POL For-Credit Internship Guidelines

POL480: Internship I

Provides political science / public administration majors with an opportunity to participate in a structured, supervised internship in which they can apply concepts from political science. Students are responsible for securing an appropriate internship and a faculty sponsor. Permission of the Director of Undergraduate Studies is required to enroll. [This course is non-repeatable.]

POL481: Internship II

Provides political science / public administration majors with an opportunity to participate in a structured, supervised internship in which they can apply concepts from political science. Students are responsible for securing an appropriate internship and a faculty sponsor. Permission of the Director of Undergraduate Studies is required to enroll. This course does not count toward the 30 credits required for the POL or BPA major. [This course is repeatable.]

Eligibility/ Requirements

• Political Science or Public Administration major

Logistics

1. Students must find their own internship.
2. Internship must involve 120 hours of substantive work, either paid or unpaid.
3. Students must find a POL faculty member to supervise them in the internship course. Generally, the professor will be one whose area of expertise is similar to the topic of the internship. Consult the Faculty Mentor page for information about potential faculty supervisors.
4. Once the three above conditions are met students should contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies for a PIN number to enroll in POL480 (if this is your first for- credit internship) or POL481 (if this is an additional for-credit internship). Note that POL481 does not count toward the 30 credits required for a POL or BPA major.
5. Students must fill out an application form, signed by their intern supervisor and including this supervisor’s contact information, explaining how their internship relates to their studies in political science, describing what they will be doing during the internship period, and stating which POL faculty member has agreed to be their supervisor. The application form constitutes 10% of the final grade for POL480/ 481.
6. Students must check in weekly with their faculty supervisor, submitting weekly journal reports discussing their activities and reflecting on their connection to political science concepts. Students will coordinate with their faculty supervisor about how to submit these reports. Weekly reports constitute 25% of the grade for POL480 / 481.
7. At the end of the semester students must submit a 5-8 page reflection paper, discussing how their internship related to conceptual knowledge from their political science courses. Students will coordinate with their faculty supervisor about how and when to submit this paper. This reflection constitutes 30% of the grade for POL480 / 481.
8. Students must submit an evaluation from their internship supervisor at the end of the internship, documenting both successful completion of the 120 hours and satisfactory performance in the internship. This evaluation constitutes 20% of grade for POL480 / 481.
9. At the end of the semester interns will be asked to participate in an Intern Showcase in which interns present their experiences to an audience of their peers and POL faculty. This event will be organized by the Director of Undergraduate Studies. Participation in the internship showcase constitutes 15% of the grade for POL480/ 481.