Internship Provider Information
Hosting a Cal Poly Journalism intern through JOUR 4444 brings fresh perspective, emerging skills and meaningful support to your organization. It is also a rewarding opportunity to mentor future communicators and help shape the next generation of media professionals.
Cal Poly journalism students do not arrive needing to be taught the basics. Before they reach your team they may have reported and edited for Mustang News, produced live newscasts for MNTV, run campaigns for real clients or produced news for KCPR 91.3 FM. Learn by Doing means the reps are already behind them, so your 15 weeks go toward real assignments instead of tonboarding and training.
What we ask of you
- A real supervisor. Someone with a relevant professional background and the time to mentor, not just assign.
- Roughly 100 hours across 15 weeks. That is about 6-7 hours a week, aligned to our academic quarter.
- Substantive work. Assignments that use their skills in journalism, public relations or media innovation, and that produce samples they can show to future employers.
- Three short forms. A proposal up front, a progress report at midterm and a final report at the end. Each takes a few minutes.
How it works
- Submit a proposal. Complete the Internship Proposal Form with your intern, well before the semester begins.
- We review it. Our internship coordinator confirms the role qualifies for academic credit and follows up if anything needs adjusting.
- Your intern enrolls. Once approved, the student receives a permission number and registers for JOUR 4444. You will be copied on a welcome email from the department to the student with your original proposal attached for reference.
- Work begins on Week 1. The clock starts with the semester, so have the first assignment ready.
- You report twice. A progress report at the halfway mark and a final evaluation in Week 15. Your assessment determines whether the student gets credit for the course or not.
Forms and timing
| Form | When | Who submits |
|---|---|---|
| Internship Proposal Form | Before the quarter starts | You, with your intern |
| Midterm Progress Report | After about 50 hours | You |
| Internship Provider Final Report | Week 10 | You |
JOUR 4444 is graded Credit/No Credit. Our internship coordinator assigns the grade based on your two reports, the student's own final report and check-in meetings at midterm and the end of the quarter.
Paid and unpaid internships
We would like every journalism internship to be a paid position, and paid roles attract stronger applicants.
If you are considering an unpaid internship, the U.S. Department of Labor uses a primary beneficiary test to decide whether an intern is legally an employee entitled to minimum wage and overtime. It weighs seven factors, including how closely the internship is tied to the student's formal education, whether it accommodates the academic calendar and whether the intern's work complements rather than displaces paid staff. No single factor decides the outcome.
Academic credit through JOUR 4444 supports several of those factors, but it does not by itself make an unpaid internship lawful. California wage and hour rules may also apply. Please review the Department of Labor guidance and consult your own counsel before offering an unpaid position.
Questions
Contact the department's internship coordinator and department chair Brady Teufel (bteufel@calpoly.edu).
Students: see the JOUR 444 internship page for requirements and deadlines on your side.