Graduate Internship Course

Graduate Internship Syllabus

POLS 723 Graduate Internship

Suffolk University

Summer 2023

 

Christina M. Kulich, PhD

Office: Room 1087, 73 Tremont, 10th Floor PSLS Dept.

Office Hours: by Zoom appointment

Email: ckulich@suffolk.edu

Phone: 617-969-5646

 

Course Description:

This internship course is a requirement for MAPP and MAGPP students and recommended for students seeking careers in professional politics or international relations. Typically, an internship will involve supervised work at a professional level in a political campaign, on a legislative staff, in an international non-governmental organization, or in a legislative relation for a governmental agency or private organization. Internship placement must be approved by the internship director and requires at least 200 hours during the semester enrolled and completion of a capstone related to the internship experience. The final paper must be presented to and approved by a departmental committee.

Prerequisites: Graduate Status

Credit Hours: 3

This course follows the Federal Government’s Credit Hour definition. For more information regarding the definition, please see the Suffolk University Syllabus webpage: www.suffolk.edu/syllabus.

Course Goals & Learning Objectives

Goals Objectives Assessments

Demonstrate the ability to connect theory to practice and apply what they learn in the classroom to professional work experiences in the field.

 

 

 1.    Recognize the importance of academic and theoretical research in the electoral, governing and policy making process.

– