Agricultural Communication Internships

The Purdue Agricultural Communication program recognizes the value of experiential learning that can occur with preapproved, supervised internships.

Our students engage in a variety of internships with a wide range of employers — from full-service communication firms, to state agencies, to agricultural companies, and many more. Our students have had internships with Farm Credit Mid-America, Northern International Livestock Exhibition, BASF, Indiana Farm Bureau, the USDA, Purdue Extension, Indiana FFA Foundation, Indiana State Department of Agriculture, and more.

How to Earn Credit for Internships

Not every work experience meets the requirements for internship credit. The rest of this page describes the process Purdue Agricultural Communication students must follow to earn internship credit.

Internships for Purdue credit will appear on your official transcript and can count as Communication/Agricultural Communication selectives on your plan of study. Credit is variable; however, most internships will earn 1 credit. How much credit you earn for an internship is at the discretion of their Purdue Internship Advisor.

The number of credits you earn for an internship are based on the work you do for the internship course, not how much work you do for your employer.

Students must meet specific requirements before, during, and after the internship.

Before the Internship

The prerequisite for the internship course for Agricultural Communication students is a grade of C or better in ASEC 15200 (or YDAE 15200 prior to fall 2019).

To be considered for credit for an internship, each student must submit the following to the Purdue Internship Advisor (in most cases, Kevin Leigh Smith) before the internship begins:

1. A copy of (or link to) the internship job description.
2. A description of well-defined work activities and learning outcomes. The activities and outcomes must be approved by both the internship employer and the Purdue Internship Advisor. For Purdue credit, the activities and outcomes must be relevant to communication. Ideally, a student will link learning objectives to our Agricultural Communication Core Competencies
3. A signed memorandum of agreement (or contract) with the internship employer. The document should include the approximate number of hours to be worked, internship start and end dates, the supervisor's name, and her/his contact information. Students should notify their internship supervisors that the Purdue Internship Advisor will ask them to evaluate the student intern's performance toward the end of the internship.
   Sample MOA Document
4. A meeting with your Purdue Internship Advisor. This will occur after you submit the documents described above. You and the Purdue Internship Advisor will review the documents and establish other guidelines for the internship, including when updates are due.

During the Internship

During the internship, students must satisfactorily complete the work that their internship supervisors assign.

In addition, students must email a weekly reflection/report to the Purdue Internship Advisor. This reflection/report should:

1. Be roughly 250-500 words long.
2. Briefly review work completed that week. If work is posted online, you should provide links to the work.
3. Reflect upon how the experiences of that week will affect your professional/academic growth. This section should make up the bulk of the reflection/report.

The Purdue Internship Advisor reserves the right to check in with student interns and their supervisors (during and after the internship).

Students must satisfactorily complete these weekly reflections/reports on time to earn credit for the internship.

After the Internship

Near the conclusion of the internship, the Purdue Internship Advisor will ask the internship supervisor to evaluate the student intern's performance with a Purdue Agricultural Communication Intern Evaluation Form. The Internship Advisor will send the form directly to the supervisor.
Sample Evaluation Form

You also must complete a final reflection/report. The parameters for that report will be determined in consultation with the Purdue Internship Advisor. As with the weekly updates, this final reflection/report should focus more on personal and professional development and how you will apply what you've learned beyond the internship. The final report should also reflect upon the goals you established before the internship.

Other Considerations

The internship employer may provide wages, reimbursement for travel, or other expenses while the student is on the internship. These arrangements are to be agreed upon by the internship employer and the student intern. Whether an internship is paid or not will have no bearing on determining course credit or grades. Students will work out all compensation agreements with their employers.

Purdue University and its agents are not liable for any workplace accidents or issues that occur during an internship.