University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manatee

ENC 4931: Internship in
Professional and Technical Writing

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

USF Sarasota-Manatee now offers an internship for Sarasota-based students concentrating on professional and technical writing. Features of the program are summarized below:

1. Three semester hours of academic credit (as ENC 4931, Independent Study) which can count toward graduation requirements (check with your academic advisor for specifics).

2. Opportunities to work with for-profit and nonprofit enterprises (also referred to as “sponsors.”)

3. On average, around 10 hours of work per week with a sponsor for a 16-week semester. The actual distribution of these hours, and the location where work is performed, will vary depending on the student’s and sponsor’s needs and preferences.

4. Opportunity to network with potential employers and professional contacts.

5. Opportunity to enhance the student's writing portfolio with documents created for actual business and professional users, not just academic courses.

6. Eligibility based on academic work to date, especially successful performance in writing courses such as ENC 3250 and ENC 4260.

7. The internship is open to both current students and graduates, but will require regular enrollment in the ENC 4931 course.

8. Possible financial compensation to the student (this would be at the discretion of the sponsor and would not involve USF directly).

PARTICIPATING SPONSORS

To date, more than 20 for-profit companies and nonprofit organizations on the west coast of Florida have expressed interest in hosting one or more USF Sarasota-Manatee students as interns. These range from software designers to engineering firms, publishers, and social service organizations.

A student can select from a wide variety of internship experiences to meet his or her career interests. Specific tasks may include writing or editing user manuals or technical instructions, preparing articles, conducting research for senior editors, and composing documents such as grant proposals and website content that play a major role in funding and communications for nonprofit groups. The student will be expected to observe all policies and practices of the sponsor, including those concerned with confidentiality, security, and office procedures.

HOW TO REGISTER FOR ENC 4931, WRITING INTERNSHIP

ENC 4931 Special Topic: Professional Writing Internship will be open in OASIS every term.  However, registering for this course requires permission of Mr. Tod Roberts, instructor and director of the internship program.  Students accepted for this course must sign the “ENC 4931 Writing Internship Agreement" showing that they understand and accept the policies and procedures required by USF and the sponsor.

They should next discuss the course option with their academic advisor to confirm that credit for the course can be used in their course of study.

To apply, students should contact Mr. Tod Roberts, the supervising instructor for the program. He will send the student a brief information form to be filled out and returned by email. If Mr. Roberts agrees that the student is qualified for and can make effective use of the internship, Mr. Roberts will arrange an appropriate placement and prepare the Agreement form. 

After Mr. Roberts, the student, and a representative of the sponsoring organization have all signed the Agreement, Mr. Roberts will submit it to Associate Dean Rose for approval. 

Dr. Rose will send the approved Agreement to the Academic Advising Office, where Amanda Riese, the Academic Program Specialist, will enter a permit for registering and notify the student that he/she may register through OASIS for ENC 4931.

The Academic Advising Office will then duplicate copies of the approved Agreement and send them to the student, Mr. Roberts, and Darryl Waddy, the Arts & Sciences enrollment coordinator.

It will be the student's responsibility to:

• Obtain signatures on Internship Agreement form

• Register online through OASIS

• Pay appropriate tuition by the deadline

• Contact the sponsor about specific work arrangements.

For more information, please contact your advisor or Mr. Tod Roberts, the Coordinator of the Writing Internship Program.

Date of posting: 18 June 2008