Internships

All students majoring in Recreation, Parks and Tourism must complete a 14-week (560 hours) internship as directed by the Council on Accreditation for Parks, Recreation, Tourism and Related Professions (COAPRT).  Upon successful completion of this experience, you will receive 12 credit hours.  This experience is considered by many educators and practitioners to be the most vital phase of professional preparation.  It provides you with the opportunity to make practical use of principles, methods, knowledge, and materials acquired in the academic program of study.  The application of theory in a practical setting gives meaning and fulfillment to the formal educational experience.

Your internship experience is done in a carefully selected agency under the supervision of an agency supervisor and a department internship supervisor.  Utilizing an agency internship survey form, the agency is screened and approved to meet departmental and accreditation requirements for an internship.  Approved and conditionally approved internship sites can be found through the Approved Agencies link below.

Note:  RCPT 413 Professional Issues and RCPT 469 Pre-Internship Seminar help students prepare for their internships.  RCPT majors must attain a 2.0 cumulative GPA to register for RCPT 470 Internship in Recreation, Parks and Tourism.

Resources

The Recreation, Parks and Tourism department has developed a structured process to obtain and complete the internship process. The following resources will serve as a guide:

This link will lead you to the RCPT student internship manual.  All internship polices and procedures are outlined in this manual. This is an excellent place to start to find answers to basic questions.

Approved Agencies  

Approved internship sites exist for each of the concentrations. The links below will lead you to an alphabetized list of agencies within your concentration. Some sites are relatively new and others have historically hosted interns form more than 20 years. One of the most challenging aspects of maintaining this list is keeping it up to date. While searching, you must take the initiative and visit the current website, track down the appropriate contact, and make a professional introduction. The person you contact may not be aware of the RCPT internship program.

Lists of Approved Internship Sites by Concentration

Note: If an internship agency is not on the approved lists, have them complete the Agency Internship Survey  The information will be reviewed by RCPT faculty to determine whether or not this is an appropriate internship site.

Internship Forms

The following forms will be used in conjunction with RCPT 469: Pre-Internship Seminar to secure your internship.

After you have selected an internship agency, complete this fillable PDF and download into your RCPT 469 D2L shell. You will rename the file using the following format: Your Last Name_Contact_Information (sample: Smith_Contact_Information).

This is the official contract between the university and the internship agency.  It must be completed by the student first then passed on to the agency internship supervisor for signature. Once the student and internship supervisor have signed this agreement, it should be submitted to the student’s RCPT 469 D2L shell. The RCPT 469 professor will be responsible for obtaining the needed signatures from Radford University. Please rename the file as follows: Last name_Internship_Agreement (sample: Smith_Internship_Agreement).

The student must download this file and complete by hand. Be sure to initial and sign where appropriate. Please rename the file using the following format: Last name_CEHDAffirmationAcknowledgementofRisk (sample: Smith_CEHDAffirmationAcknowledgementofRisk

  • Additional Forms 

The internship agency may require additional documentation (e.g., contracts requiring approval by the RU Procurement Office, screening tests, background checks, insurance documents, etc.). It is the student’s responsibility to obtain and complete any additional forms. Students enrolled in RCPT 469 should deposit copies of these forms in their D2L shell.