Internships in Politics
POSC499
and
Independent Study
POSC497
The Department of Political Science at Saint Mary's College encourages students to combine experience in politics with a rigorous academic program. To that end, students have a variety of opportunities to gain internship credit. In some cases, students may even take an internship without obtaining academic credit--just for the sake of the experience.
To register for internship credit, you must be a junior or senior major in Political Science. The internship may be for 1, 2, or 3 credit hours. The general guideline is that you must intern for 4 hours per week per credit hour. The internship may be local, in Washington, D.C., or any reasonable location. You should consult with Prof. Sean Savage to review your plans before interning. He will help you assess the value of any particular internship and/or assist you in finding an internship. In addition to registering for internship credit, you must complete a separate form setting up the terms of your internship or independent study. In addition to the experience at the internship, you must write an analytical paper that applies your course work to that experience. Independent study credits require 3 hours per week per credit hour.
Students may also look for internships through the Informational Resources section of the Saint Mary's College's political science website, under the "Jobs, Internships, & Volunteering" heading.