San José State University

SCHOOL OF LIBRARY & INFORMATION SCIENCE

SLIS Home – Programs – MARA – Professional Opportunities – Professional Experience: Internship

The Master's Degree in
Archives and Records Administration (MARA)

Professional Experience: Internship

You'll gain experience in your field of study, explore career options, and showcase your talents and skills under professional supervision in an internship position at a selected archives or records center. Internship is a valuable component of the MARA program and is required for all students.

Qualifying for the MARA Internship program [Top of Page]

To qualify for MARA's Professional internship program, you must:

  1. Be matriculated in the MARA degree program.
  2. Remain in good academic standing.
  3. Have completed MARA 200, 202, 204, and six advanced courses.

Completing the requirements [Top of Page]

If you meet the qualifications, you will be registered for MARA 294 and be required to complete 135 hours during one semester at an approved internship site. The internship site must meet criteria outlined in the MARA internship guidelines and be approved by the internship coordinator.

The 135–hour requirement is the equivalent of 9 hours a week, but the scheduling is it is possible to start the internship assignment 2 weeks before the semester begin if this arrangement is approved by the site supervisor and the internship coordinator.

Evaluating the Experience [Top of Page]

Several instruments will be used in evaluating your internship performance and experience, some optional and others required. The actual method or combination of methods used for evaluation will depend on your established internship goals, learning outcomes, and assignments. Some or all of the following will be requested upon completion of the internship:

  1. Blackboard discussion. You will be required to enroll in Blackboard and participate in the online discussion of the internships.
  2. Log. This provides a daily record of activities and an analysis of what was learned, problems encountered, and questions generated. You may be asked to post your log entries on the internship Blackboard site or in Plone (a SLIS content management server) according to a schedule set by the faculty supervisor. Wikis may also be used.
  3. Final report. At the conclusion of the internship, you are required to submit a final report indicating how the learning outcomes established for the course were met. If for some reason the learning outcomes were only partially met, or not met at all, some discussion of what happened will be necessary.
  4. Site evaluation form. The student evaluation of site form allows you to provide feedback on the internship site's effectiveness in hosting a SLIS intern and to recommend the site’s continuance or discontinuance as an internship site.
  5. Site supervisor's evaluation form. The site supervisor evaluation form will provide formal written feedback by the site supervisor on your internship performance. A portion of your grade will be based on this evaluation.
  6. Additional requirements. In addition to the above, you may also be asked to submit supplemental materials to the faculty supervisor such as written reports, bibliographies or reading lists, portfolios, or samples of professional work.

Note: Students with extensive experience can still learn from working in a completely different setting and interacting with other professionals. Therefore, participation in this Internship program is still required. If you are currently employed in an archives or records center, a placement that will provide you with a rewarding experience in a new setting can be addressed on an individual basis with the Internship coordinator.

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