Internship Experience

Overview

MARA 294 Professional Experience, Option: Internships

Completing an internship is a valuable optional component of the MARA program. You’ll gain experience in your field of study, explore career options, and showcase your talents and skills under professional supervision in an internship position in an archives, records management, or information governance setting.

Qualifying for the Internship Option

To qualify for the internship option, you must:

  1. Be matriculated in the MARA degree program.
  2. Remain in good academic standing (3.0 CUM GPA or above).
  3. Have completed  19 units including MARA 200, 204.

Completing the Requirements

If you meet the qualifications, you will be allowed to register for MARA 294 and be required to complete 135 hours during one semester at an approved internship site. The internship site must meet criteria outlined in the MARA internship guidelines and be approved by the internship coordinator.

The 135–hour requirement is the equivalent of 9 hours a week, but it is possible to start the internship assignment 2 weeks before the semester begin if this arrangement is approved by the site supervisor and the internship coordinator.

Evaluating the Experience

Several instruments will be used in evaluating your internship performance and experience, some optional and others required. The actual method or combination of methods used for evaluation will depend on your established internship goals, learning outcomes, and assignments. Some or all of the following will be requested upon completion of the internship:

  1. Monthly Status Report: You will prepare a monthly record of activities and an analysis of what was learned, problems encountered, and questions generated. You are required to post your monthly status report to the Canvas course site.
  2. Final report. At the conclusion of the internship, you are required to submit a final report indicating how the learning outcomes established for the course were met. If for some reason the learning outcomes were only partially met, or not met at all, some discussion of what happened will be necessary.
  3. Site evaluation form. The student evaluation of site form allows you to provide feedback on the internship site’s effectiveness in hosting an intern and to recommend the site’s continuance or discontinuance as an internship site.
  4. Site supervisor’s evaluation form. The site supervisor evaluation form will provide formal written feedback by the site supervisor on your internship performance. A portion of your grade will be based on this evaluation.
  5. Additional requirements. In addition to the above, you may also be asked to submit supplemental materials to the faculty supervisor such as written reports, bibliographies or reading lists, portfolios, or samples of professional work.

Note: Students with extensive experience can still learn from working in a completely different setting and interacting with other professionals. Therefore, participation in an internship is still recommended. If you are currently employed in an archives or records center, an internship placement that will provide you with a rewarding experience in a new setting could be of value.