Internships

We are happy to offer many internship opportunities. Listed below are two kinds of internships, publishing internships sponsored by the English Department and on-campus library internships.

Publishing Internships

Off
Off
Off
The Missouri Review

This course is designed to give students some idea of what it takes to publish a literary magazine. That means, not only the editorial side of the business, but the production and marketing side as well. Unlike most courses, what you do here makes a difference. We are putting out a real magazine with deadlines, a magazine for which people pay, and for which we are dependent on for our continued existence.

Over the last couple of years, we’ve paid increasing attention to our website. This is an area where our interns can make a significant contribution in terms of content. Projects over the semester may include students producing audio and video podcasts—these could be interviews, aspects of the internship program, or other topics. Additionally, students will be expected to contribute blogs on a regular basis to the website.

We’re also involved in the production of our audiobook-converting each issue into digital audio. Scheduling voice talent, working the sound board, and editing is involved in this ongoing project. There are also marketing plans to develop and execute.

Finally, reading manuscripts remains the core of the internship. You’ll be expected to read 20 to 30 manuscripts a week, pitch the best stories or poetry at the weekly genre meetings, and be a second or third reader on manuscripts pitched by fellow interns and staff. (3 credit hours; English 4950/7950)

For more information on applying for the internship with The Missouri Review, students can contact Evelyn Rogers (rogerses@missouri.edu) to arrange for an interview, which includes reading a number of manuscripts.

Off
Persea Books

This internship with Persea Books requires a commitment of 10 hours per week, including one weekly class session that meets Friday afternoons (subject to change). Enrollment is limited to twelve students, and the course is open to both undergraduate and graduate students.

This course is a practicum in small press publishing, with an emphasis on poetry publishing. Students will be exposed to (and do real-world work on behalf of) many aspects of the poetry series of Persea Books, a small, venerable publishing house. These aspects may include reading submissions, writing reader reports and press releases, doing photo research for book covers, proofing book galleys, interviewing authors, assisting with author tours and promotion, and co-administering poetry contests. Interested students will also have the opportunity to gain a familiarity with some practical (and resume-building) facets of book publishing (e.g. book contracts, copyright application, subsidiary rights). (3 credit hours; English 4950/7950)

Application process: Applications for spring semester will be due the preceding mid-October and for fall semester the preceding mid-February. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, but applications received by the deadlines (mid-October and mid-February) will be prioritized. Submit a one-page cover letter (describing your interest in the position and relevant experience, if any) and a resume to the Assistant to the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Students selected for an internship will be notified by email near the start of early registration.

Off
Wigleaf

This internship provides students with hands-on experience in core operations of an award-winning online literary journal of international profile, Wigleaf: (very) short fiction. Students will read and record preliminary evaluation of submissions of flash and micro fiction (stories of fewer than 1000 words) through Submittable, the industry-standard management system. In regular staff meetings, usually held Mondays from 3:00 to 3:50, students will deliberate on submissions; as part of a small editorial team, you will also be exposed to (and potentially be given the chance to become involved in) communications with authors, the editing process, the proofing of html galleys, graphic-design planning/concept work, and the promotion of stories when they go live. Weekly time commitment, not including staff meeting: 2 ½  hours. (1 credit hour; English 4940)

To apply for the Wigleaf internship, email Scott Garson (garsons@missouri.edu). Describe potential qualifications as you see them, including enthusiasm as a reader and course work in Creative Writing.

Library Internships

To apply for the internship with University Libraries, please submit a brief resumé and statement of interest to Anne Barker (BarkerA@missouri.edu). Deadlines for applications are announced by the English department each semester, usually with due dates in late September for an internship in the spring semester and in mid-February for the fall semester.

Off
Off
Off
Digital Services Department

Several stand-alone and combination internships exist within the following departments in the University Libraries: Digital Services Department. The intern will work on projects that will help develop skills in digitization work and develop an understanding of the value of digital material in the humanities. The MU Digital Library includes rare and special materials from the library collections that will promote research and teaching at MU and beyond. The intern will digitize material using our scanners, edit images, add the digitized images to our digital library, and write descriptions for the material.

