Internship Agency Resources
Agency Resources
The pre-internship contributes to the practice aspect of the RPTM internship and degree. Requiring 300 hours of experience before the internship helps the student:
- Build a baseline of workplace readiness and general workplace practical wisdom
- Practice applying and observing concepts learned in the classroom in the workplace
- Identify specific skills, knowledge and competencies, and practice them during pre-internship experiences
A strong RPTM Internship allows students to practice, test, and gain skills in the areas that meet the RPTM program learning objectives, while meeting the timeframe and hours of requirement. A good guideline would incorporate 70-80% of the competencies, skills, knowledge and practice of the role.
RPTM prioritizes the following competencies, skills, knowledge and practices:
- management
- planning
- designing and creating
- delivery
- programming
- operating and
- administration
RPTM serves the following professional fields and industries:
- Parks (federal, national, local community)
- Recreation (broadly conceived)
- Events and Programs (broadly conceived)
- Amusement & theme parks
- Leisure and arts related
- Tourism and/or destination management
- Sports (management, events, community, local, professional
- Entertainment
- Affinity tourism (ex. heritage, sport, festival, niche)
Timeframe for internship
Students often secure their approved internship agency 3-6 months prior to the start of an academic semester that corresponds to their internship start and end dates. The Penn State academic calendar provides a good guideline for when agencies should promote an internship and hire an intern.
Submitting an internship opportunity to RPTM students
Agencies wishing to hire a student for a qualified internship can provide information through the agency internship opportunity form. Once the application is reviewed by the internship instructor, the posting will be published on the RPTM iSite for students to apply.
PLEASE NOTE: submitting an opportunity form does not guarantee an agency will be matched with a student intern. This form is much like an online job posting for which job seekers have many to choose.
