Internships serve two primary purposes. For one, on the job experience is the best way to be ready for the work world after graduation. In many cases, students' internships serve as a gateway to further employment in either the organization for which they interned or a related organization makes a job offer.
But internships are also an important educational experience. The classroom is a beneficial place for learning new theories and practices, and developing theoretical and practical fluency in a relatively "safe" environment, one that is focused on helping students learn. But there's only so much one can do in the classroom to experience how disciplinary knowledge -- the theories and practices of rhetoric and professional writing -- can be integrated into the workplace. Internships put you in a position that isn't as safe as the classroom nor as risky as a job. When you're in an internship, your primary goal is still to learn (which is not the case once you're in a job), so the internship gives you the opportunity to learn within a workplace context.
For these reasons, we have made internships an important part of the Professional Writing and Rhetoric program.
We encourage students to pursue two internship experiences, one early in the program and one at the end so they can reap the benefits described above. Students are also encouraged not see internships as a class nor a requirement, but as an essential part of their learning and preparation.
Elon's students have interned in a wide variety of organizational settings, located all over the country and also abroad.
Example organizations where PWR students have interned include the following:
We encourage students to use internships as a way to experience and explore their individual interests. Both summer and semester internships are available.
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