Overview
According to a March 2013 article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, employers want college graduates who have professional experience and who can demonstrate basic workplace proficiencies, like adaptability, communication skills, and the ability to solve complex problems. Simultaneously, prospective employees need to know how to analyze large amounts of data [and] construct a cogent argument. The UTA Department of English provides our students with these kinds of skills.
To help our students make the transition from university life to the professional world, we maintain an internship program for junior and senior English majors. Students have the opportunity to gain professional, real world experience in using the skills they develop in the classroom.
What Are Internships?
Internships are classes in which students earn course credit in ENGL 4390 (Internship in English) while working with a professional organization. These courses are practicums rather than lectures: students practice their skills in a professional context and environment. In ENGL 4390, you will work with the organization in question rather than attending a traditional class, and you will work on various projects and duties relating to your internship with that organization.
We try to frame our internships so that they require the same amount of time every week as students would spend in studying, reading, and attending a conventional 3-hour lecture course: on average, 10-12 hours. However, the precise hours may vary from internship to internship.
Why Should You Get an Internship?
Internships help distinguish job seekers from their competition by giving them actual work experience in their fields before they graduate. Internships can help students make their resumes and cover letters stand out from others and can give students great experiences to talk about during interviews.
Internships can also help students transition from an academic, university mindset to a professional one. Students can learn about working with companies and professional organizations and about using their skills in those contexts.
What about English Department Internships?
Our students have interned with many DFW area organizations, including
Anchor Marketing & Design
Arlington Public Library
Arlington Reads
Computers in Composition Digital Press
Fort Worth Magazine
Fort Worth Weekly
Meals On Wheels, Inc. of Tarrant County
The Museum of International Cultures
UTA College of Liberal Arts
UTA Department of English
UTA FabLab
UTA Office of Information Technology
The English Department has several ongoing internship opportunities for our students, but students who successfully apply for internships with outside organizations can also use ENGL 4390 (Internship in English) for course credit.
We also recommend that students take advantage of the services offered by The Lockheed Martin Career Development Center at The University of Texas at Arlington, especially their Handshake service. This service allows students to set up a professional profile they can use to search and apply for jobs and internships. The Career Development Center helped students complete over 7,000 internships during the 2016-2017 Academic Year.