The public relations internship experience

Public Relations Review 37 (2011) 470–477

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Public Relations Review

The public relations internship experience: A comparison of student

and site supervisor perspectives

Emma L. Daugherty∗

Department of Journalism & Mass Communication, California State University, Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Boulevard, Long Beach, CA 90840, United States

a r t i c l e i n f o

Keywords:

Public relations education

Communications education

Internships

Experiential learning

Public relations internships

Communication internships

Practicum experiences

Public relations experiential learning

a b s t r a c t

Internships are seen as valuable learning experiences for students by the public relations

academy, including the Commission on Public Relations Education, the Public Relations

Society of America, and the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Com￾munication. Still, with all the importance placed on experiential-learning experiences for

public relations, journalism, and mass communication students, scant literature exists on

the subject. Much of the literature is anecdotal or descriptive in nature. Few studies address

the underlying feelings and expectations of the two major participants in the internship

process: students and their site supervisors. This study focused on this interrelationship

as a means of understanding underlying expectations so that internship experiences can

be improved. In order to understand the underlying expectations and perspectives of the

internship experience for the two groups of participants – 223 public relations interns and

183 oftheir site supervisors – a phenomenological method of inquiry was used. When com￾paring results, students wanted more skill development and hands-on training, while site

supervisors saw their role as more holistic by exposing students to the public relations field.

© 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

Internships have long been considered a valuable learning experience by members of the public relations academy. The

2006 report by the Commission on Public Relations Education recommended a supervised work experience as one of the

core courses for students majoring or pursuing an emphasis in public relations. In fact, in that report, the authors claim

that “perhaps no one aspect of public relations education has generated more discussion and diversity of implementation

than the recommended ‘supervised work experience”’ (p. 57). Review teams from the Accrediting Council on Education in

Journalism and Mass Communications (ACEJMC) assess the extent programs are in compliance with Standard 2, Curriculum

and Instruction. One of the indicators of evidence used to determine compliance of this standard is that “the unit advocates

and encourages opportunities for internship and other professional experiences outside the classroom.” Likewise, the Public

Relations Society of America (PRSA) offers Certification in Education for Public Relations (CEPR), using the recommenda￾tions by the Commission on Public Relations Education. Standard One (Public Relations Curriculum) requires curricular and

extracurricular experiential learning experiences, such as internships.

Internships are praised by scholars as a way for undergraduates to gain real-life experience (Ward, 1981), as a useful

training tool for students (Hanson, 1984), and as a means for students to discover long-term interests and aspirations

(Watson, 1992). Through internship experiences, students become more independent, ambitious, and focused. Their career

∗ Tel.: +1 562 985 5400; fax: +1 562 985 5300.

E-mail address: [email protected]

0363-8111/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

doi:10.1016/j.pubrev.2011.09.010