Working with our faculty or students via projects, classes, or internships

Thank you for your interest in the Department of Interactive Media. Our students and faculty appreciate the opportunity to interact with our community.

Our students are able to participate in either internships or student cooperative education (co-op)experiences through Bradley University. Sometimes our faculty members engage external clients and projects as a way to enhance classroom experiences. This document articulates some of the principles surrounding those programs and should help you craft your request when you seek our help with projects.

Internships & Cooperative Education

The Smith Career Center at Bradley University (309-677-2510) is responsible for both internships andco-op programs. Students contact the Center to complete required paperwork related to placement. TheDepartment of Interactive Media coordinates its efforts with the Center, through the Slane College Liaison,Kim Dunn.

The first principle to keep in mind specifies the number of credit hours students may earn in relation totime they spend working at the placement location. This number is also used as a threshold for posting andnotification requirements. Student must work 80 hours in order to earn one hour of University credit.

The internship program grants credit; the cooperative education program does not. If fewer than 80 hoursper semester are anticipated, faculty may identify individual students for potential employers. If theplacement entails more than 80 hours during the semester, an announcement of the opportunity must beposted publicly; we post the opportunity both to Department of Interactive Media students and through theSmith Career Center. Such postings include faculty members in the Department of Art so the opportunitiesare often passed to students in Graphic Design as well as Interactive Media. With student permission,faculty may forward recommendations to employers.

Students’ tuition payments enable them to take 16 hours of credit during the regular fall or spring terms.Students must pay for additional hours as well as for any hours that they take during January or Mayinterim periods or over the summer. We generally encourage employers to compensate students forinternship work; this is particularly important in cases in which students must pay extra for the credit.

Corporate or organizational requests for placing internship or co-op positions should include a descriptionof the employer, specification of the hours/days and term of service, skill/knowledge requirements,activities, remuneration, contact information, and required documentation.

Department of Interactive Media students who want to apply internship credits toward IM graduation requirements must file an application with the department chair or academic advisor for approval of thosehours for that purpose.

Capstone Projects

Department of Interactive Media faculty members who use projects with external clients to enhanceclassroom activities commit to projects, roughly, 6 months in advance of the start of the project. Suchprojects include faculty and student teams (4-20 students) working across a semester long class (January toMay or September to December).
Semester-long projects are taken through define, design, development, and deployment phases topresentation of the beta product, to the client, by the end of the full class/term. Often, a smaller team offaculty and students completes revisions on the project over the subsequent 3-week interim period (Januaryor May). No projects are carried beyond those periods.

Larger-scale class projects of this nature cost clients between $15,000-25,000; cost reductions are availablefor registered non-profit organizations and governmental entities. Interested parties should contact theChairperson of the Interactive Department of Interactive Media (309-677-4528).

Internship Form

Project Form