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Internships

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 prior to 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

Find more UTK internships listed here.

Publishing & Entertainment Internships

Technical Writing

Marketing and Communications

Nonprofit

Misc. Internships

Other University and Local Resources

Interviews with Alumni

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.

Photograph of Tori Finklea smiling in a black and white top.

A Conversation with Tori Finklea

“There’s lots of places that need the skills that you gain in an English degree. Everybody’s journey is different. Your path is yours, so don’t give up and don’t change yourself, because the things that you learn are important and valuable.”

Read more.

Ayesha Ahmed smiles while wearing a red head scarf.

A Conversation with Ayesha Ahmed

“The critical thinking skills I learned in English formed a symbiotic relationship with my biology courses since the skills from English classes were easily transferable.”

Read more.

A Conversation with Lena Shoemaker

“My concentration was creative writing, and I never would have expected that I would end up doing science writing and technical writing!”

Read more.

Black and white picture of Taryn Zavalin smiling.

A Conversation with Taryn Zavalin

“My internship helped me get my start as a professional writer; it was the first step in my decade long career.”

Read more.

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