Preparation

• All students must complete the following prior to enrolling in HTM 3443 – Hospitality Industry Internship.
• 480 hours of hospitality work experience.
• Course work in Quantity Food Production, Service Management, Lodging Operations and/or Front Office Management.

Facilitation of Internships

• Hospitality Days Career Fair (approximately 50% of students obtain internships from companies that participate in Hospitality Days).
• In cooperation with OSU Career Services as well as the Eastin Center, HTM hosts several companies for individual on campus visits.
• Creation of LinkedIn professional network for convenient posting of job opportunities as well as networking between OSU HTM students, faculty, staff and industry partners (over 1,000 participants).

Internship Course Objectives

• Improve communication skills, analytical and critical thinking skills.
• Apply conflict resolution, negotiation and interpersonal communication techniques.
• Apply hospitality management skills within a variety of positions.
• Develop a working knowledge of the culture of a hospitality company.

Follow-up

• Require student and employer to sign a memorandum of understanding that reflects the understanding by both parties of expectations and purpose of internship.
• Course assignments directly correlate with applicable research regarding effective methods of encouraging increased professionalism and impactful career building (e.g., researching history of company, management instructed goal setting, progress reports, discussion board posts, final report).
• Site visit during internship by coordinator where possible to assess the experience of each company and student as well as any curricular changes that might be recommended by industry partners.