Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice

Internships

A variety of internship opportunities are available for undergraduate and graduate students. Most internships require placement of the student in an appropriate agency of the government or other public service institution. Although placement sites may be the same for undergraduate and graduate interns, the requirements for academic credit for the internship will vary according to class rank. For requirements and other information regarding student internships please click on the appropriate link.

Undergraduate Internships

Internship Coordinator: Robert V. Barrow, Ph.D.
Office: HUMB # 226
Phone: (251)460-7161 (O); (251)342-1458 (H)
FAX: 460-6567
Email: barrow007x@aol.com

The Department of Political Science and Criminal Justice offers Junior and Senior undergraduate students an opportunity to gain experiential learning and course credits through supervised internships in a variety of agencies, depending upon the needs of the individual student. While most interns are placed in local settings, internships may also be done outside the region, including other countries, depending upon availability and individual circumstances. A quick review of the University Catalog will provide information on the specifics of course enrollment by discipline, credit hours, etc.

Ideally, students should begin to think about internships early in their sophomore year; some agency requirements include an extensive background investigation which may take up to eight weeks to complete. The first step in the internship process is for the interested student to complete an Internship Tracking Form and to develop a personal resume with the assistance of the University's Career Services Office. The Tracking Form, a copy of the student's latest grade report, and the personal resume should be left with the departmental secretary who will make an appointment for the applicant with the Internship Coordinator. At this meeting, a determination will be made as to the student's suitability and availability for an internship position for the enrollment period in question. A minimum of 125 hours of on-site work is required for a 3-credit hour internship. While some agencies are willing to accept two or more interns during any one semester, others may be limited to only one intern per semester due to space or manpower limitations. In some instances, an internship agency will accept only those interns who are available for twenty hours per week or more. In these cases, an intern might wish to earn more than the standard 3 semester hours of credit. For this reason, the internship course numbers are listed by section with increasing credit in increments of 3 semester hours. The maximum number of credits for full-time internship activity during a single enrollment period is 9 semester hours.

MPA Internships

Students in the MPA Program who are not suitably employed full-time in public agencies may be allowed to enroll in PSC 596, Graduate Internship in Public Administration, for a maximum of nine semester hours. Normally, admission to the Internship Program will be dependent upon the following prerequisites:

1 - satisfactory completion of at least six of the required core courses

2 - approval by the internship professor of the prospective intern's qualifications and proposed project and

3 - placement of the student in an appropriate agency of the government or other public service institution.

The length of the internship and corresponding credit (at the rate of three to nine hours per semester), not to exceed a total of nine hours, will be determined for each student on the basis of the student's particular needs and opportunities.

Each intern will be required, in consultation with the intern professor, to develop a research design for the project to be undertaken during the internship. Each intern will also be required to write a paper showing how that research design has been carried out. Particular emphasis will be placed in the paper upon the relationship between the internship experience and academic course work. Close and continuing supervision of each intern's progress will be provided by the intern professor.

For more information, contact the Director of the MPA Program

Polling Group Internships

USA Polling Group has Internship positions available in its survey research lab for undergraduate and graduate students.

Requirements for Internship

3.0 GPA or above
General knowledge of computer operations
At least one course in research methods
Permission of Polling Group Director

Job Description

Questionnaire Development, Interviewing, Monitoring, Reporting
15 hours per week: Late afternoons and early evening hours/some weekends
Must be available Mondays (late afternoon/early evening)
Hourly Wage: $6.00
Academic Credit: 3 Semester Hours

Application Deadlines:
Fall: August 15
Spring: December 1
Summer: May 1

For Application Contact:

Dr. Keith Nicholls
Office: HUMB # 222
Phone: 334-460-7852
Email: knicholls@usouthal.edu

Click Here to Visit the USA Polling Website

© 2012 University of South Alabama - Mobile Alabama 36688-0002 / 1 (251) 460-7161
For questions or comments Contact Us
Date last changed: August 8, 2012 3:48 PM
http://www.southalabama.edu/poliscie/intern.html

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