Q: Are internships mandatory?
A: No. While internships are not mandatory for students, they should be part of your college experience if you want a career in the entertainment industry. Employers rate internship experience as a top factor in evaluating candidates for employment.
Q: What is the value of an internship?
A: From a career standpoint, internships are invaluable. Internships give our students direct access to industry relationships and provide something employers desperately seek – experience in the field. Many employers also use internships as a pre-hiring assessment and training tool. Often companies hire entry-level personnel directly from their internship pool. Internships also provide students with networking opportunities that can help them find positions after graduation. Successful interns can gain valuable referrals and references from intern employers that carry real weight in entertainment hiring circles. Statistically, a student is more likely to complete their degree and become employed in the industry if he or she engages in film and television internships.
Q: Can I get course credit for my internship experience?
A: Absolutely. Many internship departments will only hire enrolled students eligible to receive course credit for their internships. Our internships are 4-credit credit courses. Any sophomore, junior or senior student in good academic standing with a minimum GPA of 3.0 may seek permission from the Career Development Office to enroll in an internship course up to two times during his or her academic career. Credits earned depend on the number of hours involved. Remember that credits earned from an internship are subject to tuition and fees, like any academic credit earned at Columbia College Hollywood.
Q: Can I engage in more internships if I’ve completed my two for credit?
A: Yes, the College encourages students to do numerous internships until graduation for the experience and contacts.
Q: When can I do an internship?
A: Internships, for credit or just for the experience, may be started at the beginning of any academic quarter. As soon as you have enough training and skills to be an asset on-set or in an office, often as early as your second or third quarter, you can begin applying for internships.
Q: How do I apply for an internship?
A: The first step is to discuss your interest in an internship with the Career Development staff. They can provide you with valuable information regarding the internship program policies, what skills you will need for the internship you want, and how to get started drafting your resume. They will also guide you to top internship resources, teach you how to apply, and give personal referrals to certain companies who have specifically asked us to provide them with Columbia College Hollywood interns.
Q: Where can do an Internship?
A: Internships may be done in any setting that provides supervised experience in areas related to your program’s learning objectives. Examples of recent internship sites include post-production houses, studios, camera houses, casting, networks, production offices, television shows, film sets, and casting, literary, and talent agencies.
Q: Can I take an internship in a department different from my Emphasis?
A: Yes. If an internship is available outside your Emphasis, but you have the experience and skills necessary to be hired, go for it! Often, we find that students use internships to test drive their career aspirations by sampling a variety of internships, enabling them to figure out how to align career goals with their interests. Every internship must be related to the entertainment world in some way, but may include the business side of the industry, such as marketing, business affairs, legal, film fundraising, and distribution.
Q: Who approves and supervises the internship and how is it graded?
A: The Director of Career Development and Alumni Relations serves as your Internship course instructor. He approves, tracks, and assigns grades for all internships for credit at Columbia College Hollywood. You’ll be required to intern for a specified number of hours during the quarter, then write and submit a 3,000 word essay detailing what you learned and gained from your internship experience. You’ll also be evaluated by your supervisor at the company where you worked as an intern. All of these things combined are considered when assigning your grade for the Internship course.
Q: What are the work requirements for an internship?
A: Each internship company has its own internship requirements, duties, and responsibilities. Columbia College Hollywood makes every effort to offer the best quality internships that provide real industry access to meetings and department heads and experience with hands-on industry tasks, such as evaluating script submissions or assistant film editing. All interns are expected to function on the job as professionals. Interns represent Columbia College Hollywood at work in the community, and their performance on the job directly influences the attitudes the entertainment community will have about the college and its graduates. Student Interns who violate the Student Code of Ethics may lose the right to participate in future internships.
Q: Do internship companies who hire Columbia College Hollywood students as interns have access to the school’s production resources?
A: Our profession-quality equipment, production facilities, and post-production resources are reserved for student film productions only and are not available for use as part of an internship.
More information about internships can be obtained by visiting or calling the Career Development Office at (818) 401-1034 or by emailing careerdevelopment@columbiacollege.edu.