Undergraduate Programs

Political Science Internship

The Political Science Internship Program is designed to allow undergraduate majors to participate in experiential learning and/or civic engagement in a public policy field that compliments the student’s political science curriculum. The Internship Program allows students to engage in public service while developing their knowledge of the public policy process. The benefits associated with experiential learning are numerous and include: the application of knowledge acquired in the classroom to real world situations, improved critical thinking, leadership, and communication skills, increased awareness and understanding of community issues, and improved civic engagement. An internship is also a wonderful way to gain valuable work experience prior to graduation.

Additional Information about Internship Program Requirements and Application Materials

GENERAL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

  1. Participation in the program is open to all political science majors with a Political Science Major GPA of 3.0 or higher.
  2. Students are responsible for securing their own internship placements.
  3. The internship must be relevant to the field of Political Science.
  4. Students must have an internship site supervisor who agrees to complete an evaluation of intern at the completion of internship. 

REQUIRED APPLICATION MATERIALS

 An application for admission must be submitted and approved prior to the initiation of an internship to earn academic credits. To ensure timely submission of your application, please adhere to the deadlines provided. 

Students are required to submit the following materials with their application form:

  • An offer letter from the organization where you will be interning. The letter should outline your duties and expected hours per week you would work at the site.
  • A copy of your transcript.
  • A personal statement explaining how the internship will help you in your coursework in political science (typed and a minimum of 300 words).

DEADLINES FOR APPLICATIONS TO BE SUBMITTED FOR INTERNSHIPS

Last day of Summer classes (August 2nd, 2024) for an internship in the Fall 2024 term

Last day of Fall classes (December 6th, 2024) for an internship in the Spring 2025 term

Last day of Spring classes (May 2nd, 2025) for an internship in the Summer 2025 term

INTERNSHIP HOURS

Students pursuing an approved internship are eligible for three (3) POS credits for 15 - 24 hours of work per week for the duration of the semester (a total of 225 hours over the course of the term are required).

Students with 25+ hours of work per week are eligible for six (6) POS credits (375 hours over the course of the term are required).

The same total hours apply in the summer, except the total hours are divided by 6 or 10 weeks, depending on the session.

Students should meet with their Political Science Advisor to discuss how the credit may work towards degree requirements. Credits generally work towards Political Science Major Electives. Students are generally limited to using 6 credit hours of internships towards Political Science elective credits. Exceptions can be made for some programs that have more credits built into their structure.

Academic Requirements 

In an effort to ensure consistency and fairness to all students, we have established general academic requirements that students must fulfill to receive course credit for the internship. The length of the assignments is dependent upon the academic credit you are seeking for the internship. 

  • Letter from Internship Supervisor – The Internship Supervisor from the organization or business must provide the Internship Coordinator with a letter on the organization letterhead or send an email from an official organization email account detailing the student’s job duties and expected number of hours per week the student will work at the site (this should be included with your application submission).
  • Reflective Journal – The student will be responsible for keeping a weekly journal of the internship experience. The journal entries should be no more than and no less than one page in length. 
  • Research Paper – The final paper should incorporate your experiences from the internship during the semester. The page requirement will be determined by the Internship Coordinator. 

GRADING & EVALUATIONS

POS 4941 is for academic credit only. Students will receive a grade of S/U upon completion of the internship. To receive a satisfactory grade the following items must be submitted to the Internship Coordinator by the 3rd to last week of the semester:

  1. Political Science Internship Student Evaluation Form
  2. Political Science Internship Supervisor Evaluation Form
  3. Submission of all Journal Entries
  4. Final Research Paper

Internship Forms

Pre-Internship Forms

Students interesting in participating in the Political Science Internship Program must fill out the Political Science Internship Application Form. After submitting this form, you will receive a reponse from the department within a few business days. 

Post-Internship Forms

CONTACT INFORMATION

Manu Samnotra, Associate Professor