Public Relations Internships

General Information	GPA Requirements	Proposing a Site	Application Deadlines	FAQ
Student Feedback	Application	Intern-Supervisor Contract	Forms	Contact

When you plan to intern for credit,  you may either drop off your your application, proposal (if appropriate), resume, and/or questions to Dr. Groover’s office (Sanford Room 2019) or send them via email (mgroover@georgiasouthern.edu) by the deadlines listed below.

General Information for Public Relations Internships

If you are considering completing a public relations internship for credit, review the following information.

• Pay close attention to the due dates for the department application for the semester in which you plan to complete a for-credit internship.
• In order to complete an internship for credit, you must be a public relations major and pass Public Relations Writing (PRCA 3330) with a C or better.
• To intern in state you must have a minimum 2.5 GPA.
• To intern out of state you must have a 3.0 overall GPA and a 3.25 in major GPA (see Degree Works to find your in major GPA).
• The internship course (PRCA 4791) is permission only. Once you have submitted your application, and if you meet the above requirements, the department will register you for the course.

1. Understand exactly what internships are all about.

Internship Description

• An internship is a partnership between an employer/supervisor and the student intern.
• Interns work under the supervision of a public relations professional to gain experience in the field. Internships provide first-hand, practical experience that can be used to make the intern more competitive upon graduation.
• Students work for internship sites in exchange of training for a professional career.
• A supervisor with professional and/or academic training in public relations is required to supervise the intern throughout the tenure of the internship.

The Public Relations program offers a list of possible internship sites for PR majors. Internship locations range from Statesboro and Savannah to Atlanta and cities which border Georgia. Some sites do offer travel/parking stipends, and a few sites offer compensation.

Credit

Interns can register for up to 12 hours of academic credit, however only three hours of credit can be applied towards a student’s degree completion.

• A three-credit internship constitutes at least 200 actual hours of work.
• A six-credit internship constitutes at least 350 actual hours of work.*
• A nine-credit internship constitutes at least 500 actual hours of work.*
• A 12-credit internship constitutes at least 650 actual hours of work.*

*A maximum of three hours can be applied to the major.  All remaining hours that a student may select to earn would simply be at the student’s discretion and will not count toward any hours needed for degree completion.

Change in actual hours of work effective Spring 2015.

2. Complete the Placement Process.

Do not apply to or complete an intern-supervisor contract until you have received an email from the internship coordinator with information regarding your proposal or approved sites.

Placement Process

• An internship informational meeting may be held every semester.
• Students are also encouraged to email or make an appointment to meet with the Internship Coordinator regarding questions about interning for credit.
• An email regarding application deadlines may also be sent by the academic advisors and/or members of the public relations faculty each semester.
• The Internship Coordinator or the Department will not place you at an internship site.
  • You must follow the instructions sent to you after you have submitted your department application.

Approved sites:

• There is a list of pre-approved sites which is posted outside the Internship Coordinator’s office (Sanford Room 2019).
• After reviewing the list, student may complete the department application which provides students the opportunity to state their intent to complete an internship (for credit) and to list sites from the Approved PR Internship Site List where the student would like to apply (students may list additional approved sites on the back of the department application).
• Upon reviewing the application to determine the students GPA (must have a minimum 2.5 GPA to intern in state) and status of the PR Writing course (must earn a C or better), the Internship Coordinator will then contact the student with the details regarding how to apply to the sites listed on the application.
• If none of the sites ultimately hire the student, the student needs to  contact the Internship Coordinator who will work to give the student additional options from the list.
  • Please note: a site cannot and will not be guaranteed to any specific student. 
  • Efforts will be made to assist students in locating a site to complete their internship, however, neither the internship coordinator nor the department will place students at any site.
  • It is the responsibility of the student to reach out to the sites,  if they are approved to complete an internship for credit, to follow the directions as described in the email regarding contacting the prospective sites.
• Registration for the internship course is by permission only.  Thus, your application will also be used to register you for the course.
  • Once the application deadline has passed the internship coordinator sends a list of students to be registered to the department’s administrative assistant.
• Finally, pay attention to University’s Course Catalog Requirements for the internship.
  • Candidates must have taken (and passed with a C or better) PRCA  3100  (Introduction to Public Relations) and PRCA 3330 (Public Relations Writing).

GPA Requirements:

• To intern in-state students must have a 2.5 overall GPA before being approved to intern for credit.
• To intern out of state students must have a 3.0 overall GPA and a 3.25 in major GPA (use Degree Works to find your in-major GPA) (see FAQ for details) in order to intern for credit.
• Students must meet all prerequisite course and GPA requirements before they will be allowed to complete an internship for credit in public relations.
• Any student concerns regarding failure to meet requirements, but desire to complete an internship for academic credit, must submit an appeal in writing to the Internship Coordinator and will be handled in an appeal process which includes the need for approval of all professors and instructors in the PR Area within the department.

