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Athletics

Internships

An internship is required for a Bachelor of Science degree from the Department of Recreation, Hospitality, and Parks Management. The internship meets the accreditation requirements of the Council on Accreditation of Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Related Professions (COAPRT).

Each student completes an internship of at least 560 hours, in their junior or senior year. The internship can be in the fall or spring semester. During the 14-week internship, students complete assignments reflecting on their experience. A majority of students complete paid internships, although unpaid internships with non-profit organizations may be possible. Many students find full-time, permanent employment to use toward their internship credit.

This internship experience was designed cooperatively by educators and field professionals to provide an experience that benefits both the intern and the internship site. One major feature of the internship is for the student to become exposed to the total overall operations and services of a business or an agency and to study management behavior and administrative functions. Site supervisors become the final education link in the molding of the emerging professional.

To learn more about the internship, please contact the RHPM Internship Coordinator or access the Internship Handbook.

Required Courses

Students receive course credit for their internship learning experience through two courses, which are included in the core courses required for graduation:

RHPM 584: Internship Preparation (taken the semester before the internship);
RHPM 589: Internship in Parks, Recreation, and/or Hospitality

Internship Objectives

During their internship experience, students will:

Gain experience in their field of interest, and increase their professional knowledge, skills, and abilities.
Integrate theory learned in the classroom with practice in their professional field.
Gain an understanding and appreciation of the policies, planning, operations, and responsibilities of the profession.
Develop skills in human relations and interpersonal communication in a professional environment.
Develop a professional understanding and attitude toward their work.
Obtain information which can be used to make choices in relation to future jobs, areas of specialization, and/or future study in their field.
Improve their professional competencies based on self-identified strengths and weaknesses identified during the internship experience.
Experience an environment for reflection on their professional development, career objectives, and academic goals.
Become aware of current trends, issues, and challenges in the profession.
Benefit internship site by creating knowledge.

Internship FAQ’s

The internship is a full time 12-unit internship. As such it is a minimum of 560 hours, and a minimum of 14 weeks. There is some flexibility in hours per week. But it all must add up to the minimum of 560 hours and 14 weeks.

The semester prior to the internship, students are required to take a one-unit pre-internship class called Internship Preparation. In it, the internship coordinator helps students to navigate the process of looking for an agency/site, and provides opportunities for connections with professionals. It is not an exhaustive list of connections. Most of the effort to find an internship rests on the responsibility of the student. However, the internship coordinator provides a great deal of support.

Interns write Goals and Objectives for their intern agency supervisor, have an evaluation meeting with their agency supervisor, write a narrative describing their experience and produce evidence of a project. All assignments are listed in the Handbook.

This is dependent upon the policy of the agency where the student is interning. Many agencies will offer a paid internship in the form of salary or hourly wages. And others will provide monetary support in the form of a stipend, room and board or other benefits. Students will also qualify for financial aid because they are still considered full time students.

The internship is the last 12 units of a 120-unit degree. It is a requirement of the National Recreation and Parks Association for any nationally accredited program, and therefore a requirement to obtain a degree in Recreation, Hospitality and Parks Management at CSU Chico. In addition, students gain many advantages from and internship as opposed to spending their last 12 units in a classroom. Among those advantages are the following:

Gaining experience in their field of interest, and increasing their professional knowledge, skills, and abilities.
Integrating theory learned in the classroom with practice in their professional field.
Gaining an understanding and appreciation of the policies, planning, operations, and responsibilities of the profession.
Developing skills in human relations and interpersonal communication in a professional environment.
Developing a professional understanding and attitude toward their work.
Obtaining information which can be used to make choices in relation to future jobs, areas of specialization, and/or future study in their field.
Improving their professional competencies based on self-identified strengths and weaknesses identified during the internship experience.
Experiencing an environment for reflection on their professional development, career objectives, and academic goals.
Becoming aware of current trends, issues, and challenges in the profession.
Benefitting the internship site by creating knowledge.

The semester prior to the internship a student signs up for RHPM 584 - Internship Preparation & Internship Seminar, and RHPM 589 - Internship in Parks/Recreation/Hospitality.

Students receive course credit for their internship learning experience through three courses, which are included in the core courses required for graduation:

RHPM 584: Internship Preparation (taken the semester before the internship); and
RHPM 589: Internship in Parks, Recreation, and/or Hospitality

The internship is typically done the last semester after the completion of all academic course work. Interns can start counting hours the first day of the semester of the internship, as long as all paperwork as been completed. All internships must be secured by census date of the semester of the internship – typically Friday of the fourth week of classes.