MES Program
Internship Guide
2010-2011
MES Internship Guide
Table of Contents
Internship Option.......................................................................................................... 2
Preparing the Internship Report ................................................................................. 3
Timeline: Internship Completion Meeting ................................................................ 3
Timeline: Internship Presentation and Defense ....................................................... 4
Arrangement of Manuscript ........................................................................................ 5
1. Title / Approval Page ....................................................................................... 5
2. Table of Contents ............................................................................................. 5
3. Abstract .............................................................................................................. 5
4. Dedication and/or Acknowledgements ........................................................ 6
5. Text ..................................................................................................................... 6
a. Introduction............................................................................................ 6
b. Literature Review................................................................................... 6
c. Materials/Data and Methods ............................................................... 6
d. Results..................................................................................................... 7
e. Discussion............................................................................................... 7
f. Summary or Conclusion ........................................................................ 7
6. Literature Cited ................................................................................................ 7
7. Appendices....................................................................................................... 7
Preparation of Final Copies of the Internship Report ............................................. 7
1. Number of Copies ............................................................................................ 7
2. Paper .................................................................................................................. 8
3. Fonts ................................................................................................................... 8
4. Corrections ........................................................................................................ 8
5. Spacing............................................................................................................. 8
6. Margins............................................................................................................... 8
7. Justification and Hyphenation ........................................................................ 9
8. Pagination ........................................................................................................ 9
Deadline for Final Submission .................................................................................... 9
Sample Internship Title Page ...................................................................................... 9
1
Internship Option
Students may perform an Internship as part of their academic course of study.
As soon as the student has elected the internship option, he/she will select an
Internship Advisor. The Internship Advisor may be, but is not required to be,
the same person as the Academic Advisor.
The student, in consultation with the Internship Advisor, will select an
Internship Advisory Committee. The Internship Committee should be
comprised of the student's Internship Advisor and two additional faculty
members, one of whom should be from outside the student's particular area
of interest. For example, a student concentrating in Policy may comprise a
committee of two Political Science faculty members and one Geology faculty
member. At least one member of the Internship Committee must be a roster
faculty member at the College of Charleston. Additionally, the student's
supervisor from the sponsoring institution will serve on the Internship
Committee. In some instances, revisions to the Program of Study will be made.
In consultation with his/her Internship Advisor and the MES Internship
Coordinator, a student will ordinarily be expected to seek and arrange his/her
own internship. Students are encouraged to use the Internship Resource List
and the “Positions Available” posting board and discuss these options with
their advisor. Internships must have the approval of the student's Internship
Advisory Committee and the Program Director.
Students completing an internship will work in an applied setting other than at
the College of Charleston under the direct supervision of an approved
mentor. As part of his/her internship experience, the student will work six-
hundred (600) hours or more in the internship setting and will be expected to
complete an academic assignment to be approved by his/her Internship
Advisory Committee. Completion of the academic assignment and six-
hundred (600) work hours transfers to six (6) credit hours.
Students should write an Internship Proposal according to the guidelines
listed on the Internship Proposal Approval form (MES-7) in consultation with
their Internship Advisor. Internship proposals should be approved by the
Internship Advisory Committee and the Program Director no later than two (2)
weeks prior to the internship start date. The signed approval form and a copy
of the Proposal must be submitted to the MES Program Office no later than
two (2) weeks following the internship start date.
STUDENTS MAY REGISTER FOR INTERNSHIP CREDITS ONLY IN THE
SEMESTER IN WHICH THE INTERNSHIP REPORT IS SUCCESSFULLY
DEFENDED. Students will not be allowed to register for Internship credit
unless an Internship Proposal Approval form (MES-7) is on file in the MES
Program Office.
2
While the final format of the internship report is determined by the student's
Advisor, some general formatting guidelines are included in the Internship
Report Preparation Guide Below. Students are encouraged to review and
discuss these with their Advisor.
Internships will be graded on a “Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory” basis. Grades will
be awarded by the academic advisor in consultation with the approved
mentor. Should a student receive an “Unsatisfactory” evaluation for his/her
internship, no credit will be awarded towards the degree.
Upon completion of the internship and all academic requirements outlined by
the Internship Advisory Committee, the Fulfillment of Internship Requirements
form (MES-10) must be signed and submitted to the MES Program Office.
If a student is unable to complete the internship defense during the semester
in which he/she is registered, a grade of IP (in progress) will be issued until the
internship requirements are fulfilled. After a grade of IP has been assigned,
the student has one semester to complete the requirements.
Preparing the Internship Report
The submission of your Internship Report is one of the last steps in the
program leading to the completion of the MES degree. The report is a
scholarly statement of the results of the student's internship work. The Master
of Environmental Studies (MES) Program (Graduate Studies) has established
guidelines for uniformity in the format of the manuscript. These guidelines
were designed to ensure that all papers were high in quality and consistent in
the arrangement of the contents.
The Internship Report must be a professionally finished work in format, style,
spelling and appearance, as the finished document reflects on both the
student and the University. The format of the manuscript should be consistent
with the guidelines presented herein. Failure to follow these instructions may
result in either rejection of your Internship Report or revision.