Proposals for sites not on the PR Internship Approved Site List:

• For credit internships take place at sites which are established and/or approved by submitting a proposal. Therefore, no student can create an internship for academic credit without the prior approval of the Internship Coordinator.
• If you are interested in completing an internship at a site that is not currently listed on the approved site list for PR Internships, note that a proposal is due to the Internship Coordinator by the deadline listed.
• Proposed internships must provide experience in public relations and not in marketing, sales, etc.
  • Additionally, the site supervisor must have a communication background/degree (minimum) or public relations background/degree (preferred).
• Do not assume a site will be approved.
• Once your proposal has been reviewed and the potential site supervisor has been contacted, you will receive an email from the internship coordinator stating whether or not the site meets the guidelines.
• You may submit multiple proposals – as long as they are received by the stated deadline.

Proposals must include the following:

• Department application
  
• Your resume
• In a memo format addressed to the Internship Coordinator include the following:
  • Name of the proposed site and its location (city & state)
  • Name of the site supervisor and their contact information (email and phone)
  • The website of the organization/site
  • 1-2 paragraphs explaining why you are proposing this site/why you want to complete an internship at this site; what type of experience do you expect to receive
• If available, the internship job description

Application Deadlines:

The list of approved sites is only available on the bulletin board outside Dr. Groover’s office.
See information above regarding proposing a site not on the approved list.
Fall semester	July 5
Spring semester	Oct. 5
Summer semester	March 5

(When an above date falls on the weekend, the application deadline extends to the Monday following the weekend). Contact the Internship Coordinator with any questions.

3. Receive an Offer and Notify the Internship Coordinator

Email the Internship Coordinator when you have been offered an internship at a site.

4. After Receiving an Internship “Job” Offer, Complete All Paperwork

Contracts and Forms

• Once a student has been offered an internship they must complete the necessary contract (the intern-supervisor contract) and forms (insurance and working off campus).
• The syllabus will be provided on Folio once the student has been enrolled in the course.
• The contract and forms must be completed and returned to the Internship Coordinator by 5 p.m. on the third day of class for that semester.
• This paperwork constitutes as the student’s attendance verification.
• If the documents are not received, the student is dropped from the course and cannot earn credit for their internship.

5. Complete your PR Internship and all Requirements Listed in the Syllabus by the Internship Coordinator

• The syllabus is provided on Folio once the student is enrolled in the course.
• The student must complete weekly logs regarding the number of hours earned for the week, a running total of hours completed, and tasks completed that week at the site.
• The student must also complete the midterm evaluation form with their supervisor and return it to the Internship Coordinator as well as submit the letter to the department (described in the syllabus).
• The student must also complete four ethics modules from the Arthur W. Page Center (assignment sheet provided on Folio).
• The student will create a short video statement about their internship experience and benefits of interning (assignment sheet provided on Folio).
• Finally the student must provide their supervisor with the final evaluation form and schedule a meeting with the Internship Coordinator to conduct their internship exit review.
  • The Internship Coordinator will email those enrolled a Google form with dates and times for these meetings.
• The exit review will consist of discussing the internship itself, the student submitting a paper discussing questions posed on the syllabus, as well as reviewing the student’s internship portfolio which shows work completed over the course of their internship.
• The site supervisor will complete and email the final evaluation form to the Internship Coordinator.

6. Receive your PR Internship Grade

• Following the internship exit review the student will receive a grade.
• This grade is based on the weekly logs, midterm review, letter to the department, internship Q&A, internship portfolio, and the supervisor’s final evaluation form.
• If the student has not received the required number of hours for their internship at the end of the term, they may receive an IP grade (in-progress).
  • The IP indicates the student will complete their internship hours after the official end of the term or during the following semester.
  • In order to change from an IP to a letter grade, the student must complete the number of required hours and once completed, email the Internship Coordinator to schedule a meeting.
• If the student has not received the required number of hours for their internship at the end of the term, they may opt to accept a grade deduction.
  • The amount of deduction will depend on the number of hours the student has completed at the end of the term.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Click here for a list of frequently asked questions. FAQ-PR internship

Six reasons to complete a PR Internship

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Student Feedback

Student interns submit a letter to the department describing their internship experience at the mid-point in the semester. Click here to read some of those letters.

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Application

Click here for a copy of the department application.

• All students must submit an application whether submitting a proposal or seeking an internship with an approved site.
• This application is an internal department document.
• The completed application and the student’s resume must be submitted by the date stated above to the internship supervisor’s office.
• Once students receive approval from the internship coordinator, it is their responsibility to contact potential internship sites to secure a location.
• Students are not to contact sites until they have received approval from the internship coordinator.
• Do not apply to or complete an intern-supervisor contract until you have received an email from the internship coordinator with information regarding your proposal or approved sites.

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Supervisor-Intern Contract

Click here to download the supervisor-intern contract.

• This form must be completed and returned to the internship coordinator no later than 5 p.m. on the third day of class for the term in which they are completing their internship.
• Failing to submit this contract will result in being dropped from the internship course.
• This contract also serves as your attendance verification.

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Forms

• Complete one of the two following insurance forms, as well as the working off campus form.
• These forms must be completed and returned to the internship coordinator no later than 5 p.m. on the third day of class for the term in which a student is completing their internship.

Click on the following links for these documents, then download and complete them.

Complete one of the two insurance documents:

Insurance Coverage

No Insurance

Everyone, regardless of where their internship is taking place, must complete the Working Off Campus form.

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Contact

For questions or more information, contact Dr. Michelle Groover, internship coordinator.

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Last updated: 3/27/2023