Internships

Communication Internship Experience

Internships provide valuable knowledge and skills and are one of the most rewarding ways for Communication students to form professional relationships with our alumni and other employers.  We strongly encourage our students to participate in one or more internships before they graduate, whether they receive academic credit or obtain career experience.

Internships and Academic Credit

The Department of Communication grants academic credit in conjunction with an internship only to those students who complete the Comm 191 Communication Internship Course (see Undergraduate courses). This course, offered in winter and spring quarters, is open to 30 Communication seniors who work as interns for 8-10 hour per week while enrolled in the course.  The course, which meets for 2 hours each week, draws on students’ coursework and analytic skills as they transition from academe into the workplace.  For more information, please email Dr. Anna Laura Jansma.

Other Options for Academic Credit. The Department of Communication does not grant academic credit for an internship alone and employers themselves cannot grant academic credit.  Academic credit for an internship may be available outside the Department through accredited institutions such as Santa Barbara City College in their Career Classes program or through other academic departments or institutions.   

UCSB Internship Certificate Program (ICP).  Students and employers are invited to register their internships via GauchoLink and file a Learning Agreement online through the ICP. Internships registered through Career Services may be of any length that is agreed upon by both the employer and student.  Upon completion of the internships, both student and employer file an exit evaluation with the Internship Certificate Program and students are mailed a certificate verifying their achievement.  Note: An Internship Certificate differs from and may be in addition to academic credit, which is obtained only through academic departments.

Sponsor Letters for Internships

Occasionally employers are required to place a sponsor letter on file with their own legal departments.  To request sponsor letters, students should contact Brittany Manzer, the Director of the UCSB Career Services Internship Certificate Program.

Finding an Internship

Department of Communication Resources for Internships

Student-alumni UCSB Department of Communication group on LinkedIn. To assist students, alumni and departmental friends connect with each other, we have created the student-alumni UCSB Department of Communication group on LinkedIn. Our LinkedIn group of 600+ members posts internship and job opportunities that target Communication students, recent graduates, and alumni.  Any member can post new listings at any time. See “How to Use the student-alumni UCSB Department of Communication group on LinkedIn” on the Career and Jobs Information page.

The Communication Association at UCSB. Our student–run Communication Association hosts events on every other Tuesday evening.  The group invites guest speakers, who often are local communication alumni and other employers, to share career advice and offer workshops in professional development. Please visit the Communication Association Facebook page and/or attend an event for more information.

Dr. Anna Laura Jansma serves as the Internship Advisor, and a liaison for students, employers, and professional organizations. Students who are having trouble finding an internship are welcome to visit “Dr. J.” during her office hours or to request an appointment.

The Carsey-Wolf Center’s Media Internship Programs

The Carsey-Wolf Center (4thfloor of the SS&MS building) offers three Internship Programs with selective opportunities to both undergraduate and graduate UCSB students who want to develop practical applications of the knowledge they have gained in their studies. The three programs are select placements in media companies in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, the Pollock Theater, and the Center itself. The program interns come from any discipline at UCSB that stresses creative and critical thinking, media literacy and policy, collaboration and coordination, organization and integration, the craft of writing, or the art of storytelling. 

UCSB Resources for Internships 

GauchoLink: UCSB Career Services offers an interactive database system that lists and manages internship and career opportunities for UCSB students.  Employers from all areas of the world can register their internships and job opportunities on GauchoLink free of charge. All UCSB students who are enrolled in the university can access this information. Career Services, part of the Counselling and Career Center, is the primary campus resource for internship and career information (building #599, across from Storke tower, next to Humanities and Social Sciences Building, 893-4412).