For Current Students

Honors

Students may graduate with honors in their field of study in most bachelor's degree majors. To receive honors, the student must have at least a 3.5 grade point average in courses taken in the major and/or pass a comprehensive examination in the subject. The student must also complete an honors thesis or project. This last requirement is the heart of the honors program, for each student must work closely with a faculty member to define the project, carry out the research and investigation, and write the final report or prepare the final project. Students may receive credit through independent study for their work on an honors project. The projects must be accepted by the department. Students who successfully complete these requirements will receive the notation on their transcript that they have graduated with honors in their field of study. For specific requirements, see the section on Academic Honors.

Undergraduates who meet the qualifications will receive the associate's or bachelor's degree summa cum laude, magna cum laude, or cum laude as follows:

• Cumulative GPA of at least 3.90: summa cum laude
• Cumulative GPA of at least 3.75: magna cum laude
• Cumulative GPA of at least 3.50: cum laude

COM 390/CIN 390 Media Internships

Course Information:

An internship is a working and learning experience with a media or communications organization in positions engaging in communications-related practices. This may include work in the production, distribution or exhibition of all forms of media (film, television, radio, digital) as well as in public relations, corporate communications and advertising. COM and CIN 390 is designed to provide students with concrete work experience. Students are required to keep a journal, and write an analytical research paper related to the industry in which they intern. The course may be repeated for credit (up to 12 credits).
Prerequisites: COM 200 or COM 203 or COM 205 or COM 220 or COM 230 or COM 232 or CIN 210 or CIN 220, and permission from a faculty advisor.

COM 390 is a required class for all Communications majors. CIN 390 is an option for Cinema Studies majors.

Internship Sites:

Students must search for an internship site by themselves. This is part of the learning process. Many students have found excellent internship opportunities by looking at the “employment” lists on corporate websites. Some sites are listed at the Office of Career Development and Placement at 1A-105. You can also check the bulletin boards outside the Department for flyers, announcements, etc.

Your internship must be in media, film and/or communications organizations or in media-related positions, with proper professional mentoring. A non-media site without proper mentoring is not acceptable. For example, the Department does not give credit to an internship that requires a student to build a website, create promotional materials for a car dealership or a non-profit organization if the site does not offer any technical expertise or professional mentoring. Disney College Program is not accepted. Administrative work in an office is not accepted. Internships in event planning and marketing companies must have a clear media and/or communications dimension. Otherwise they will not be accepted.

NO CREDIT WILL BE GIVEN IF AN INTERNSHIP IS DONE WITHOUT PRIOR AUTHORIZATION FROM THE COORDINATING PROFESSOR AT THE DEPARTMENT. FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU DO AN INTERNSHIP OVER THE SUMMER WITHOUT GETTING APPROVAL AND COME TO THE DEPARTMENT IN SEPTEMBER AND ASK FOR CREDIT, WE WILL NOT BE ABLE TO ACCEPT YOUR INTERNSHIP. IN OTHER WORDS, DO NOT START AN INTERNSHIP WIHTOUT GETTING APPROVAL FROM THE DEPARTMENT FIRST.

Registration:

First, you must have an internship offer CONFIRMED from a company or an organization. Make sure that your internship is related to film, media and/or communications. If you are not sure, contact the Department and ask to speak to the coordinating professor.

Send the following information to the professor to have your internship APPROVED: job description and a written explanation about your duties and responsibilities from your internship supervisor and a brief profile of the company or the organization.

Upon approval, you will be given “permission to register” on CUNYFirst. You can register for 3 or 4 credits:

• 3 credits = 12 hours of internship at the site for 14 weeks, totaling 168 hours.
• 4 credits = 16 hours of internship at the site for 14 weeks, totaling 224 hours.

Course Requirements:

Other Relevant Information:

The internship can be paid or unpaid. 

If you are not sure whether you are entitled to minimum wages and overtime pay, please see the following criteria set by the Department of Labor: 

• The extent to which the intern and the employer clearly understand that there is no expectation of compensation. Any promise of compensation, express or implied, suggests that the intern is an employee—and vice versa.
• The extent to which the internship provides training that would be similar to that which would be given in an educational environment, including the clinical and other hands-on training provided by educational institutions.
• The extent to which the internship is tied to the intern’s formal education program by integrated coursework or the receipt of academic credit.
• The extent to which the internship accommodates the intern’s academic commitments by corresponding to the academic calendar.
• The extent to which the internship’s duration is limited to the period in which the internship provides the intern with beneficial learning.
• The extent to which the intern’s work complements, rather than displaces, the work of paid employees while providing significant educational benefits to the intern.
• The extent to which the intern and the employer understand that the internship is conducted without entitlement to a paid job at the conclusion of the internship.

For more information, please visit https://www.dol.gov/whd/regs/compliance/whdfs71.htm