Internships and Part-Time Jobs
Internships are a valuable way to gain real-world experience in your chosen field. They give you material to add to your resume, tangible experience to discuss in cover letters and interviews, and a foot in the door with professionals in your industry. Internships show future employers that you are serious about the work that you do and can bring previous work experience to their organization.
Internships for Credit
While students do not have to seek academic credit for their internships, they may choose to receive course credit for some internships through ENGL 400: Internships.
Any internship that focuses on professional communication and writing as well as language or writing instruction or tutoring can be considered for academic credit. In other words, internships with publishers, journal editors, advertisers, media companies, nonprofits, arts organizations, and law offices, or any other internships that focus on writing, editing, and/or document design can be considered. Also possible are internships involving education and instruction in various nonprofit or for-profit public or private organizations and companies. These internships can exist either on or off campus. The typical 3-credit internship requires approximately 10-12 hours of work per week, though students may opt for anywhere from 1-3 credit hours.
Beginning in Fall 2024, ENGL 400 (Internships) is the UT English Department’s vehicle for allowing students to receive academic credit for internship work. These courses will be graded on a satisfactory or no credit (S/NC) grade scale.
How to Set Up Academic Credit for Internships
In order to gain academic credit for your approved internship, you will need to complete these simple steps:
- Write a brief proposal (~250 words) explaining what the internship will include, what skills you hope to develop, and how your particular internship fits within your career plans. Examples of previous proposals can be found here.
- Your proposal should specify the number of credit hours; most students apply for three credit hours, which means serving a minimum of 150 hours in connection with your internship over the course of the semester. You may apply for two credit hours (100 hours of internship work) or one credit hour (50 hours of internship work).
- Make sure to identify the mentor or supervisor on site who will guide you, give you feedback on your ongoing performance, and be able to write an evaluation of your performance at the close of your internship or at the end of the semester.
- Once you have completed your proposal, you may submit it via email to our Director of Career Development, Dr. Erin Elizabeth Smith, for approval at esmith83@utk.edu. Please make sure that you email this at least 7 days before the term’s start in order to have the course registered in time.
Please plan in advance. Academic credit CANNOT be given retroactively.
Receiving Credit and Grading of Internships
To receive academic credit for your internship, you will need to turn in the following to Dr. Erin Elizabeth Smith via email at esmith83@utk.edu by the final day of exams.
- A brief check-in email with Dr. Smith every two weeks, detailing what you’ve been doing and/or a weekly update of hours worked through GivePulse if working with a nonprofit organization
- At the end of the semester, a 3–5 page personal assessment describing the work you did during the internship and a brief reflection on the internship experience, plus 2-3 supplementary documents (work product, pictures, etc.). Be sure to assess the internship’s value to your education and projected professional life.
- A performance assessment letter from your supervisor or mentor; this document does not need to be any more than a page.
How Your Grade Is Decided
You will receive a grade of Satisfactory or No Credit for your independent study based on successful completion of your internship as evidenced by the documentation you provide.
Current Internship and Job Openings
Below is a list of local and national internship and job opportunities for English majors.
UTK Internships
- Department of English
- Early American Literature
- College of Education, Health and Human Sciences
- Haslam College of Business Department of Marketing and Public Relations
- McClung Museum
- Department of Technology Solutions
- Tennessee Reading Research Center
- Thornton Center
- UT Gardens
- University of Tennessee Press
- Handshake
Find more UTK internships listed here.
Publishing & Entertainment Internships
- April Gloaming
- Association of University Presses
- Community of Literary Magazines and Presses
- Hachette Book Group
- Harper Collins
- Jupiter Entertainment
- Macmillan Publishers
- Penguin Random House
- Simon and Schuster
- Sundress Publications
- University of Tennessee Press
- WW Norton
Technical Writing Internships
Marketing and Communications
Nonprofit Internships
Misc. Internships and PT Jobs
- Congressional Internship Program
- Hadassah-Brandeis Institute
- Parker Duwey: Opportunities for microinternships
- Vanguard Prep
Other University and Local Resources
- College and Industry Specific Job Resources: This site lists current job opportunities organized by field including arts, education, nonprofit, media, communications, and more.
- ConnectUT: Connect UT is a social media platform exclusively for UT alumni to connect, network, and mentor current and former students.
- Alliance for Better Nonprofits Career Center: Looking for a full or part-time job working with nonprofits in the Knoxville area? Be sure to check out the current job calls listed here.
- Community of Literary Magazines and Presses: Looking for jobs in publishing? Be sure to check out this list.
- Poets and Writers: Another excellent resource for writing jobs.
- Publishers Marketplace: Yet another clearing house for jobs in publishing.
- Association for University Presses: A site dedicated to job openings at university presses.
- Handshake: Connects UT students to professional opportunities including part-time jobs, internships, and full-time positions.
Erin Elizabeth Smith
Director of Career Development
Office Hours- Mondays 3-4 and Wednesdays 10-11 in McClung 312
Interviews with Former Student Interns
Many of our undergraduate alumni have completed internships which went on to help them in the professional world. Below you can read interviews with those alumni and learn how their time working with university, nonprofit, and other local internships helped shape their career path.
- Interview with Taryn Zavalin ’11Z Eihausen: How would you describe your educational career? Taryn Zavalin: I attended UTK for my Bachelor’s in English. I didn’t choose my major until… Read more: Interview with Taryn Zavalin ’11
- Interview with Lena Shoemaker ’23Z Eihausen: How would you describe your educational career? Lena Shoemaker: My educational career was very arts-focused and very busy. I graduated with a BA… Read more: Interview with Lena Shoemaker ’23
- Interview with Ayesha Ahmed ’23Z Eihausen: How would you describe your educational career? Ayesha Ahmed: I started UTK as a freshman on the pre-med track despite not knowing much… Read more: Interview with Ayesha Ahmed ’23
- Interview with Tori Finklea ’21Z Eihausen: What can you tell me about your educational career? Tori Finklea: I did community college for two years, and then I came to… Read more: Interview with Tori Finklea ’21
Looking to Hire an English Major?
UTK English majors are intelligent, compassionate, and creative people who are excellent problem-solvers and communicators. English majors are not only accomplished writers, but also innovative thinkers and thorough researchers. Their skills can be brought into the corporate and nonprofit worlds in numerous ways including digital marketing, social media management, content creation, fundraising, grant writing, technical writing, event coordination, corporate education, and more.
If your business or nonprofit is looking for people to join your team, you can let our students know about your current openings or email our Director of Career Development, Dr. Erin Elizabeth Smith, at esmith83@utk.edu to discuss ways that the department can help support possible future internships.