Internship Opportunities
Students are encouraged to find and participate in internships related to their academic major. Internships do not count towards major requirements, only for units of credit. In addition to the resources listed below, the department occasionally will advertise local internship and job opportunities, and other opportunities such as film festivals, contests, and industry workshops.
Arts Division
Arts Student Success
The Arts Division is committed to student success, including professional pathway opportunities for all Arts students. Current students can browse available internships within the industry.
Main Campus
UCSC Career Success
The Career Success office works to support undergraduate and graduate students by offering career coaching, career fairs, and job & internship opportunities through Handshake.
FDM Internship Policy
Please refer to these department policies and guidelines if you are interested in arranging an internship through the Film and Digital Media Department.
Students will need to complete the “Petition for Undergraduate Individual Studies” PDF form with your faculty sponsor. Once you both have filled out your required sections, please email it to fdmadvising@ucsc.edu to complete the enrollment process.
- Students can receive credit for up to two internships. The second internship must be different than the first one. Internships do not count towards Film and Digital Media major requirements
- Internships are credited as “Independent Studies – Field Studies (FILM 198)”. Students can receive up to five credits per internship. Internships will be graded as “Pass/No Pass”
- Students should seek a FDM faculty sponsor with whom they have taken at least one class. FDM faculty are not obligated to sponsor internships. Students should visit the faculty they are seeking for sponsorship during office hours or make an appointment with them to discuss the details of the internship they are pursuing.
- Students must confirm internship/independent study with the department before the start of the quarter in which they will be interning. Internships will not be approved after the end of the first week of the quarter (see note below for summer internships dates and deadlines).
- To add an academic component and augment the hands-on experience, the faculty sponsor will approve a reading list to accompany the internship.
- When the internship has ended, the student will submit a report to the faculty sponsor. The report will include a description of the job tasks within the context of the field of work, and an analysis of the assigned reading. Additionally, the student is responsible for ensuring that their supervisor will write an evaluation of their performance. This should be established at the beginning of the internship, with the supervisor contacting the faculty sponsor. The faculty sponsor may have additional requirements to receive credit for the internship.
Summer Independent Field Studies and Internships
Students who have arranged a summer internship for credit will enroll in UCSC Summer Session, after they have completed the paperwork with their faculty sponsor. The UCSC Summer Session office can answer questions about costs and enrollment procedures and can be reached at summer@ucsc.edu
Students can submit a completed Independent Studies form to the Summer Session Office beginning May 1st. Field Studies are independent of session and may be completed any time during the ten-week period. For the most recent information on Summer Session Independent Studies, please visit the Summer Session website.