Internships

The Political Science Department at Cal Poly provides course credit for supervised work experience in a governmental agency or related policy organization. Units can be earned that are applicable to the Master of Public Policy degree. Policy Internships provide students with opportunities to exchange responsible service for first-hand experiences of organizational life. Students complement classroom and laboratory instruction with that of the work world. The intern will function as any employee engaged in policy evaluation and analysis. Each intern placement will have a full description of duties and responsibilities and an on-site supervisor responsible for oversight and performance evaluation.

Eligibility: Cal Poly MPP candidates with 16 or more units of graduate study are eligible for internships. Graduate students from other disciplines may also be eligible dependent on prior coursework and experience.

Arranging a Policy Internship: The MPP program serves as a clearinghouse for policy internship placements. Interested students should contact the Graduate Internship Coordinator, Dr. Dianne Long, who works with students to identify organizations willing to supervise interns and who then refers MPP students to these opportunities. The faculty coordinator must approve of the internship prior to arranging for credit.

Graduate students are advised to seek policy internship opportunities designed to fit closely with their career interests, as the internship is often the bridge to a policy career. Many students arrange their own internships, as they have contacts and are able to develop a suitable placement. The University does not provide internship credit for past work experience, but will consider current positions where policy analysis, policy evaluation, or research utilization are part of the work experience. Cal Poly's Internship Program has cooperative arrangements with the California State University at Sacramento, which operates internship programs with the state government, the legislature, the executive branch, and independent lobbying organizations. Additionally, the Washington Center provides internship placement in the Washington, D.C. area. General information on internship opportunities, grouped by category of interest, is located in the hallway of FOB 11 and also on the Political Science Department web site.

Enrollment: A student enrolls for POLS 586 - Policy Internship for the academic quarter of the work experience. A student can arrange for internship credit in advance of the internship. Typically, a student would register for two consecutive terms of 4 units each. The maximum number of units is 8 units applicable to the MPP program. Each unit corresponds to approximately thirty hours of work experience.

The credits may be earned with the same organization or with different organizations. Some students may choose to take full-time internships (30 or more hours a week) and to earn 8 units during a quarter. This course has a credit/no credit grading. Additionally, students may enroll for POLS 500 - Independent Study (2 units) to undertake independent research. Dr. Dianne Long serves as coordinator of the graduate policy internship program. Any questions may be directed to Dr. Long at 756-2984 (FOB 14C), e-mail: dlong@calpoly.edu

Obligations of the University: The faculty advisor ensures that the academic training meets the needs of the sponsoring organization and supervises the academic part of the internship. The University grants academic credit for qualifying work experiences. The coordinator provides assistance in order to make the internship a satisfactory one for both the student and the sponsoring organization.

Obligations of the Organization: The participating organization will confirm the start-up of an internship in a letter to the faculty intern coordinator. The letter states the names of the intern and of the supervisor, the position duties and responsibilities, the duration of the position, scheduled hours, and rate of pay as appropriate. Any special responsibility or project negotiated with the student may be stated in the letter, which serves as an informal contract for the student, organization, and University. When the internship is completed, the supervisor submits a letter of evaluation to the faculty advisor. The letter reflects the performance of the intern.

Obligations of the Intern: The intern fulfills the agreement negotiated with the organizational supervisor and abides by the rules and regulations governing employees. If the intern has difficulties in the internship, it is the intern's responsibility to notify Dr. Long, the faculty intern coordinator. The intern will submit an essay progress report that describes the duties and responsibilities and that evaluates the internship experience. The evaluation should be typed and submitted by the seventh week of each quarter in which the intern is working with an employer and receiving internship credit. Only one progress report is due each quarter. Guidelines for progress reports are available in the Departmental Office.