REAL internshipsexperiences = professional success

External Internships and Internal Practicum

The Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media encourages students to pursue professional and experiential opportunities while they are still in school. By doing so, they learn important career lessons that only experience can teach. External internships and internal practicum expose students to various aspects of the journalism and media industry and build on their academic knowledge, positioning them for professional success upon graduation.

An external internship is a 3-credit course for an internship with an organization outside of the Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media. Students are expected to spend 15-20 hours per week in the Internship.

Students who wish to enroll in an external internship, but have not yet found one should consult Handshake, FIU’s internship and job database. You may also reach out to Prof. Lilliam Martinez-Bustos (lmartin@fiu.edu) the School’s Internship coordinator.

Students who have found an external internship may apply for internship credit by filling out this form. When completing this form, students should have:

• Secured an internship with an external organization
• A supervisor’s name and contact information that may be entered in this form
• A summary of duties that may be entered in the form

• Completed MMC 3123 with a C or higher
• Completed RTV 3531 with a C or higher
• Be in good academic standing
• If you are seeking to replace a major requirement course with the internship, the advisors will check to see if you have completed all pre-requisites for the major requirement
• If you are seeking to replace a capstone with the internship, then advisors will check to see if you have completed all courses for capstone

The advisors will send their recommendation to the Internship Coordinator, who will contact the student. After reviewing all of the information, the Internship Coordinator may grant the student permission to register for the internship course, MMC 4940.

An Internal Practicum is a 3-credit course for an internal internship/practicum with the Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media. Students will choose from the available Practicum courses offered during the semester they wish to register for an Internal Practicum. The Internal Practicum courses include Caplin News/Newsbreak, Sideline/Sports, and Spanish-language Newscast. Other practicum courses may be available, depending on the semester. 

Students who wish to apply for an internal practicum must complete this form. After completing this form, it will be reviewed by your advisor to make sure you meet the requirements for enrolling in a Media Practicum:

• Completed MMC 3123 with a C or higher
• Completed RTV 3531 with a C or higher
• Be in good academic standing
• If you are seeking to replace a major requirement course with the media practicum, the advisors will check to see if you have completed all pre-requisites for the major requirement
• If you are seeking to replace a capstone with the media practicum, then advisors will check to see if you have completed all courses for capstone

The advisors will send their recommendation to the Internship Coordinator, who will contact the student. After reviewing all of the information, the Internship Coordinator may grant the student permission to register for the Media Practicum course, MMC 4940.

Zero-Credit Internship with Caplin News

Students may take a zero-credit internship with Caplin News, Newsbreak Sideline and Spanish-language Newscast. The zero-credit internship may be repeated for multiple semesters. To register for a zero-credit internship, please contact Prof. Charles Strouse, cstrouse@fiu.edu, Assistant Director of Experiential Learning and Digital Director of Caplin News.

Why register for the “zero credit” internship?

• “Zero credit” means you don’t pay for the course.
  • Some students take multiple internships and therefore have too many credits or simply don’t want the expense of additional credits.
  • Many students volunteer for Newsbreak, Caplin News, Sideline and the Spanish-language newscast over multiple semesters and would like credit for it.
• Your internship will appear on your FIU transcript.
  • This validates that your experience meets the Lee Caplin School of Journalism &. Media’s standards for academic-related work experiences.
• You will increase the value of your degree.
  • High numbers of internship registrations help boost our college rankings.

FAQs for students

Find an internship

CARTA’s got connections

Handshake

• Search for jobs and set up customized searches,
• Make an appointment with a CARTA career specialist,
• Create a profile that is searchable by employers and more!

LinkedIn

• Join the FIU CARTA Career Community and find your next internship.