Requirements

 

The internship can provide from four to eight semester hours of credit. To receive four hours of credit students must work a minimum of 160 hours; for eight hours, a minimum of 320 hours. This is an undergraduate program limited to political science, political communication, and public administration majors who must have:

1. Junior or senior standing

2. Completed at least 15 hours of political science course work.

3. Achieved a gpa in political science course work of at least 2.50

4. Secured departmental permission to participate.

5. Completed 940:010 Scope and Methods of Political Science 

Freshmen and sophomore political science majors who think they may be interested in seeking an internship will want to plan a year or more in advance so that they can be absent from campus, if necessary, for the eight to nine, or sixteen to eighteen-week period of the internship.

An application form is available here or students may pick up application forms in the Departmental Office (Sabin 321) or from the Intern Coordinator.  It should be noted, the earlier the application, the more advantageous placement may be for the student.  Any questions concerning these procedures may be raised with the Intern Coordinator, Michael Licari (Sabin 339).

 Interns' grades are based on evaluations made by the Intern Coordinator and the intern employer.

  

                                                                                    

Internship Requirements

 

 

1.         Experience Journal

 

The Experience Journal is designed to encourage you to reflect on the internship experience and  integrate the internship with the political science classes you have had thus far in your academic experience. The journal is intended to reveal the type of things you are learning through your job experience.  The entries must be faithfully maintained throughout the semester.  Journal entries should be emailed or delivered to the Intern Coordinator each week.

 

The Experience Journal, like the other written materials submitted by you, is an instrument that will be useful in your evaluation.  It will also be helpful in writing your major investigation, analysis or research project.  The Experience Journal may contain such items as: brief summaries of meaningful events the intern has observed or in which you were a participant; reflections or observations about the administrative or political process: questions prompted by an experience or observation or by a comparison of your previous study with his/her field experience.

 

2.         Major Investigation, Analysis, or Research Project

 

As a part of the internship, you are required to develop a research paper or research project.  This project should overlap with your internship experience or develop out of the internship experience.   It is normally developed through mutual discussion with your intern-employer and has value to him/her as well as educational value for you.  As part of the paper or project, you should select at least two persons who are a part of the organization where you are working who will, in your judgment, provide useful information about your work setting.  These interviews can be with any persons relevant to your assignment. The project must also be cleared with the Intern Coordinator EARLY in the internship.  This report should be prepared in formal manuscript style with full citation to persons interviews and all other sources of information employed.

 

3.         Oral Reports and Discussion Sessions with the Intern Coordinator

 

The Intern Coordinator expects to meet with you occasionally during the period of your assignment, will contact your place of employment when possible, and will have a “debriefing” meeting at the end of your internship.  During these meetings, you should be prepared to respond to questions about everything you have written, as well as general questions pertaining to your assignment and what you have learned previously in political science during your earlier studies in our Department.

 

4.         Letter from Employer

 

You must have your supervisor write a brief letter to the Internship Coordinator describing what you did, and how well the internship went.  Since this letter will be a factor in your grade for the internship, it should be sent to the Internship Coordinator by the last day of classes.