Internships

POL Cooperative Education/Internships (POL 488 and POL 489)

• ­ Restricted to majors or minors in POL
• ­ Must have junior or senior status
• ­ Overall GPA of 2.5
• ­ GPA in POL major or minor 2.8
• ­ Must have completed POL 140 and 2 courses from 250, 252, 261

POL Special Problems (POL 495)

• ­ Restricted to majors or minors in POL
• ­ Must have junior or senior status
• ­ Overall GPA of 3.0
• ­ GPA in POL major or minor 3.25
• ­ Must have completed all core courses for major except POL 499 or 15 hours in POL minor
• ­ Must have Chair’s approval

POL Administrative Internship (POL 690)

• ­ Restricted to MPA students
• ­ Overall GPA of 3.0 in all graduate work
• ­ Must have completed 9 hours from the following:  POL 573, 575, 660, 670, 671, or 674
• ­ Must have Chair’s approval

POL Special Problems (POL 695)

• ­ Restricted to MPA students
• ­ Overall GPA of 3.25 in all graduate work
• ­ Must have completed 9 hours from the following:  POL 573, 575, 660, 670, 671 or 674
• ­ Must have Chair’s approval

LST Cooperative Education/Internship (LST 488 and LST 489)

• ­ Restricted to majors or minors in POL or LST
• ­ Must have junior or senior status
• ­ Overall GPA of 2.5
• ­ GPA in LST minor 2.8
• ­ Must have completed LST 240, 242, 300, and 310

Course Requirements

The purpose of special problems courses is to supplement rather than replace regular course offerings. Special problems courses normally consist of reading and reporting on sources specified by the instructor or of writing a research paper on a topic agreed upon by the student and the instructor. If the readings approach is chosen, the instructor may require either written or oral reports, or both. If the research paper is selected, it should culminate in a formal paper written and typed in conformity with acceptable standards of style. In either case, the work should be substantially equivalent in both quantity and quality to that done in an organized class on the same level and for the same semester hours of credit.
 
In reading courses POL/LST 495 for undergraduate credit, students will be expected to read and report on approximately 1,000 pages per semester hour of credit; while in reading courses POL/LST 495 and 695 for graduate credit, students will be expected to read and report on approximately 1,500 pages per semester hour of credit.  If the research paper is chosen, students taking POL/LST 495 for undergraduate credit are required to complete a paper at least 15 pages in length exclusive of references and bibliography per semester hour of credit and students taking research course POL/LST 495 and 695 for graduate credit are required to complete a paper at least 20 pages in length exclusive of references and bibliography per semester hour of credit.

Registration Procedures

POL/LST 495 and 695 will not always be listed in the published schedule of classes but will be added to the schedule as needed. If a student is interested in registering for a 495 or 695 course for undergraduate or graduate credit, he/she must first consult with his/her advisor well in advance of registration or preregistration. Secondly, the student should consult with the instructor under whom he/she wishes to work.

In selecting the instructor under whom the student wishes to work, the student should respect and conform to the areas of academic expertise of each member of the faculty of the department. After the student and instructor have reached verbal agreement on what the student proposes to do and how the student proposes to do it, a Special Problems and Internship Approval Form provided by the department should be completed. This form will serve the same purpose as that of a syllabus in an organized course.  After the necessary signatures have been obtained, the department chair will enter the course into the schedule in the name of the student’s instructor and give him/her the appropriate section and entry numbers.

Throughout the course of the project, the student should consult with his/her instructor regularly and make every attempt to finish the project on time.  Graded A, B, C, D and E.

The guidelines described above are to be followed for internships and cooperative education credit also. The student (undergraduate or graduate) must make the necessary arrangements well in advance of registration. These include:

1. Letter of acceptance from the agency with which the student will be working indicating:
   1. the nature of the project which is subject to the approval of designated personnel within the department;
   2. the time frame (at least 8 weeks on full-time basis or 16 weeks on part-time basis, or in terms of hours, 150 hours for 3 credit hours and 300 hours for 6 credit hours);
   3. agency supervisor responsible for the student inter; and
   4. that the agency supervisor agrees to submit a written evaluation of the student as soon as possible after the internship is completed.
2. A paper is required by the departmental chair, program director, or faculty supervisor relating the internship to the academic work of the undergraduate student.  A graduate student MUST submit an extensive paper relating the same to the program director. Throughout the course of the project, the student intern should consult with his/her agency supervisor and departmental chair, program director, or faculty supervisor regularly and make every attempt to finish the project on time.