Internships are available for Public Administration majors or Political Science majors interested in pursuing a career in public sector management. Normally, one semester in length, internships provide students with an opportunity to experience public management in local government or state agencies, and earn academic credit.

Political Science 340.b Public Administration Internship (undergraduate credit) Political Science 640 Public Affairs Internship (graduate credit) (1-12 credits; max. 16 credits, credit/no credit basis) Supervised work experience in federal, state, and local government organizations, public service, and political institutions. Prior permission of instructor, department chair, and dean required. The philosophy underpinning Pol 340.b and Pol 640 is that an internship is a pre-professional applied experience that is worthy of academic credit. Public administration internships are arranged and managed based upon an assumption that students have certain theoretical, analytical, and applied skills acquired from successful completion of designated formal course work. The faculty advisor insures that the internship experience gives the student an opportunity to apply these skills, under direct supervision of a public official. It is not a venue in which students are introduced to or learn fundamental knowledge of the study and practice of public administration. In most cases the internship is defined in the context of a project with a beginning and an end. This project may be a discrete self contained activity (e.g. review of exiting zoning ordinances and regulations, updating and revising zoning regulations to comply with comprehensive planning standards or state law, and a written and/or oral presentation to appropriate decision making body for final action). In other instances the internship may be defined as a project task as part of a larger on-going effort (e.g. collection and analysis of census tract data, and review of legal requirements to propose a reconfiguration of council political representation as part of local government's overall charter adoption or revision plans). Prerequisites: Generally majors with Junior or Senior standing; completion of Pol 261, Pol 306, and nine hours of related coursework in Economics, Geography, Political Science. Recommendations of appropriate faculty and grade point average are considered. Graduate students: recommendation of advisor. Students interested in an internship should request an application from Dr. Russo, 118 Harrison Hall.

WWW sites for job information:

State Government Job Opportunities

Federal Government Job Openings

Federal Jobs Database

RETURN TO RUSSO HOMEPAGE.