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Description
- Students can obtain internships through their own search efforts and connections, with the assistance of the Political Science undergraduate advisors, or follow this link for a list provided by the Director of Internships.
- Academic credit must be arranged before the internship begins.
- Internships must have a substantial academic component. You must see to it that a contract between the internship provider and the Director, establishing the requirements, has been completed.
- Political Science majors may use the internship experience to fulfill their Capstone requirement.
Eligibility
- There are 3 different forms of internships, each with a different course designation and eligibility requirements:
- POL403 is the basic internship course. This has no prerequisites. You must simply be a student in good standing to enroll.
- POL403A is the legislative internship with the Indiana General Assembly. Each Spring Semester, the Indiana General Assembly awards 50–60 internships. These are competitively awarded and are distributed among any of the colleges and universities in the state. Generally, there are about 12 Purdue students chosen. To be eligible, you must be at least a Junior and have a 3.0 GPA.
- POL403C is the internship taken to fulfill the Capstone requirement. To be eligible, you must have at least 12 hours of Political Science credit, at least 9 at the 300 level or above. The legislative internship (POL403A) automatically qualifies for Capstone credit. Any other internship will qualify for Capstone credit only upon the approval of the Director.
Procedures
- Check with your advisor to ensure that you are eligible for internship credit and that you understand how the credit will count toward your degree requirements.
- Complete this internship application.
- Have the Internship Provider complete this contract concerning your duties and responsibilities, and submit it to the Director. It is your responsibility to see to it that the Internship Provider completes the contract, and that the Director receives it. No credit will be awarded for internships unless the Director has received and approved the contract.
- To intern with the Indiana General Assembly, you must complete their application.
Course Requirements for POL403 and POL403C
- Submit a list of 8–10 research questions that involve the organization you will be working with and the specific tasks you are to perform. These questions can relate to the structure, goals, and history of the organization, or to its specific functions. What is it you would like to learn more about, understand better? For students enrolled in POL403C, these questions should lend themselves to a research proposal that requires some basic quantitative analysis. These questions are due by the third week of the internship experience.
- By the seventh week of the internship experience, you should have your questions narrowed down to 3 or 4 that will form the basis of a research proposal. You must provide a bibliography of the sources you will use to answer these questions and a detailed outline of the information you will be seeking during the internship. The bibliography and outline must be typed and sent to the Director.
- Write a final paper of approximately 2500 words. POL403C students must write a 3500 word paper that incorporates some basic quantitative analysis. The paper must be typed, double-spaced with appropriate references and incorporation of your intern experiences. The papers will be graded rigorously for spelling, grammar, and syntax. Your paper must be completed at least one week prior to the end of classes in the semester during which your internship occurs.
- Internship
- You will arrange with your Internship Provider what your exact duties may be. It is a good idea to approach your internship with some ideas of your own. Your work may focus on a particular project, or you may do a variety of tasks. The only absolute requirement is that your intern work must have academic content. You are there to gain education through your field experience; you are not just free labor for the organization
- Although the exact number of hours and schedule will be worked out between yourself and the Internship Provider, you should expect to work between four and eight hours per week. (The hours per week are much greater for legislative interns — POL403A. It is essentially a full-time job, for which you will receive a stipend.)
- Classroom
- During the final week prior to the end of the semester during which your internship occurs, you must schedule a meeting with the Intern Director to discuss the academic elements of your internship.
- Grades
- 25% of your grade is based upon your research questions.
- 75% of your grade is based upon your research paper.
Course Requirements for POL403A
- Submit a list of 8–10 research questions that concern the Indiana General Assembly and the specific tasks you are to perform. These questions can relate to the structure, goals, and history of the legislature; its specific functions; or to the behavior, goals, and motivations of its members. What is it you would like to learn more about, understand better? These questions are due by the third week of your internhip. You may deliver these questions in person, mail them, or send them as a file attachment via email.
- By the seventh week of your internhip, you should have your questions narrowed down to 3 or 4 that you will answer fully (one to two pages per question). Your questions and answers must be typed, double spaced. They must be free of spelling and grammatical errors. You may deliver your questions and answers in person, mail them, or send them as a file attachment via email.
- Internship
- Your intern duties will be provided to you by your intern caucus director.
- Classroom
- Each legislative intern is required to attend and complete all assignments for the internship class conducted each week of the legislative session in the Statehouse.
- Grades
- 25% of your grade is based upon your research questions.
- 75% of your grade is based upon your classroom performance.
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