The Internship
The internship is the cornerstone of the Duke in Los Angeles Program and past participants have cited the internship as one of the most rewarding aspects of the Duke in Los Angeles Program. The internship provides a rare opportunity for students to experience the working world in a field of their choice without the risks and responsibilities that are attached to paid employment, allowing them to "test drive" a career before committing to it. Program alumni have interned for film production companies, talent agencies, television news and sports, animation studios, major television series, and music distributors. Students are expected to work a minimum of fifteen hours per week (and usually no more than 20), maintain personal journals, and submit a final report for academic credit.
The faculty director will provide assistance where needed; however, we encourage students to seek out their own internships with organizations that specialize in their area of interest. The Staff Assistant will provide an annotated list of past internship providers with recommendations (and warnings) from Duke in LA alumni to serve as a basic resource. Other resources include the
Career Center at Duke and online internship listings for the industry. We find that students who have had the most satisfying internship experiences are those who research their area of interest and then set up several interviews, committing to the one that seems the best match. We recommend that you wait until you interview with the company in person to commit to an internship whenever possible.
Working at an internship while taking a full course load can be challenging, but program participants soon learn to juggle the demands of their job assignments with those of class projects. In addition to entry level career experience, the internship is meant to give the students an insider's view into the very culture that they are studying from a critical distance in the classroom.
Students may choose only one internship. Should problems arise with the internship arrangement that would warrant a change, the student should consult with the faculty director for permission to seek another provider. By far the internship experiences are positive ones, in fact, each year several participants remain in LA through the summer to continue their internship or as a paid employee.