Applications are now being accepted for a limited number of journalism internship positions at the Washington Post for summer 2004.

Twelve-week, paid reporting internships will be available for the Metro, Business, Sports and Style sections for the newspaper. Positions are also available in page and graphic design, copy editing and photography, according to Pam Kendrick, news personnel administrator for the Washington Post.

Requirements for being awarded an internship position include being enrolled as a junior, senior or graduate student at a university on November 1, the application deadline, as well as not being related to any current Washington Post employee, Kendrick said.

In addition to completing an application form, which can be found on the Washington Post Web site at http://www.washingtonpost.com/intern, applicants must submit a typed autobiographical essay of no less than 500 words.

“The purpose of the essay,” said Kendrick, “is to tell the reader about the applicant. Secondly, it serves as an assessment of how the applicant writes.”

Additional forms to be submitted include a current college transcript, a typed resume, two letters of recommendation and samples of previous work. Transcripts and letters of recommendation must sent separately from the rest of the application, according to the Web site.

Kendrick also said that previous internships with local papers as well as experience on a college newspaper are highly recommended.

“The interns who have had the best experience have had prior internships,” she said, adding that “This is not a training program. …Interns are expected to be able to do everything that a staff member would do.”

According to Cheryl Butler, director of recruiting and hiring for the Washington Post, the selection process is highly competitive.

“We receive around 600 plus applications every year, and out of that number, we only select about 20 interns,” Butler said.

Still, Butler encourages interested students to apply for these positions.

“This is good practice for students interested in journalism as a career,” she said, “Interns have three months to show what they can do.”

Butler also said that it is a worthwhile experience because many interns go on to receive job offers for major newspapers.

“If we have jobs available (at the end of the internship), and the interns have performed well, we will offer them a job. Right now, about 80 of our newsroom reporters were former interns.”

Students interested in applying for a Washington Post summer internship should visit the Web site for more information and to begin the application process. The submission deadline for all forms is Nov. 1. Final selections will be made in December.