Student Internship Application printable pdf download

DOING AN INTERNSHIP IN POLITICAL SCIENCE

POLS 4942- Undergraduate Internship

POLS 7407- Graduate Internship

An internship can be an invaluable part of your undergraduate or graduate education in the

Political Science Department. Internships provide practical opportunities for applying knowledge

gained through classroom study, and they help build skills and areas of expertise not covered in

the academic curriculum. At the same time, internships contribute to career development through

enhancement of your resumé and professional networking.

INTERNSHIP DEFINITION

An internship combines work experience in an applied setting with academic supervision. It is a

course you must pay for that provides the standard number of academic credits (4 credits

undergrad/3 credits grad). The minimum hours requirement is 15 hours per week

throughout the semester for a total of 225 hours for Undergraduates, and a total of 300

hours for Graduate students. Because of this time commitment, it can be very difficult to

complete an internship during one of the accelerated summer terms. Undergraduate students

proposing an internship during an accelerated term will need to meet with the Experiential

Education Advisor to make an appropriate plan. Graduate students pursuing internship credit in

the summer must register for the full summer term for POLS 7407, meeting all deadlines for that

term.

For undergraduates, internships count toward satisfaction of the Experiential Education

requirement; for graduate students, internships are required of all “pre-service” MPA students and

are an elective option for MA students (PhD students should contact their advisors).

YOUR COMMITMENT

Whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student, you are committing to the following

activities when you undertake an internship. You should not begin an internship without

reading all of these requirements carefully. Please direct any questions to the current Political

Science Experiential Education Advisor.

1) You must receive pre-approval of your internship position from the department’s

Experiential Education Advisor no later than the last week of the semester immediately

preceding your internship. Only those registrations for the internship course that are approved by,

and done through, the ExEd advisor will be recognized by the department. Internship openings

can be identified by consulting the extensive listing that is maintained on the department’s

website. Students can also propose

internship placements identified through other sources or developed through their own efforts.

2) You must link up with an academic supervisor for your internship. Typically, this is a

full-time member of the department who has expertise related to the area of your internship

activity. It is your responsibility to approach this faculty member and request his/her supervision

of your internship. In some cases, the ExEd Advisor will be the most appropriate academic

supervisor for your internship. Whoever it may be, the academic supervisor must be identified at

the same time that a student’s proposed internship is being reviewed, or no later than the end of

the semester before your internship begins.

Student Internship Application