What kinds of training will I receive?
  “On-the-job training” sounds nice, but as an answer to this question, it’s also a bit vague.  You need to know who, what, when, where, etc.  Make sure you’re not thrown into a sink-or-swim environment!

• Will I be attending staff meetings and related professional activities when possible?
  It’s important that your co-workers understand your responsibilities to the organization. By attending their meetings, etc., you will begin to understand their roles and responsibilities.  Many internship employers also include interns in conferences, workshops, and seminars – ask to see if this is the case.

• Will I have the opportunity to work in several different areas of the organization?
  Becoming cross-trained is valuable to your internship experience! In addition, it will give you the “big  picture” of the organization for which you are interning.