History Internships
Internship Information & Forms (Word Document)
Beginning Spring 2005, all internships become pass/fail
academic credit.
Internships are great opportunities for students to
gain hands-on experience in history-related fields.
They allow interns to sample career options, earn valuable
experience, and develop employment and professional
networking opportunities. The most common kinds of internships
undertaken by History majors are with area institutions
concerned with history, especially museums, historic
sites, archives, historic preservation agencies, and
libraries. Internship options are not limited, however,
except that they must involve a historical topic or
skills.
The typical internship will have the student working,
either independently or as a team, on a particular,
defined, project. The nature of the project and the
student’s responsibilities are worked out between
the internship candidate and the host institution and
approved by the faculty advisor before the internship
commences and is defined in an internship contract.
As well as completing the work on the project, and arranging
for the submission of the institution’s assessment
of their work, the student will prepare a final report
of between 5 and 10 pages which describes the institution
at which the project was conducted, the activities of
the project, and their own assessment of the project.
Eligibility Requirements:
1. Students must be of junior or senior standing.
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2. Students must be a History major or minor
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3. Students must have a 2.25 overall grade
point average and a 3.0 in their History course
work. |
4. Students must receive written approval from
the department prior to pursuing an internship.
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5. Students are responsible for completing
all required paperwork. |
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6. Students may only count 3 hours of internship
towards the requirements for the major--i.e. the
equivalent of one course. Up to 3 additional hours
may be taken for general academic credit. |
Academic Credit:
It is assumed that they will spend approximately 120
hours working on the project and for this students will
receive 3 hours of academic credit. To receive academic
credit students must arrange for their faculty advisor
to receive a report on their activities from their supervisor
at the host institution, and they must also turn in
their own report.
Procedure:
1. Students interested in an internship are
strongly encouraged to attend a department workshop
which will be held during the pre-registration
period of each semester (early November for spring-semester
internships and early April for summer- and fall-semester
internships). Failing this, students must discuss
the internship program with an advisor. |
2. Students must declare their intent to pursue
an internship by filling out the top part of an
internship contract
and getting written approval from a faculty advisor
that they meet the eligibility requirements. |
3. Based on advice from an advisor or their
own interests, students then arrange an internship
opportunity with a host institution. In doing
so they should follow the procedures outlined
page two of this document. The department does
maintain a database of possible internship opportunities
and suggestions for possible projects which students
may draw on for this purpose. Working with the
host institution and the faculty advisor, the
student completes the internship contract. This
process includes identifying the supervising person
at the host institution, describing the project
and the intern’s responsibilities, and outlining
the proposed timetable. |
4. Upon completion of the internship contract
with all of the requisite signatures, the department
will issue the permit allowing the student to
register for HIST 2400. |
5. The student is responsible for providing
the faculty advisor with updates during the semester
as agreed in the project schedule. They are also
responsible for obtaining an interim and final
assessment from their supervisor at the host institution
and turning in their own final report. |
Checklist of Procedures for Identifying and Obtaining
a History-Related Internship:
1. Identify possible internship opportunities
which are of interest to you. This process involves
identifying possible host institutions or organizations
and the historical periods and material in which
they specialize as well as thinking about the
kind of projects which interest you. The department
maintains a website and other information on possible
internships (with contact information); you may
also consult with an advisor. |
2. Approach the contact person at the institution
or organization you have selected. This contact
should be made by a formal letter in which you
state your interests and objectives; the letter
should also include a vita and the department’s
overview information for host
institutions. It is advisable to do some background
research before writing the letter so that you
can appear knowledgeable about the institution's
mission—for example, if you are hoping to
intern at a museum, go visit before writing your
letter. |
3. If the institution is interested in you
as a possible intern, there will almost certainly
be a meeting between you and the project supervisor.
You should treat this as a interview: dress well,
prepare well. Come to the meeting prepared to
listen to ideas the project supervisor has for
your internship project and with ideas of your
own about what you would like to get from the
experience. Make sure you discuss details such
as hours of work, supervision, how to get help,
expectations for the quality and format of your
work, due dates, and practical issues such as
parking, access to equipment etc. |
4. After the interview you should write a thank-you
letter. |
5. If you have agreed with the
institution on an internship project, you should
also complete the project description section
of the UNCC History internship contract and have
the project supervisor sign it. That form is then
presented to your advisor for his/her signature
and only at that point can you register for the
internship course. |
Final Report:
Your final report on your internship should contain
the following sections:
¤ A discussion of the institution at which the
project was conducted. This should include details about
its size, activities, and mission.
¤ A detailed description of the internship project
which is to include an overview, a discussion of the
material on which you were working, the day to day activities
you carried out, the project’s relationship to
the institution’s mission.
¤ A discussion of the benefits you gained from
the internship project: skills, inside look at an institution
in operation, contacts, historical knowledge, etc.
¤ An assessment of the internship experience
overall
Note: Please also attach either samples of the kinds
of work you created or, if appropriate, the project
itself.
For further information contact Dr. Oscar Lansen, Undergraduate Program Coordinator of the Department
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