Independently Designed Internships

Summary Deadline | Release Form

Preliminary applications for the fall semester 2008 are due on March 1, 2008.
Preliminary applications for the spring semester 2009 are due on April 15, 2008.

GENERAL INFORMATION

DePauw's Independently Designed Internship program consists of a semester-long internship, which earns two course credits, and a synthesizing readings course, which earns one course credit. This program provides opportunities for students who desire to have high-quality active learning experiences as part of their formal education but for whom other available options are not appropriate or possible.

The two-credit internship is considered to be a full-time work experience (at least 30 hours per week). The applicant must submit a detailed preliminary proposal, which must be endorsed by the academic advisor and approved by a faculty committee chaired by the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs, who administers the program. The proposal must provide a conceptually sound rationale for the project, and must document adequate preparation for the internship, demonstrate satisfactorily that other programs already in place cannot meet their needs, and follow the procedures and deadlines for application and approval. After approval of the preliminary proposal, the student finds a faculty sponsor willing to supervise the internship portion of the project and begins to identify an off-campus internship host. The applicant assumes most of the responsibility for organizing their internship.  Prospective hosts should be contacted only after the preliminary proposal has been approved.

To ensure that students reflect upon and synthesize the work experience, an additional one-credit readings course associated with the internship experience and/or the student's major field of study is required. This course will require an additional 10-12 hours a week of the student's time, and may include web-based interactions with interns at other sites. The instructor of this course may or may not be the same as the faculty sponsor of the internship portion of the project. The details of the readings course are usually worked out after approval of the preliminary proposal idea.

Students approved for an Independently Designed Internship will register for UNIV 299 (2 course credits, graded on a S/U basis) and for an additional designated course (usually UNIV 298, 1 course credit). In some cases, students may arrange to have the internship or the readings course count toward a department major.

A 3.0 cumulative grade point average is required for consideration for the program, and students must have declared a major before applying.

For more information about the program or for assistance in beginning an application, contact Kate Knaul (658-4371), Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs.

APPLICATION GUIDELINES

The application for the Independently Designed Internship program consists of a detailed preliminary proposal and other supporting materials. Please submit three copies of your materials to the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs by the appropriate deadline.

Preliminary Proposal:

Prepare a formal and well-argued proposal for an independently designed internship semester. In your proposal, describe the envisioned internship experience in detail, including the following information:

  • Provide a conceptually sound rationale for the proposed project within the context of your larger educational plan. Your proposal should provide a detailed description of the kind of internship experience you are seeking. You must demonstrate that you've researched internship possibilities and are aware of what interns can do in the area of your interest. (Remember that your proposal should be approved prior to contacting potential internship hosts.)
  • You must provide a compelling argument for why this project needs to be a semester-long independent internship. This argument should explain why other off-campus opportunities, including approved off-campus study opportunities, Winter Term experiences, and summer experiences do not meet your needs. Why is academic credit for the internship an important consideration?
  • Be sure to discuss with your academic advisor how you will complete your major requirements and fulfill other degree requirements, including competency and distribution requirements, and detail those plans in your proposal. How does the project fit into your academic and career goals?
  • What kinds of companies or organizations do you have in mind? If the preliminary proposal is approved and you are able to secure an appropriate placement, what duties or responsibilities would you hope to have? What sorts of projects do you see yourself working on? What skills do you hope to develop? How do these responsibilities and skills fit into your academic and professional plans?
  • What are your preliminary ideas about how best to set up the synthesizing readings course? These plans do not need to be fully formulated at this point, but remember that this third credit is viewed as an integral element of the semester-long project as a whole.
  • Your preliminary project proposal must be signed by you and by your academic advisor.

Supporting Materials:

  • Enclose two letters of recommendation in support of your application. If you have already made arrangements with a member of the faculty to serve as the sponsor of the internship portion of the project (UNIV 299), he or she should provide one of the two letters, and should indicate therein his or her willingness to serve in this capacity for the project.
  • Please provide the names and contact information of two additional references from the DePauw community with whom we may speak.
  • Provide a current copy of your academic transcript.

After Approval of Preliminary Proposal

  1. If arrangements have not already been made, you should find a member of the faculty to serve as sponsor of the internship and obtain that faculty sponsor's endorsement of the internship proposal.
  2. You may now develop a letter of inquiry and a resume and begin contacting potential internship hosts.
  3. Once you have obtained an appropriate internship placement, you may begin to develop a detailed learning contract for the internship with your faculty sponsor. The document should be based on information that you have received about your expected internship responsibilities. Your host should send a confirmation letter to the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs detailing the dates of the internship project, supervisor contact information, specific duties, and proposed outcomes (products, projects, etc.)
  4. Simultaneously, you should work with the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs to plan for the associated readings course. You will need to identify a member of the faculty (possibly but not necessarily your internship sponsor) willing to teach the course, and will need to work with that faculty member to develop a course plan and preliminary syllabus. The course should be comparable in workload to any other full-credit offering (approximately 12 hours per week).
  5. You complete your application file by submitting to the Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs the completed learning contract, signed by you and your faculty sponsor; the syllabus/proposal for the readings course, signed by you and the faculty member with whom you will work; a copy of your resume; and a completed liability release form. You will also need to make sure that the host confirmation letter has been submitted. When all these materials are submitted, the Assistant Dean will provide you with the special permission codes needed to register for the UNIV courses.