Internships are generally approved for 3 credits, but it is possible to register for 1 to 12 credits, depending on the circumstances. For each credit, expect to work 50 hours total during the semester. A normal 3-hour internship requires 10 hours of work per week (150 hours for the semester). The specific schedule is arranged with the sponsoring supervisor. Internships may be completed partially or totally over an intersession or during the summer.

Up the 3 hours of HIS 490 can be applied toward the History, History and Social Sciences, or History/American Studies major. Any HIS 490 credits above three will become electives.

Internships provide practical on-the-job training in a setting in which professional historians work outside the university. They provide actual experience using the knowledge and skills you have learned as a history major, provide some variety from classroom settings, and may be useful in applying for jobs or graduate school.

You are responsible to your supervisor at the sponsoring museum, site, or library for a work schedule, assigned projects, and all other matters relating to working conditions. You ought to treat the internship like any other job. Internships generally involve a single project, which should be completed by the end of the semester or other established date.

You must provide the internship director at Eastern with a typed progress report at least every two weeks that details your actives and time. Generally, two pages or so will be sufficient. You should also plan to meet the intern director during the first month of the semester, and periodically after that, if needed. At the end of the semester, you must submit a longer, comprehensive, report that summarizes your accomplishments for the entire internship, along with a copy of any written work you may have done as part of your duties. In most cases, the intern director will visit with your and your supervisor at the site sometime during the internship period. After receiving your final report and consultation with the sponsoring supervisor, the internship director assigns a grade for HIS 490.

See Prof. Pocock, intern director. We will discuss internship possibilities and arrange for you to have an interview with the sponsoring museum. A museum is not obligated to take you, so treat this just like a job interview. If the interview is successful, you will write a short proposal about what exactly you will be doing. Once approved by the site supervisor and the intern director, we fill out the Permission to Register form. That form goes to the History Department Chair and Dean for signatures and returned to you. That signed form is necessary to register for the course.

Prof. Emil Pocock, Webb Hall 352
pocock@easternct.edu