Internships

Try today for a rewarding internship in the field of Political Science. Contact Dr. Max Guirguis for more information.

Norms and Procedures
A good internship experience usually results from good planning. Since planning takes time, a student should meet with the Department's Coordinator of Internships as early as possible-- preferably a full semester before the semester of the internship itself.

Selection of the actual internship placement site usually results form conversations between the student, the Coordinator of Internship Programs, and sometimes other members of the Department. The Department may approve a placement site that the student finds without prior consultation, but the Department is not obligated to do so.

After initial contact is made with the placement site, the prospective intern will interview with the field supervisor.

A Learning Contract will set out the objectives of the internship, its requirements and the method of evaluation. The contract will be signed by the academic supervisor, the field supervisor, the intern, the department chair and the Registrar.

The internship will be evaluated by both the field supervisor and the academic supervisor, and the academic supervisor will assign a letter grade for the credit.

Internships may be arranged for the summer. All of the norms and procedures which apply for an internship during the fall and spring semesters apply for summer internships.

A student may register for no more than two Political Science internship experiences, and may register for only one at a time.

Eligibility and Awarding of Credit
Before the internship semester actually begins, a student must have completed one-half of the credit requirements for graduation with a GPA OF 2.5.

The student must also have completed 15 hours of Political Science courses with a GPA of 2.5 in those courses.

Each Political Science internship can earn as many as nine credits, but no more. Therefore, a student may earn as many as eighteen credits from Political Science internships, a maximum of nine from each of two internships. However, only six internship credits (of the maximum eighteen) may be applied toward the requirements for a major or minor in Political Science. If additional credits are earned in internship experiences, they must be counted as free electives.

The number of credits to be granted for an internship, and whether they will be granted as partial fulfillment of the requirements for the major or minor, will be determined by the Department on a case by case basis.

Internships may not be taken on a Pass/Fail basis.

Internship credit will never be granted retroactively.

Candidates for the Regents Bachelor of Arts degree are eligible for Political Science internships subject to the same norms and procedures as Political Science majors.

Neither Political Science major nor Regents Bachelor candidates will receive credit for an internship that is a repetition of previous experience.

Types of Internships

Frasure-Singleton Student Legislative Program
This program provides one week in Charleston in February or March to observe the West Virginia legislature in action. Almost all expenses are paid and you get one academic credit, but only two Shepherd students may participate. Your application materials are usually due in late October. Thirteen Shepherd students have participated over the past seven years.

Judith A. Herndon Legislative Fellowship Program
This internship takes the intern to Charleston for the entire second semester and earns 15 credits. The intern is first assigned to the staff of a West Virginia legislator while the legislature is in session, and then to an office in the executive branch. Each intern receives $2800.00 ($175.00 a week) to cover the cost of housing, food, transportation and health insurance. All application materials must be in Charleston by late October.

Personalized Internships
Students are given the opportunity to work closely with the faculty in creating an internship tailored to the specific needs of the student. Schedule a meeting with the internship coordinator today and start down the path to securing an internship.

Canadian Internship Program
For the past few summers, the Department of Political Science has overseen an internship program in the the Canadian Parliament. This has been made possible by the generosity of Dr. Marc Curley. Dr. Curley's gift enables students to participate in this five-week internship program which is led by Dr. James Baker from Western Kentucky University. To date, students have been able to help draft speeches, respond to constituents, and travel to the electoral districts of their Member of Parliament (MP) among other things. This is an exciting and rewarding opportunity that previous interns have relished long after it is completed.