To qualify as an internship, the experience must:
- provide opportunities for students both to practice their skills and knowledge, and gain new knowledge and skills
- be supervised by a professional in the communications field
- be evaluated by the site supervisor, providing useful feedback to the student
Opportunities for students to merely put their skills into action (such as "I want a promotional video produced for my company," or "I need somebody to be the social media presence for my non-profit") generally do NOT qualify as internships. They might be paid opportunities for students, but they're not a situation in which students are learning from a professional who is more qualified than they are. Since we give academic credit for internships, they need to result in the same kind of learning the students might experience in an upper-level class.
While some internships are "virtual," much of the learning for students includes being in a professional setting where they can observe interactions and meetings. When we've approved virtual internships, the students do have opportunities to meet face-to-face with their supervisors and they are generally in organizations that are by their very nature virtual.