Internships

Internships offer students an opportunity to explore and gain experience in issue areas or professions of interest. Typically, Political Science students begin experimenting with internships in their junior year, once they have mastered coursework that makes them valuable to preferred employers. Using the knowledge and skills gained through classes in the Political Science major, the Public Policy minor, or the Pre-Law minor, students carry out applied work to reinforce concepts learned in class, judge if the career direction is in their best interest after graduation, and build professional networks.

Recent internship placement of Political Science students include:

  • The Mid-Jersey Chamber of Commerce,
  • The Brian Stack Internship in the New Jersey Governor’s Office
  • Governor’s Office (2 dedicated paid positions plus volunteers)
  • Assembly/Senate Majority and Minority Offices
  • Legislative District Offices
  • Mid-Jersey Chamber of Commerce
  • State Public Defenders Office
  • Bloomberg LLC
  • Numerous legal offices
  • Princeton Public Affairs Group
  • Bank of America
  • U.S Department of Justice (Washington Center)
  • Fox News (Washington Center)

Political Science students can find internship listings in the departmental internship index, through the Career Center. The Washington Center offers a wide variety of internships with important public- and private-sector organization.

Students gain academic credit for their internships by finding an appropriate position, enrolling in POL 399, and working with their academic advisor to research and write a substantial paper on their issue-area or job. Specific requirements for academic credit vary and are agreed to by the professor, student, and site supervisor at the beginning of the semester. Working towards academic credit provides the best means of integrating in-class learning and internship employment, although some students may opt to complete an internship alone, without seeking academic credit.

The following procedures maximize student enrichment from an internship taken for academic credit, and should be followed strictly. Internships are generally limited to juniors and seniors, although sophomores who have finished at least three classes and have a minimum 3.0 grade average can ask the faculty internship director for permission to enroll. Candidates should find a suitable position that will offer a meaningful position and provide roughly 200 hours of work for the semester. The internship contract (available outside the Political Science office and through the link below) should be completed by the student and supervisor of the internship site before the student meets with the director of the Political Science internship program, Professor Daniel Bowen (). Students must meet with Dr. Bowen to discuss their completed contract before the Add/Drop deadline of the semester. The Department mostly approves internships worth a full unit (four credit-hours) yet it may make other arrangements under special circumstances. Unless the student qualifies for an academic overload, the full unit of POL 399 must be part of the 4.5 unit maximum enrollment load for the semester.

For more information, please contact Professor Daniel Bowen (), director of the Political Science internship program.

Useful links

Political Science internship listings

Career Center internship listings

The Washington Center