Most students will be able to watch “Good Morning
America” from the comfort of their homes this summer, but
second-year sociology student Adeline Chen will be part of the
show’s team.
Sitting in on producer meetings, researching stories and working
closely with TV personalities such as Diane Sawyer, Chen will take
part in an internship that could potentially jump-start her career
in broadcasting.
But obtaining internships like these is often only half the
struggle.
Many non-paying internships like Chen’s require by law
that students receive course credit for their work as a means of
compensation. But receiving course credit can be a fairly expensive
and complicated process.
Paying $1,000 to receive course credit through New York
University this summer to intern at “Good Morning
America,” Chen and others wonder why students have to pay to
work.
“It makes no sense to pay to work for free,” Chen
said, adding that it is the experience that is most important for
her.
Fortunately, some students can utilize the UCLA Center for
Community Learning, which allows students to enroll in internship
courses that grant course credit.
“For profit companies, the state of California requires
them to offer some sort of monetary compensation and, if not money,
school credit. That is where we come in,” said Orlando Luna,
program coordinator at the center.
Just like enrolling in UCLA Summer Session courses, taking this
route can cost students up to $585 in exchange for a maximum of
four unassigned units.
Dario Bravo, manager of internships and the study abroad office
at the UCLA Career Center, said requiring students to receive
course credit for non-paid, union companies is not something
new.
Though receiving course credit by law is mandatory, paid
internships or non-profit organizations are exempt.
Through UCLA, the course runs 10 weeks and requires students to
turn in weekly two-to-three-page journals to their assigned
department coordinators in addition to an eight-to-10-page research
paper due at the end of the course. Instead of attending class,
students attend their internship.
However, in order to enroll students must be of at least junior
standing, another drawback that restricts some internship-seeking
students from utilizing UCLA’s services.
“It’s an experiential education,” Luna said.
“The university feels that 90 units is the minimum to apply
what you have learned in the classroom in your
internship.”
Shaili Pezeshki, a second-year undeclared student, recently
began interning at a public relations firm, only to be temporarily
released.
She was fired solely because she was not receiving course credit
for her internship. Though her boss told her at the time it was not
necessary for her to receive credit, she was later told that it had
become a legal issue and needed to be addressed.
Pezeshki, like many students, does not want money or course
credit, only the valuable experience.
“I’m trying to establish ties in the public
relations field,” Pezeshki said. “Why does it matter?
It’s for yourself.”
Unable to utilize the Center for Community Learning because of
the junior standing requirement, Pezeshki has to look into other
options to receive course credit, such as community college.
But having to pay to work is unsettling, she claims.
“I hate it because I pay enough as it is. I don’t
need to pay more to do something that I am already willingly giving
my time for,” she said.
Calling the process of finding out how and where to receive
course credit a “hassle,” Pezeshki said the decision
should be left up to the individual doing the internship.
“They should really give the decision to the intern if the
intern does not mind the slave labor,” she said.
To save money, some students try to receive credit through a
community college. Though many save hundreds of dollars doing it
this way, some colleges, like Santa Monica City College, are now
requiring students to enroll in another class in addition to the
course that grants them credit.
“(Some companies) don’t understand that it is harder
for students to enroll to get course credit ““ especially in
the summer, because it is not part of tuition,” said Chen,
who choose to do an internship last year through a nearby junior
college and was required to take an additional course.
“It’s not easy. It requires time, energy and paying
attention to deadlines,” Chen said. “On top of applying
for an internship, it’s like applying to something entirely
different.”