Timeline: Internship Completion Meeting
Within one month of completion of the work for the Internship Sponsor, the
student should organize a follow-up Internship Completion Meeting with
his/her committee in order to inventory the requirements of the Internship
Report, and to provide guidance for its preparation. It is recommended that
the student plan to complete the Internship Report one month after the date
of the Internship Completion Meeting.
3
Timeline: Internship Presentation and Defense
One month prior to the Internship Presentation and Defense, the student
should submit his/her final Internship Report to his/her committee. This
Internship Presentation and Defense will provide an opportunity for the
student to place in context and review his/her internship experience with
his/her committee members and other interested faculty and students.
If the committee determines that the internship requirements designated at
any previous time have not been met, they may require that the student
remediate to fulfill these requirements. For example, the committee could
require the student to complete an additional literature review, relevant to the
internship.
The steps toward the conclusion of the Internship Report Presentation and
Defense process include:
1) Submit the completed Internship Report to the Internship
Committee for initial review in a timely fashion.
2) Work with the Committee to determine the day, time, and location
of the Internship Report Presentation and Defense, and get the
Committee signatures on the Defense Notification form.
3) Provide the MES Office with the signed copy of the Defense
Notification form at least two weeks before the defense.
4) The date of the Defense should be held at least two weeks before
the deadline for submitting the final copies to the MES Program
Office. This final deadline is the same as the Thesis deadline noted
on the Graduate School list of deadlines each semester.
5) When the Defense has been completed and the Intership
Committee has approved the final completed Internship Report,
the Committee signs the Fulfillment of Internship Requirements
form, and the Internship Advisor provides a grade for the six hours
of Internship credit.
6) The original and two (2) copies of the final Internship Report must
be submitted to the MES Program Office by 5 p.m. of the Thesis
deadline noted on the Graduate School's list of deadlines each
semester.
One possible timeline for the Fall 2010 semester, for example, might be:
October 18th - provide the Internship Committee with completed
copies of the Internship Report for review
4
November 1st - confirm the day, time, and location of the Internship
Presentation and Defense with the Committee
November 8th - provide the MES Program Office with the signed
Defense Notification form
November 15th - provide the Internship Committee with updated
copies of the Internship Report, incorporating the Committee's
suggestions
November 22nd - Internship Presentation and Defense Day.
Following the defense, take note of the Committee's final
requirements and suggestions for the report
November 29th - Provide the Committee members with final copies
of the Internship Report for their signature on the Title Page, and
get the Committee members' signatures on the Fulfillment of
Internship Requirements form
December 3rd - Take the final copies of the Internship Report, with
signed Title Pages, to copy shop for binding
December 6th - Submit the final, bound, copies of the Internship
Report to the MES Program Office at 284 King Street, Room 301
Arrangement of Manuscript
1. Title / Approval Page
One original title page, prepared in the same format as the sample Internship
Title Page, must be submitted with the original signatures of all members of
the Internship Report Committee. (There must be at least three members of
your committee, members of the MES Program faculty, and the committee
must be approved by the Program Director.) The title page is numbered i, but
the page number is not displayed. The date on the title page will depend on
the semester you will receive your degree.
2. Table of Contents
Both reports are expected to have a Table of Contents for the convenience of
the reader. If plates or illustrations (i.e. maps, diagrams, charts, photographs,
etc.) are scattered throughout the text, include a separate List of Figures or
Table of Illustrations after the Table of Contents.
3. Abstract
An abstract must be included with each copy of your internship report. The
abstract must (a) state the problem or problems that you worked on; (b)
describe your activities; (c) summarize the findings. Limit it to 350 words
5
(about 2,450 characters) in length. The abstract should include your name and
internship report title. It should be double-spaced, using only one side of the
paper, and should be within the internship report margin requirements. The
abstract must adhere to the 350 word limit. Its pages should be assigned a
place in the small Roman number sequence for the preliminary pages, but the
numbers should not be displayed on the abstract pages themselves.
4. Dedication and/or Acknowledgements
If you wish, you may include a page with a brief note of dedication or
acknowledgment of help received from particular persons. (See Section 11
under Preparation of Final Copies, Published Material regarding
acknowledgment for published material). The pages of this section should be
assigned a place in the small Roman number sequence for the preliminary
pages, and the numbers should be displayed on the pages in the usual way
(centered in the bottom margin).
5. Text
The format for the text of the thesis-style Internship Report follows. Its first
page, typically the first page of either an introduction or a first chapter, should
be numbered “1” in Arabic numerals.
a. Introduction
The purpose of the Introduction is to introduce the reader to the
problem. The Introduction is a concise statement of the problem and an
outline of the scope, aim, and nature of the research. Mention of the
previous literature should be included here.
b. Literature Review
A review of the literature pertinent to the subject should be discussed
and used to provide context for the internship report.
c. Materials/Data and Methods
The purpose of the Materials and Methods is to recount, in a concise
manner, the materials and/or data and methods employed in the
research. It should also include sufficient information so that the study
could be repeated.
Care should be exercised not to include superfluous information. Also,
extreme caution must be used to avoid including results and/or
conclusions. Specimens or data deposited in a museum or library
should be cited here.
