Internship Information

Many former internship students say that their internships have led them to jobs or to the next step in their career path, and it may be one of the most important endeavors you can undertake while at Sonoma State.

As you prepare to find an internship, please consider the following guidelines. If you have further questions, contact Hillary Homzie, the internship coordinator in the School of Arts and Humanities.

1. The first step is to decide what sort of internship interests you.

   For example, would you like to work for a cultural organization? A non-profit or government agency? Retail? In human resources? In a public school? A newspaper or radio station? Are you interested in administrative work? Social services? Event planning? Some popular internships cover areas such as journalism, social media and digital marketing, sports and exercise, broadcasting (radio/TV), podcasting, music business, photography, public speaking, business, or even banking.

2. Make sure you have a polished resume and a cover letter.

   It's important to have a resume in place as well as to craft a compelling cover letter introducing yourself. You will want to always follow up when you send out inquiries and sound enthusiastic and respectful. You will also want to update your Linkedin account and sign up for Handshake (which Career Center can help you with).

3. Visit the Drop-in Hours at the Career Center, International Hall 107

   During the Zoom drop-in hours between 10 a.m. -2 p.m. Monday-Thursday or by appointment, Career Center advisors will critique your resume as well as your cover letter. It is highly recommended that you take a career test offered through the Career Center website as well.

4. Start your internship search.

   You can simply email or call up places that interest you. Even if they don't have anything available at that time, they will be impressed by your initiative (and may remember it later). Don’t forget to search for potential leads through LinkedIn and Handshake. Employers are always thrilled to hear from Sonoma State students. Simply ask them if they sponsor or will consider sponsoring internships for undergraduate students.

   Check your email regularly for internship opportunities sent by our internship coordinator Hillary Homzie. Remember to speak with other students and friends who have completed internships and ask for recommendations. You can find internships through Internet searches, by checking with local and regional employers, and by contacts through family and friends. In addition to looking for internships in Santa Rosa, consider looking throughout Sonoma and Napa County, Marin County and the San Francisco area. During COVID-19, you’ll have a tremendous opportunity to find remote opportunities all across the United States. You may complete a remote internship as long as there is sufficient training and supervision. Some students have found internships at their current place of employment that may include shifted or additional responsibilities for their internships. For example, students who work in retail or in recreation or hospitality have asked their employer if they can take on CALS or Humanities related activities, such as translation work, creating advertising, or social media marketing.

   There may also be internship possibilities right here on campus. It's just a matter of asking!

5. Once you have nabbed a semester-long internship, fill out your internship agreement and get your internship supervisor's signature.

   The internship agreement is available on the CALS website under forms.

   Please note: You cannot register online and you don’t need an access code. Once you have the internship supervisor's information, you need to email the form to the department chair and the department coordinator (see contact information on the Contact Us page).

6. Decide how many units you want for your internship.

   You must work 45 hours per unit. That means for a four-unit class, you would need to work 180 hours over the semester (about 12 hours/week). You can only take up to four units per semester for internship. But you can do an internship for more than one semester if you are interested; just check with your academic advisor first. When you plan for an internship, make sure that this fits into your schedule. Remember you can sign up for a one-unit, two-unit, three-unit or four-unit internship.

   Again, it is always best to check in with your academic advisor to see if you are on track to graduate and determine how many units you might need. Usually, a CALS student will take up to 4 units of internships (sometimes more in special cases). Always check in with your advisor first as everyone comes in with unique and different needs.

7. Remember, once you have completed the agreement, send it to the department chair and coordinator for processing.  

   You do not register the conventional way. You cannot receive an access code as this is a contract course.

8. After your paperwork is signed in the department, it will be forwarded to the Dean of Arts & Humanities for signature.

   Once signed, the dean's office will give it to the School Scheduler, who then sends it on the Registrar's office. It will take about ten business days for the class to show up in your portal. It is your responsibility to make sure that the class, CALS 499, shows up in MySSU and in Canvas and with the correct number of units. If you receive financial aid, please mark Financial Aid in capital letters at the top of your agreement.

How do you receive a grade for your internship?

The performance review forms can be downloaded on the CALS website. You can either download and print the form or send it to your supervisor by email. Your supervisor can either fill it out by pen, or electronically, and email it directly to the CALS department office.

There are several ways to handle the evaluation. The easiest way is to print it out, and then hand it to your supervisor in person and have them fill out it. Then you would scan the entire document or take photos of each page and send by email. Note, you must send images or scans of every page.

Additionally, at the end of the semester you will complete a self-survey to include with your evaluation..

It is your responsibility to make sure that the supervisor receives and fills out the evaluation form. In order to receive a grade and your units, your instructor of record must receive the evaluation form, filled out by the supervisor, and your self-survey. Lateness will affect your grade.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Rosa Flores, CALS Administrative Coordinator.