About ENGH 459/504

ENGH459 (for undergraduates) and ENGH504 (for graduate students) is a companion course to the internship that asks students to think consciously about the connections between their academic coursework and professional practice, to reflect on how the internship shapes their images of themselves and of the profession of writing, and to trace and name the new skills, abilities, and knowledge they develop through the internship. NOTE: Students do not receive credit directly for the internship — that experience is its own reward. Rather, they receive credit for the work they do in ENGH 459/504 to reflect on that experience through writing and one-on-one meetings with the English Department internship coodinator.

The student’s main work for the course consists of a series of journal entries in which they report and reflect on their internship; a final portfolio and reflective analysis; and at least four meetings in which the student and the internship coordinator discuss the internship and related professional issues.

ENGH459/504 has four main benefits for the student and for the department:

1--The course provides the student doing an internship with a way to earn 400-level ENGH credit if the student wishes and/or if the provider requires it.
2--The course allows the student a greater degree of schedule flexibility during the semester she/he is doing the internship.
3--The course "adds value" to the internship by asking the student to reflect on the personal and professional context of the internship.
4--The course creates a "feedback loop" that gives the English department a wider and more detailed view of the possible professional paths available to its graduating majors.

To discuss the nature of ENGH459/504 in greater detail, please contact Scott W. Berg, the English Department internship coordinator, at sberg1@gmu.edu or 703-993-1635.