Guidelines for
Internships/Practicum Courses
Summer/Fall 2006
Plant, Soils and Insect Sciences Department
308 Bowditch Hall
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01003
(413)545-5301
jgerber@psis.umass.edu
1.
UMass
offers academic credit for the learning, not for the actual work (although this
is necessary too). If you are taking the Practicum course for a grade
(not Pass/Fail), I will ask you to provide documentation of the learning.
Specific guidelines for these requirements and my grading criteria are
described below.
2.
The
number of credits offered is based on the number of hours involved in the
experience. We expect 40 to 45 hours of work for every academic credit
awarded. During a 15-week semester, this equates to about 3 hours of work
experience per week for each credit earned. For a full-time internship
experience, a student can earn one credit for each 40 hour work week.
During the summer, this means you can earn up to 12 credits for 12 full time
(40 hour) workweeks provided the experience is truly “learningful.”
3.
We
also offer a Pass/Fail option for Practicum courses. This option only
requires a written certification from an on-site supervisor that the student
contributed the expected number of hours to the work, and a final conversation
with me. We may also arrange for a site visit during the
experience.
4.
When
you take a Practicum course during the fall or spring semesters, you may
include these credits as part of your regular course load. The University
will not allow you to take more than 18 credits however. When you take a Practicum
course during January or the summer term, you will need to register through the
Division of Continuing Education. This includes a registration fee of
$35, plus $195 per credit earned.
To help you locate possible
internships, I’ve posted some that I know of at…. http://people.umass.edu/jgerber/sustintern.htm
a. I will learn practical skills related to managing a
commercial vegetable farm
b. I will learn how to grow and market herbs
c. …
·
I will help
evaluate the electrical needs of homeowners, work with an engineer to design a
photovoltaic system, and do installations of these systems.
·
I will do
regular farm work on a local CSA, including planting, weeding, cultural care,
harvesting and working with customers.
1.
A
description of your place of employment, including its mission or purpose, how it
is organized and managed, and the general culture of the work environment.
2.
Your
typical work experience. For example, if you are working on a farm during
the summer, describe your day.
3.
Reflections
on your learning. Review your learning objectives and describe how these
were or were not met. What surprised you? What obstacles did you
find and how did you deal with them? Would you recommend this experience
to others? Be creative.
·
Attentive and
active participation in the work and learning; asking questions
·
Reading
additional materials which might complement the work experience
·
Conversations
with other people for further information and knowledge
·
Suggesting
improvements or novel ways of doing the work
·
Integration of
outside learning (such as from reading or conversations) and the work –
bringing new ideas to the experience from outside sources
·
Other
self-directed learning—learning that takes place outside of the work experience
·
Quality or
amount of work; did you do more than expected?
·
Synthesizing
the experience—relating what you have learned in the work to your life and
sharing those learnings
1.
Discuss
your Iinternship or Practicum course with me as early as possible.
2.
Arrange
for the internship or experience with an organization or business. Make sure
they know you are taking this for credit and that they will be asked to provide
a note or email certifying your attendance. You may also need free time
once or twice during your experience to show me around!
3.
Complete
the Departmental Independent Study – Practicum Agreement Form with my
assistance. Get my signature on this form.
4.
Get
Dr. Deborah Picking’s signature on this form. She is the Departmental
Undergraduate Coordinator. Her office is 206 French Hall. Make an
appointment by calling her at 545-2249 or contact dpicking@psis.umass.edu. If you
are taking the course during the spring or fall semesters as a full time
student, you’re done. Check with SPIRE in a week or so to make sure you
are registered.
5.
If
you are taking the course during the summer or winter term (or as a part-time
student with Continuing Education) you will need to register with the Division
of Continuing Education and pay their tuition fees. Fill out the
Continuing Education Independent Study Registration Form and take this along
with a copy of the departmental form and your payment to their office at:
University of Massachusetts
100 Venture Way
Hadley, MA 01035-9430 USA
413-545-2414
413-577-3838 (fax)
info@contined.umass.edu
www.umassulearn.net
That’s it!
Please ask me for help if you are unsure of how to complete this process.