UNDERGRADUATE
Guidelines for HIS 390, History Internship
Required hours:
90 hours for 3 credits.
Prerequisites:
Students must have a minimum of twelve credit hours with a 3.0 grade point average in history to qualify for an internship. Permission of the Director of Undergraduate Studies and the faculty instructor is required.
How to set up an internship:
The best internships are those in which students work on particular projects that make a meaningful contribution within a professional setting. It takes time to arrange for your placement in a particular institution and coordinate with host institutions the development of internship projects and arrangements for staff supervision. For this reason, you should begin planning for an internship at least one semester in advance of the one in which you plan to register for HIS 390.
Begin by consulting with the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Together, you will identify possible choices of professional settings for your internship. Our majors have completed internships at the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum and Palmer Institute, Greensboro Historical Museum, Guilford Courthouse National Military Park, the High Point Museum, and UNCG's Special Collections and University Archives. There are many internship possibilities in the state of North Carolina and beyond. The selected institution must have available resources to host an internship during the specified semester.
If after your discussion with the Director of Undergraduate Studies an internship seems desirable and feasible, he/she will ask you to submit an internship application. If the application is approved, the Director of Undergraduate Studies will assist you in finding a faculty member to serve as faculty instructor for the internship. The faculty instructor will be in charge of grading the internship and ensuring that you have a positive learning experience at your institution.
Internship Contract:
Next you will write an internship contract in consultation with your faculty supervisor and the staff member supervising your internship at the host institution. This document will describe as specifically as possible the work the intern will perform at the host institution. Approved copies of this contract should be submitted to your faculty advisor and to your supervisor at the host institution no later than the second week of the semester in which you are registered for HIS 390.
Journal and Time Sheet:
Each week, you will email a journal entry to the faculty instructor that describes and reflects upon your experiences. Those journal entries should be honest assessments of the successes and challenges you face on the job. As well, throughout the internship you will track the hours spent at work via a time sheet, which you will submit to the faculty instructor each month.
Midterm Advising Session:
Approximately midway through the semester, you should arrange to meet with your faculty instructor to discuss how the internship is going and seek advice about potential next steps.
Information Interview:
At some point during the semester, you will complete an information interview with a professional at your workplace. This is a chance to talk with someone whose job intrigues you and learn what they do, how they feel about it, and what advice they have for aspiring professionals. You will write an essay reflecting upon what you learned from this interview.
Final Essay:
At the conclusion of your internship, you will write a final reflection essay that gives an overview of your work and discuss how it has shaped your understanding of the field and your future career possibilities.
Final Portfolio and Grading:
Your grade for HIS 390 will depend on the reliability and quality of your weekly work during the semester, as reflected in materials that you will submit at the end of the semester. To receive credit for HIS 390, you must submit the following:
- a written evaluation from your supervisor (should be sent directly to your faculty supervisor)
- your reflection essay
- your information interview assignment
- copies of your weekly journal entries
- copies of materials you produced through your internship work -- products that reflect your day-to-day duties and accomplishments as an intern