6
d. Results
The results reflect the findings of the student's investigation only, not
the findings of other researchers in the area. This is a summarized form
of extensive data that may appear in the figures, tables and/or
appendices.
e. Discussion
The Discussion section is for an analysis of the data acquired. In this
section, the student may draw comparisons with findings of other
researchers in the field or even speculate to some degree and, if
appropriate, suggest additional research.
f. Summary or Conclusion
The Summary or Conclusion is a final brief statement which draws
together the objectives and findings of the entire research project. Care
should be exercised to draw conclusions pertinent to the problem and
to avoid personal bias.
6. Literature Cited
The style and format of this section will ordinarily depend on the practice of
the journal to which the paper based on the internship report is submitted.
See Style suggestion section. In general, the guidelines of the CBE Style
Manual or the Chicago Manual of Style should be followed.
7. Appendices
A last section may contain supporting data for the text in the form of one or
more appendices. Examples of appendix material are data sheets,
questionnaire samples, illustrations, maps, charts, etc. If the appended data
should include oversize illustrations or maps several alternative methods of
inclusion are available.
Preparation of Final Copies of the Internship Report
1. Number of Copies
Each candidate shall submit the original and two (2) complete and signed,
bound (you may have them bound at a local copy shop), copies of his/her
Internship Report to the MES Program Office.
The copies will be distributed as follows:
7
Original: MES Program Office
Copy 1: Primary Advisor
Copy 2: Internship Advisor
2. Paper
The original Internship Report must be printed on standard size, white, 8-1/2 x
11 inches, non-glossy, non-textured acid-free paper of twenty (20) pound
weight, 100% rag content. The two (2) copies must be clean photocopies on
at least 20% rag content, acid-free paper. (Your internship report will be on
file for a time that may stretch into hundreds of years, and acid-free paper is
essential to prevent premature deterioration.) Only one side of the paper may
be used. The paper must be of the appropriate grade, acid-free, plain white,
with no ragged edges.
3. Fonts
No particular choice of font or typeface is mandated; any clearly legible font
that is not ornate or fancy, in a size between 10 and 12 points, is acceptable.
However, fonts should not be mixed inappropriately. Consistency of the font
is vital. Scientific names of genera and species should be underlined or
printed in true italics. Either underlining or italic typeface may be used for
purposes of emphasis or for distinguishing section headings.
4. Corrections
Make corrections with the greatest care.
5. Spacing
Use double spacing throughout except in footnotes, indented quotations set
off from the text, bibliography entries of more than one line, and materials
such as captions or tables and appendices of data.
6. Margins
Every page of the internship report must be kept within margins set as follows:
A minimum margin of 1-1/2 inches (for binding purposes) on the left side of
the page; 1 inch at the right side; 1-1/4 inches at the top and bottom of the
page. Any page submitted with less than the minimum margins will be
rejected.
8
7. Justification and Hyphenation
The internship report will have a straight-line left margin and a ragged right
margin, with no word of the text less than one inch from the right edge of the
paper, nor even a single letter of a word. The right margin may be justified
(straight) if this improves appearance and legibility. Each paragraph must be
indented five (5) spaces. Do not end a line of a page with a hyphen.
8. Pagination
All pages except the title page, copyright page, and abstract page are
numbered. This includes full page photographs, charts and graphs, the
bibliography, and appendices. For the preliminary pages, use small Roman
numerals (ii, iii, etc.). Page i is the title page (see sample Internship Title
Page), but the page number is not printed on this page. Page ii is the
copyright page or a blank page (showing no page number) if you are not
copyrighting your work. The Table of Contents follows the copyright page (or
blank page if you are not copyrighting) and is numbered with the page
number(s) displayed. The abstract follows and is numbered, but the page
number(s) will not be displayed.
The first item on the Table of Contents list will be the Abstract. This will be
followed by any dedication or acknowledgment section you may wish to
include. This is numbered in the small Roman series, with the page numbers
displayed. The remainder of the internship report is numbered with Arabic
numerals (1, 2, etc.).
The page numbers that are displayed must be centered at the bottom of each
page, within the bottom margin. Note that no words, punctuation, or
diacritics of any kind accompany the page number: it says “4”, not “-4-” or “4.”
or “Page 4”.
Deadline for Final Submission
All candidates for a degree must submit the original and all copies of their
final Internship Report to the MES Program Office by 5 p.m. of the thesis
deadline date for the semester you wish to receive the degree (the Graduate
School Office can provide this date).
Sample Internship Title Page
Please see the sample Internship Title Page below for an example of the
appropriate Title Page format.
9
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS OF STRESS AND FATIGUE
ON GRADUATE STUDENTS
An internship report submitted in partial satisfaction
of the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF SCIENCE
in
ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES
by
Mary Jane Smith
March 2009
The Internship report of Mary Jane Smith
is approved:
__________________________________________
James Stewart, Internship Supervisor
__________________________________________
Professor Rachel Carson, Primary Advisor
__________________________________________
Professor Aldo Leopold
__________________________________________
Professor Ima Fish
