Graphic Design + Photography Internships

Internships are required for Graphic Design and Digital Media Majors. It is the goal of this requirement to have students work off campus to make contacts and get real-world experience before graduating.

Employers looking for Graphic Design, Video, Web and Photography interns

If you are looking for interns to join your company for the semester please contact Michael Berger, program director at mberger@calbaptist.edu.

Internship Information for Undergraduate Students

What is an Internship?

An internship is a great opportunity to “test drive” a career possibility while you are still in college.  By participating in an internship, you gain hands-on experience and enhance your knowledge of a career field.  Internships typically are a one-time work or service experience that is related to your major or career goal and generally involve a student working in a professional setting under the supervision and monitoring of practicing professionals.  An internship can be paid or unpaid, and the student may or may not receive academic credit for performing the internship.  For some majors, internships are structured educational experiences which incorporate a work experience as part of the major curriculum.

Why should I consider an Internship?

There are many important reasons to consider an internship, regardless of academic credit or pay.  Here are just a few:

• Hands-on learning about a career field
• Find out if this is the right career field for you
• Work alongside a professional in your chosen career and build networking opportunities.
• Gain new skills, gain confidence in your abilities, add to your knowledge base
• Add a valuable addition to your résumé and/or enhance your application to graduate school
• Open the door to a future job offer or next steps to take on your career path

How do I find an Internship?

• Plan ahead. Depending on the opportunity, internships can be competitive and take time to find. Do your research 2-6 months in advance.  While you may not have the internship set up that far in advance, at least you will have thought through your options.
• Incorporate your five identified strengths from your “Strengths Quest” assessment. If you have not taken this helpful personal assessment tool, contact Career Services to find out how to get started.
• Think about what you would like to do. This is your opportunity to dream big!  Consider the types of occupations or companies you are curious learning more about. If you are interested in academic credit for your internship, make sure it will fit with your major.
• Utilize your resources and connections.  This can include family, friends, members from your church, faculty advisors from school, and of course, CBU Career Services. Our online job board will have some postings for internship opportunities and our office can help you narrow down your search for local internships.  The internet is also a useful source for internship opportunities for students who are savvy internet browsers.
• Attend an Internship Workshop offered by the CBU Career Services office or make an appointment with the Internship Coordinator to discuss the process of obtaining an internship for academic credit.

Do I need a résumé?  How do I create one?

In a word, yes. Internships, like jobs, are competitive. All professional positions for college graduates require a résumé, and because an internship is considered “training” for future employment (not necessarily for that company, but for the workforce in general) you can assume a résumé is part of the process.  Look at sample résumés, formatting templates, and general advice on how to organize and build your résumé.  You can also attend a Career Services résumé workshop or make an appointment with a staff member in Career Services to review your résumé and make suggestions to improve it.

Note: Many people pay for website access or by the hour for professional résumé advice once they are in the workforce.  As a CBU student, you have access to our services for FREE!!

How many hours (per week) should I expect to commit to my Internship site?

The time you commit for your internship is variable, depending on your schedule and the needs of the employer.  Most internship sites expect a student to commit between 8-20 hours per week.  For the experience to be worthwhile to the employer and a viable hands-on learning experience for you, the ideal commitment is going to average 8-15 hours per week for approximately 12-14 weeks.  Academic disciplines will require a minimum number of hours to be fulfilled for each unit of academic credit received.  Bottom line for internships, whatever you and your employer agree upon regarding a weekly schedule and hourly commitment, the burden is on you to fulfill that commitment.  Otherwise, you jeopardize your own experience, your grade (if you are enrolled for credit), a positive recommendation, and the potential for future experiences for other CBU students.

Can I get academic credit for my Internship?

Most undergraduate majors will allow students to obtain academic credit for their internship and some majors even require an internship as part of the program. These are administered by a faculty member in a given major as an upper division course.  A syllabus provided by the faculty member outlines an additional requirements (above and beyond your on-site hours) in order to receive a grade.  Generally, a student must have junior or senior status, and most internships receive 3 units of upper division elective credit per semester (up to 6 units).  Some majors such as Health Sciences may offer between 1-3 units, depending on the internship experience.  In order to obtain credit, the following steps are required to register:

1. Once you have identified an internship opportunity, contact a faculty advisor or academic dean to verify that your internship experience is academically credit worthy (not all are!).  Provide a job/internship description from the company or organization you would like to work for.
2. Obtain an internship packet from the Internship Coordinator in the Career Services Office.
3. Obtain the required signatures from your faculty advisor, department dean, the CBU Internship Coordinator, and your internship site supervisor and make sure all forms are filled out correctly.
4. Turn the forms into the registrar’s office in order to enroll.  If anything is left incomplete, they will require you to complete the forms before you can enroll.
5. Complete the requirements of the course syllabus and don’t forget to turn in the evaluation forms (originally included in your packet).

Can I get paid for an Internship?

Some internships are paid, some are not.  Most often it will depend on the type of employer and their ability to pay student interns.  Some for-profit national firms have established internship programs that routinely pay students, but this is not always the norm.  Internships in the media (television and radio) are usually unpaid because this is such a competitive field.  Non-profit organizations and government organizations are often unable to pay interns because of budget constraints, but these can often be great opportunities because students are often given greater responsibility.

Until our economy is back on an upward climb, it might be best to prepare yourself to consider an internship opportunity regardless of pay.  The bottom line for students is that this is a short term opportunity to explore a potential career field, and the experience you gain adds value to you, your résumé, and your future career potential.

NOTE: Many unpaid internship employers will also require a student to be enrolled in an internship course for academic credit in order to provide this opportunity.  California law states that “Students working as interns or trainees to fulfill licensing requirements, or to qualify for a skilled vocation or profession, are not employees under the (Department of Labor Standards Enforcement) guidelines (and thus exempt from wage and hour laws) if the training is academically oriented and designed primarily for the benefit of the student.”

Excerpt from opinion letter: 1998.11.12  CA Division of Labor Standards Enforcement

International Students

Unpaid internships are available to all students, including international students.

US Immigration laws require that paid, off-campus internships for international students must meet the following criteria:

• Fits with academic major and/or required course of study (faculty approval of internship is required)
• MUST be enrolled for academic credit
• Part-time hours only (up to 20 hours per week)
• MUST be approved for CPT (Curricular Practical Training) through the International Student Services office. Source: U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement