School of Agriculture

Agriculture Internship Requirements

I. Academic Requirements for Evaluation

ALL DOCUMENTS ARE REQUIRED AND EXPECTED TO BE SUBMITTED ON TIME. Writing quality will be considered as part of the grade. One of the goals is improving oral and written communication skills. Therefore, correct spelling and grammar is expected. All applications, reports, and other documents are to be typed and submitted to the WIU faculty supervisor via email in a MS Word DOC or DOCX format. As an alternative, materials may be submitted as a PDF file.

  1. APPLICATION FOR INTERNSHIP, Appendix A (online form): 10 points
    Due prior to enrolling in AGRI 301 and no later than the Monday two weeks before finals week of the preceding semester. 50% late penalty.     The application should be properly completed and signed by the faculty supervisor.
  2. INTERNSHIP AGREEMENT Form, Appendix B-1 (pdf): 10 points
    Due no later than one week before the start of the internship. 50% late penalty.     Agreement must be signed by the student and sponsoring supervisor and returned to the faculty supervisor.
  3. RESUME, Appendix C (pdf): 20 points
    Due no later than one week prior to the start of the internship. 50% late penalty.
    1. Download a sample resume (pdf) - prepared by the School of Agriculture.
    2. One copy for the sponsoring supervisor and one copy for the faculty supervisor.
    3. A minimum of 3 references are required (as shown on page 2 of sample resume).
  4. TRAINING PLAN Format, Appendix D and TRAINING PLAN Form, Appendix D-1 (pdf): 20 points
    Due by the end of the first week of the internship. 50% late penalty.
    1. Education and previous experience related to the internship
    2. Learning objectives
    3. Specific list of tasks or duties that will accomplish the learning objectives
  5. SPECIAL PROJECT PLAN, Appendix E-1: 20 points Due by the end of the first week of the internship. 50% late penalty. The special project is an investigative activity which the intern does during the internship. The plan should contain the objectives, an identification of the problem, the procedure for solving the problem, including the sequential steps involved as well as a statement as to who benefited and how.
  6. REQUIRED GROUP MEETING: 20 points
    1. A meeting of students planning to be involved in internships and the faculty supervisor will be held sometime during the semester prior to when the internship is to begin.
    2. The purpose of this meeting is to review all protocol.
  7. WEEKLY REPORTS, Weekly Report Requirements, Appendix F-1 and Weekly Report Format, Appendix F-2: 150 points (On time--50 points; Completeness--100 points)
    1. Reports submitted weekly via e-mail. Due by 1:00 pm on Monday of the following week.
    2. Report includes the following: A written analysis of one component of the business or agency, past week's activities, next week’s planned activities, learning experiences and problems, and a daily log of hours worked.
      Confirmation of Internship Hours, Appendix F-3 (pdf) - Due no later than 10 days after completion of the intership.
    3. Refer to Weekly Report Requirements, Appendix F-1 for details.
    4. Follow format of Weekly Report Format, Appendix F-2 . Writing quality (including spelling and grammar) will be evaluated.
  8. FINAL REPORT OF SPECIAL PROJECT: 120 points. (On time--20 points; Completeness--100 points)
    1. Report is due within 10 days after the end of the internship.
    2. The report should be a clear description of the process that was involved in investigating the problem, the problems that were encountered and how they were overcome, conclusions that were developed, recommendations and a statement of who benefited and how.
    3. Report should be typed and double-spaced. Writing quality will be considered.
  9. INTERNSHIP SUMMARY, Appendix G: 120 points (On time--20 points; Completeness--100 pts.)
    1. Report is due within 10 days after the end of the internship.
    2. Summary should follow the format shown in Internship Summary, Appendix G .
    3. Report should be typed and double-spaced. Writing quality will be considered.
  10. EVALUATION BY COOPERATING SUPERVISOR: 100 points
    The cooperating supervisor will use the evaluation form to assess the performance of the intern at the business or agency. The intern will give a copy of the evaluation form in this manual to the sponsoring supervisor for an evaluation of the performance of the intern, and will be considered when the final grade is determined.

II. Evaluation

Evaluation of the Intern Form (by faculty supervisor)

The final grading scale is based on the percentages shown below:

  • A = 100-93
  • A- = 92-90
  • B+ = 89-87
  • B = 86-83
  • B- = 82-80
  • C+ = 79-77
  • C = 76-73
  • C- = 72-70
  • D+ = 69-67
  • D = 66-63
  • D- = 62-60
  • F = 59-0

Note: A grade of incomplete will only be given if the internship is not completed by the end of the school term, generally during the summer session. All reports are due within 10 days after completion of the internship.

III. Additional Coursework

The internship is a time and energy demanding experience, so the intern is expected to give it total effort. Be advised not to take any other coursework during the internship. Another course can be taken only with written permission from both the cooperating business/agency and the WIU School of Agriculture academic advisor and Director.

IV. Dropping the Internship

In the event that an internship is not obtained after enrolling in the course (Agriculture 301), consult the class schedule book for the last day to process a withdrawal. It is the responsibility of the student to drop the course prior to that date in order to avoid payment for the course and to avoid an unsatisfactory grade.

V. Exceptions to the Requirements

Any request for exceptions to conditions or requirements set forth in this syllabus must be made in writing to the School of Agriculture faculty supervisor at the time the application is submitted.

VI. Faculty Communications

Assuming adequate University transportation budgets, each intern will be visited by the School of Agriculture faculty supervisor during the internship. A visit will be prescheduled so that the sponsoring supervisor and the intern can make arrangements to meet.

If a conflict in date or time occurs for the announced date, the intern should call the internship supervisor immediately to reschedule the visit.