Internships & Independent Study
Internships
There are several avenues to finding an internship in film and media. The first place to go is the Cohen Career Center, where you will find information and support for your search, and rich databases of current opportunities. They can also help you connect with alumni in the field you are interested in.
You should also keep an eye out for opportunities closer to home. FMST faculty regularly offer a course through the W&M Washington Center DC Summer Institute that features 10-week internships at key media institutions. The program also sponsors up to four production interns for annual the Global Film Festival. There are also from time to time opportunities for students to produce and manage media for the FMST program itself. And many students have found internships on campus in offices like Development and W&M Athletics.
Internships offer valuable ways to gain experience in and learn about a possible career field, but they also can carry academic credit (as those in DC and with the GFF do). If that interests, you’ll need to find a faculty advisor who will work with you on an analytic or research project (critically reflecting, for instance, on your experience in television news). More information about academic credit for internships is linked off the Cohen Career Center page above.
If this is something you’d like to do, you can approach any of the FMST faculty, or the Director, with your plans. You would need to submit a form for approval, which you can find on the Internship for Academic Credit page. You would then enroll in FMST 498 (summer interns would enroll for the following fall semester).
Under normal circumstances you may only count 1 internship towards a major or minor.
Independent Study
FMST 480 (Independent Studies) is a variable credit (1-4 credits) course that allows a student to work with faculty in an individual setting on a topic or project that cannot be explored in regular coursework. If you have an idea for something you’d like work on, you’ll want to find a faculty advisor who can help you with the project. Together you will come up with a rationale and description of your course, as well as a schedule of work, meetings and writing assignments (you can think of 7 or so pages of writing for every credit). The form is available on the Internship for Academic Credit page. This will be submitted to the FMST affiliated faculty for approval no later than the Friday before the semester it is to take place. When approved you’ll be enrolled in the course.
Under normal circumstances you may only count 1 independent study towards a major or minor.
