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Internships

Get experience in the real world, make inroads in your future career, or experiment with vocations that pique your interest. At Calvin, you'll be well positioned to get your start in Grand Rapids, the Christian publishing capital of the world. Do an internship in English at Calvin by taking ENGL-380: Internships.

Steps toward Registration in ENGL-380

  1. Submit an Intention to Intern form to the English department before or during advising recess in the semester prior to when you plan to enroll in ENGL-380.
  2. Consult your advisor and the English 380 instructor.
  3. Register for ENGL-380 during your normal registration period. Leave some blocks of time in your class schedule so that you can travel to and work at your internship 8-10 hours per week.

Getting an Internship (PDF)

  1. Begin searching for spring internships in early November or fall internships in early April.
  2. Prepare your resume. Models and help are available in Career Development.
  3. Go to Handshake on the Career Center web page to find the available internships.
  4. Search thoroughly using a variety of terms. Search widely and frequently. Keep an open mind about the kind of placement that might meet your needs and teach you about yourself, vocation, and career options.
  5. Investigate organizations, businesses, and publications on your own. Follow your interests; make contacts. Draw on personal connections for information.
  6. Solicit help from the ENGL-380 instructor and from Career Development staff.
  7. Apply & interview. Take this step very seriously. Research the company. Prepare and dress appropriately. Send an email to your English 380 instructor each time you get an interview.
  8. Notify your English 380 instructor and Career Development when you have accepted an internship.

When to take ENGL-380

Most students take it in their senior year after they have taken courses in writing, grammar, or graphics that will equip them for their internships and when they generally feel freer to give the course the extra time it sometimes takes. Then, too, since internships sometimes serve as stepping-stones to jobs, many students prefer to take them as seniors when they are ready to search for jobs.

On the other hand, some students use the internship to explore their possible vocations. They may, for example, be interested in working for a publishing house, writing for a non-profit organization, or working on a magazine. The internship, then, can give them a sense of the direction that they may want—or may not want—to go.

Students may take ENGL-380 twice for graduation credit, so some students do an internship in both their junior and senior years.

Time requirements

Plan to spend 8-10 hours per week at the internship site. It will be up to you to set up your work schedule with your internship supervisor. Arrange your class schedule so that you will have time to work at your internship.

Class meeting time

The class meets once each week as an evening seminar, which means that the students carry considerable responsibility for presentation and discussion. Check the course schedule for the meeting time.

Kinds of Internships that Satisfy the Internship Requirement

A very wide range of internships can work well for English majors. A writing major interested in publishing or journalism would, of course, look for an internship in one of those areas; or a linguistics major might take advantage of internships in translation work or teaching ESL. But in general, if an internship gives you the opportunity to read analytically, conduct research, or write, then it can work for you: it will allow you to practice the very marketable skills that you develop as an English major.

The Career Center page offers plenty of general information on internships.

You can search for a specific internship by logging into Handshake.

The Main Lessons English Majors Have Learned in Doing Internships

There is high demand in the world for people who can read, research, and write. And those very valuable English major skills (shared by each variety of English major) translate to highly successful interns—and employees.

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