Internships

Students *must* receive approval from the Internship Director before registering for the Political Science Internship course (POLS 496RW).  Students do not have to be Political Science Majors in order to apply for credit if they have fulfilled the minimum requirements for eligibility.

All work for internship credit must be taken for a letter grade. Acceptance to the program is contingent on meeting five criteria:

• Class standing: Junior or Senior status at the time the internship begins. 
• Enrollment in good standing in Emory College
• Academic standing: a minimum 3.0 GPA overall
• Appropriateness of the proposed internship and research area to Political Science or International Studies.
• Prior academic work. Students must have satisfactorily completed ("C" or better) one 300 level (or above) Political Science course relevant to the area of internship. For example, POLS 348: American Elections and Voting would be an appropriate prerequisite for an internship with a political campaign.

To apply to the program, you must first secure an offer from the sponsoring organization. Then, complete the following steps before the conclusion of the Emory College add/drop period for the semester:

1. Obtain an application packet from the Political Science Departmental Office (Tarbutton 327) or access the forms below.
2. Complete and sign the Application for Internship in Political Science.
3. Return the application form to the Internship Director's box in the Political Science Main Office (Tarbutton 327). The application will be declined or approved provisionally. You will receive an e-mail a notice from the Director.
4. If the internship is part of a study abroad experience, you must also complete a CIPA form (see the Emory Study Abroad page for details).
5. Students admitted provisionally must see that the proposed sponsor completes and returns a "Certification of Political Science Internship" before the Emory College deadline for add/drop. This form is part of the application packet available online or from the Departmental Office (Tarbutton 327).
6. Work at the internship placement itself must begin before the conclusion of add/drop.

During the regular academic year, all registration for the internship course (POLS 496R) will occur during the drop/add period and will be entered by the Political Science Undergraduate Coordinator on OPUS.

 During preregistration, students should register for semester courses as if the internship has *not* been approved. Summer School registration will be handled on OPUS the same way.

In order to earn academic credit, interns must complete four items:

• A prescribed number of work hours under the supervision of the internship sponsor (10%).
• A research proposal presenting a topic and an annotated bibliography (10%).
• A research paper based on the proposal (60%).
• An assessment paper reflecting on the work of the sponsoring organization (20%).
• Each student will be evaluated by a supervisor at the end of the internship.

The work and research requirements will vary according to the amount of academic credit the intern wishes to earn. All internships must last for at least thirteen weeks unless explicitly approved by the Internship Director. The minimum course requirements are:

All internship courses must be taken for a letter grade and may be used to satisfy the post-freshman writing requirement.

A proposed internship is "appropriate" if it provides a significant and ongoing opportunity to participate in some aspect of phenomena generally associated with politics. Internships with governmental agencies meet this requirement, but private employers may sometimes qualify if the assigned work exposes the intern to a political issue or process on an ongoing basis. Please note that legal internships will not be approved unless the work is directly related to politics.

Securing an appropriate internship is the responsibility of the prospective intern. This is usually not difficult. Emory students have worked for members of Congress, Georgia state and local governments, foreign consulates, news organizations (political sections), interest (lobbying) groups, and political campaigns.

The Carter Center

The Carter Center offers a unique opportunity to conduct political research under the supervision of established scholars. NOTE: Carter Center interns do not automatically receive Political Science or International Studies credit. They must apply to the Department of Political Science Internship program.

Students majoring in all Political Science programs are notified internship opportunities as they arise through the biweekly POLS Update.

For more information contact the Director of Experiential Learning, Dr. Alexander Bolton.

Students must receive approval from the Internship Director before registering for the Political Science Internship course (POLS 396R). Students do not have to be Political Science majors in order to apply for credit if they have fulfilled the minimum requirements for eligibility.

All work for internship credit must be taken S/U. Acceptance to the program is contingent on meeting the following criteria:

• Enrollment in good standing in Emory College.
• Academic standing: a minimum 3.0 GPA overall.
• Appropriateness of the proposed internship and research area to Political Science or International Studies.

To apply to the program, you must first secure an offer from the sponsoring organization. Then, complete the following steps before the conclusion of the Emory College add/drop period for the semester: 

1. Obtain an application packet from the Political Science Departmental Office (Tarbutton 327) or access the forms below.
2. Complete and sign the Application for Basic Internship in Political Science.
3. Return the application form to the Internship Director's box in the Political Science Main Office (Tarbutton 327). The application will be declined or approved provisionally. You will receive an e-mail notice from the Director.
4. Students admitted provisionally must see that the proposed sponsor completes and returns a "Certification of Political Science Internship" before the Emory College deadline for add/drop. This form is part of the application packet available online or from the Departmental Office (Tarbutton 327).
5. Work at the internship placement itself must begin before the conclusion of add/drop.

During the regular academic year, all registrations for the basic internship course (POLS 396R) will occur during the add/drop/swap period and will be entered into OPUS by the Political Science Undergraduate Program Coordinator. 

During preregistration, students should register for semester courses as if the internship has not been approved. Summer registration will be handled on OPUS the same way.

In order to earn pass/fail credit, students must complete the following:

• A prescribed number of work hours under the supervision of the internship sponsor (60%).
• A reflection paper on the work of the sponsoring organization (40%). 

The work hours and reflection paper will vary according to the amount of credit the intern wishes to earn. The minimum course requirements are:

Requirements 

A proposed internship is "appropriate" if it provides a significant and ongoing opportunity to participate in some aspect of phenomena generally associated with politics. Internships with governmental agencies meet this requirement, but private employers may sometimes qualify if the assigned work exposes the intern to a political issue or process on an ongoing basis. Please note that legal internships will not be approved unless the work is directly related to politics.