Professor Marie Cornwall is the internship coordinator for the Sociology Department. She can be reached via email (
marie_cornwall@byu.edu) or telephone (801-422-3413). If you call, be sure to leave a message. The voice message will post to email.
Chelsea Mazar is the teaching assistant. If you have questions about available internships or want information about the internship class (how to sign up for the class, requirements, etc.), contact Chelsea. She can be reached via email (
soc.internship@gmail.com) or by telephone (801-422-5028).
Internship objectives:
- Integrate the knowledge and skills you have learned in the sociology program with life goals and professional and career interests.
- Apply what you have learned to a real world, professional experience of at least one semester.
Requirements:
The basic requirements for internship credit:
- Complete 42 hours in internship work for each credit hour. The typical internship is 3 credit hours, although some students sign up for six. Only three hours of internship credit may be applied towards your sociology degree.
- Establish learning objectives with the department internship coordinator and develop a plan of action for achieving the objectives.
- Complete the required memos and reports as outlined on Blackboard. These are typically bi-weekly reports submitted via Blackboard and designed to help you think about your internship experience.
- Read and respond to Robin Leidner's monograph, Fast Food, Fast Talk: Service Work and the Routinization of Everyday Life.
- Complete and organizational analysis of the organization you work for. Describe the formal and informal structure, how the organization routinizes and controls work processes, and the organizational environment.
- Complete a semester project. Project possibilities are described below.
- Complete an internship evaluation form.
- Have your supervisor complete an evaluation form.
No class attendance is required. All assignments will be submitted electronically through Blackboard.
Suggested Projects
- Complete a research and information report for the organization to which you are assigned.
- Meet with your internship supervisor to identify the research needs of the organization.
- Contract with your internship supervisor (with approval from the internship coordinator) to complete the report. Examples:
- Collect and analyze data as requested by the organization
- Program evaluation
- Preparation of training information packet
- Proposal for a new program, identifying needs of the organization, clientele, or community and describing a program of action to address such needs
- Complete a research paper (literature review, methodologies, findings) on some aspect of the work processes involved that improves your understanding of the organization, the clientele, the workers and work processes.
- Meet with department internship coordinator to approve the subject and discuss the research process.
- Review the subject and research with your internship supervisor, asking for input and questions they may have that you can answer.
- Conduct a literature review that considers the theories and methodologies used to understand your topic.
- Write a final paper (20-25 pages) and submit to your internship advisor and supervisor.
- This paper may be academically oriented (research appropriate for publication in a research journal) or may be applied (research that draws upon the results of basic research findings, but addresses how to create change).
What are the prerequisites for the class and internship?
- Completion of Sociology 111 or 112, and 300. Sociology 310 recommended, but not required. Fulfillment of diversity requirement also recommended (Soc 322, 323, or 367).
- Completion of 60 hours of university credit.
- Approval of the internship coordinator in the department.
What if I don’t have an internship? How can I get one?
The department does not find internships for you, but we do provide some contacts. We can provide you with a list of agencies who have offered students an internship. The university also has an internship office that you can contact. Think of the process of finding an internship as an opportunity to learn how to present yourself professionally—an opportunity to learn how to find a job that is relevant to your major.
Internship Grants
Each semester, undergraduate and graduate students who are declared majors in one of the disciplines in the College may apply for a grant of up to $1600 to help augment the costs associate with an internship. Click on the link to visit the
Mary Lou Fulton Chair website.
Application Deadlines for Internship Grants
Winter Semester - December 1
st
Spring/Summer - April 1
st
Fall Semester - August 1
st