Off
Communication and Development Department

The intern will primarily work for library Administration on projects relating to communications and development. Duties will include writing and editing press releases, solicitation letters, and content for promotional materials. 

Off
The Special Collections and Rare Books Department 

The Special Collections and Rare Books Department holds rare and unique cultural heritage materials that document 4,000 years of world history. The intern will contribute to digital humanities projects using software such as Omeka, Neatline, and other digital imaging technologies. The intern will also assist librarians with provenance research, exhibitions, and social media outreach. Work will include writing descriptions of materials for exhibition and social media texts, as well as proofreading and testing published digital resources. (3 credit hours; English 4940)

Internship Guidelines

Off
Off
Off
Requirements

An internship is any real-world working and learning experience. Internships provide many benefits: students receive practical exposure to a workplace or career path; skills and knowledge introduced in the classroom are more fully developed; and professional contacts are formed.

Internships come in two forms: on-campus classes that expose students to professional responsibilities for actual commercial enterprises or off-campus work without the direct supervision of a faculty member. Depending upon the type of work involved, internships will be offered as English 4940 (Internship in English) or English 4950 (Internship in Publishing).

Non-class internships must meet the following requirements:

  • The internship must be related to the student’s academic area of study. In addition to being good writers, English majors have additional communication, creativity, critical thinking, and research skills that are valuable to many professional environments. Internships for English majors are varied and may include opportunities in the corporate world, government agencies, non-profit organizations, publishing, promotion, contracts, or copyrights.
  • In order to receive academic credit, students must receive approval from the English department and submit the Internship Contract prior to starting work.
  • The dates of the work experience must fall within the dates of one of MU's academic terms.
  • The internship may be paid or unpaid.
  • The internship must include an academic complement to the work experience. The student will work with the Departmental Coordinator prior to beginning work as an intern to agree upon the appropriate tasks, documentation, and deadlines for the academic component. (For more information, see Grading and Assessment below.)
  • The amount of academic credit earned is based upon the following: 50 hours of work within one semester=1 credit hour; 100 hours of work within one semester=2 credit hours; 150 hours of work within one semester=3 credit hours.
  • To receive academic credit for an internship through the English department, a student may not receive academic credit from any other source for the same work experience.
  • Students must meet the following criteria to qualify for an internship: 1) a GPA of 2.5 or departmental consent, and 2) declared English major, minor, or departmental consent.
Off
Grading and Assessment

Grading of student internships will involve the Departmental Coordinator, the Job Supervisor, and the student intern.

The student must schedule to meet twice during the semester with the Departmental Coordinator once at the mid-term and once before the last day of classes. (At the mid-term meeting, students should provide evidence of accomplishment and work to date, and may be required to obtain a signature from the job supervisor rating the students progress at this mid-point.) These meetings are designed to review the internship progress and the learning objectives specified in the Internship Contract. In order to document the internship and provide materials for final assessment, the student must submit documentation as described below, choosing two forms of documentation from the list in coordination with the Departmental Coordinator:

  • The Job Performance Evaluation indicating successful progress and completion of the internship. These may take the form of a signed letter from the Job Supervisor or the signed Job Performance Evaluation.
  • A literature review, in which the student prepares an annotated bibliography of sources of the most relevant and useful works in the internship field; the number of sources is based on credit hours of the internship.
  • A self-reflective paper, in which the student evaluates their own performance in a 2-3 page self-reflective progress report.
  • A professional work log, a diary of experiences that documents on a daily basis the student’s activities and skills learned at the internship.
  • A professional portfolio, containing tangible samples of work created by the student during the internship (e.g., brochures, copyediting samples, websites, articles).

The Departmental Coordinator will evaluate the student’s internship based upon the goals set forth in the Internship Contract, the documentation materials submitted by the student, and the Job Supervisor’s evaluation.

English 4940: Internship in English (unlike English 4950: Internship in Publishing) is graded on an S/U basis only.

Contact

Kim McCaffrey
Departmental Coordinator
mccaffreyk@missouri.edu