Practicum/Field Experience Credit

How To Get Credit For Practicum in Advertising

Advertising 492 gives you the opportunity to earn academic credit for professional work experience. In order to receive credit for practicum you must do the following things:

• Be accepted as an advertising major by the School of Advertising and Public Relations. Students not affiliated with the School are not eligible for practicum credit
• Register for Advertising 492. You are eligible to receive one hour of academic credit for each 150 hours of on-the-job work experience. There is no retroactive credit for practicum; you must make arrangements in advance with your School practicum supervisor to receive credit. Maximum credit is 2 hours across two semesters
• File in the school office the name of the organization you are working for, the name of your immediate work supervisor, your work phone, your home address, and your home phone.
• File the written reports by the deadlines specified for that semester.

How To Get Credit for Field Experience in Public Relations

Public Relations 492 gives you the opportunity to earn academic credit for professional work experience. In order to receive credit for practicum you must do the following things:

• Be accepted as an Public Relations major by the School of Advertising and Public Relations. Students not affiliated with the school are not eligible for practicum credit
• Register for Public Relations 492. You are eligible to receive one hour of academic credit for each 150 hours of on-the-job work experience. There is no retroactive credit for practicum; you must make arrangements in advance with your school practicum supervisor to receive credit. Maximum credit is 2 hours across two semesters
• File in the school office the name of the organization you are working for, the name of your immediate work supervisor, your work phone, your home address, and your home phone.
• File the written reports by the deadlines specified for that semester.

Field experience has a twofold purpose: (1) to give students industry experience in a supervised setting and (2) to give students the opportunity to prepare a portfolio of work samples to demonstrate their public relations skills to a potential employer. Students are responsible for finding their own internship sites. Potential internship opportunities are available via the School of Advertising and Public Relations.

Students are required to attend an informational meeting held the first week of class. At this time the internship coordinator will discuss field experience requirements and pass out the syllabus and necessary documents that must be filled out. The intership site must be approved by the internship coordinator, the required forms must be turned in on time, and all required assignments must be completed before students can earn formal credit for the internship. Students are also required to log into the online web site for the course (located on Blackboard) and UPDATE the email address they check on a regular basis, since email messages will be sent out periodically throughout the semester.

Students can only earn credit for participating in an internship during the semester in which they are enrolled in PR 492. Students cannot earn retroactive credit for previous internship experience.