WSU Design Program

INTERNSHIPS

Embark on your professional journey

Why Do I Need an Internship?

Most industries want to hire a designer who has experience in the real-world, knows how to work on a professional level, and can work with clients. Our internship program prepares students for their future careers. By requiring students to complete their practicum hours, students receive hands-on experience in their future careers and are ready to start their careers after graduation. Graphic Design students are required to complete three internship credits and I–Design students are required to complete three (recommended six) internship credits. 

Of Students Participate in On-campus Internships
0 %
Off-campus Internships
0 %
List of On-campus Internships
  • Health & Wellness Services
  • Homecoming Planning Committee
  • Housing & Residence Life
  • Kryzsko Commons Student Union
  • Paul Watkins Gallery
  • University Marketing & Communication
List of Off-campus Internships
  • Bluff Country Co-op
  • Fastenal
  • WinCraft
  • Trinity
  • The Famous Group
  • Creatice

The Internship Process

Internship eligibility is verified by the WSU Design Internship Coordinator. Submit printed DARS report for verification. Before an internship is approved, the following minimum requirements must be met:

    • Accepted into the Design Program (not to be confused with declared Design Major)
    • Have an overall grade-point average of 2.5 or higher at the time of enrollment in the internship
    • Achieve junior class standing (65 semester hours) and complete at least one of the following mid-level design classes: ART 260 Visual & Layout Design, ART 265 Tactile & Environmental Design or ART 360 New Media & Technology Design.

The student is expected to find and arrange an internship site. Suggestions for the possible sites, or procedures, for locating sites are available from the Off-campus Design Internship Coordinator, or from your academic advisor. Lists of companies that have previously engaged WSU interns in the past is also available for review as a resource. Remember, it is the responsibility of the student to locate and arrange the internship. The process of finding an internship is similar to the search for a job. Great places to find internships are Career Services, Handshake, AIGA Design Internships, and LinkedIn. 

The student needs to obtain an official offer letter from the internship site with the following information.

  • The Offer letter needs to have the official letterhead with the company name and logo
  • For those that are applying for Gallery Design Internship, Lab Production, Lab Assistant and Lab Manager internship, proceed to Step 3.
  • Job description
  • Hour of work expected each week
  • Duration of the internship
  • Supervisor (onsite coordinator) contact information, name, signature, and company address.

Make an appointment with the WSU Design Internship Coordinator Make sure you bring the original official offer letter.

  • Decide the internship credit hour. An internship may be arranged for one to three credits each time. One semester hour credit is awarded for every 30-clock hours spend on the job. A total of three credits is required for Graphic Design Majors and three (recommended six) credits is for I–Design Majors for graduation
  • Complete the Art & Design Internship Form
  • Complete the off-Campus WSU Internship Application or on-Campus WSU Internship Application.
  • Submit the Art & Design Internship form, WSU Internship Application, and internship offer letter to the WSU Design Internship Coordinator.
  • Develop an on-site daily journal. Include the number of hours you work and what you have accomplished each day
    • Keep record of all the design revisions, drafts, production and final work
    • Please note you must complete at least 30 hours of work for each credit.

Arrange an end of internship interview with the on-site supervisor with Design Internship Evaluation Form and ask the supervisor to return it to the WSU Design Internship Coordinator.
Internship Evaluation form can be downloaded here.

After the completion of the internship, develop an internship report based on the following guideline:

  • Develop the report in InDesign Booklet size 5×8” (vertical format)
    • Include the following section:
      ~ Content page
      ~ Portfolio
      ~ Daily Journal: Organized your journal by day and week. Make sure you list your daily hour and task , and the
      ~ Reflection Statement: A written reflection and self-evaluation of the experience
    • Download the InDesign template here.
    • Print a hard copy and bind the booklet
  • Export the InDesign document to a digital PDF format.
  • Submit the Internship Report in both hard and digital formats
  • Arrange an end-of-internship interview with the WSU Design Internship Coordinator

Examples of Past On-campus Internhips

GALLERY DESIGN INTERNSHIP

The Gallery Design Internship as an on-campus internship that provides students the opportunity of real-world design collaboration, all while staying on-campus. In this internship they will learn about grid systems, layout and production design, and visual systems. The interns are responsible for creating a visual system for each Gallery Exhibition. The mediums range from postcards, posters, digitals signs, banners, and vinyl. 

Examples of Past Off-campus Internships

CREATICE SOCIAL MEDIA DESIGNER

This internship was done by Bryanna Peterson from Spring–Summer 2020. She was responsible for creating social media content, email blasts, animations, and T-shirt designs for a minor league baseball team located in La Crosse, WI.

MIXED REALITY 3D CONTENT DESIGNER

This internship was done by Nathan Birch in the Summer of 2020. He worked for a company called The Famous Group located in Culver City, CA. His responsibilities included helping technical artists in 3D asset creation in Adobe Fuse, Cinema 4D, & Maya for a the MLB’s mixed reality crowd solution, gathering resources and creating basic design frameworks. ​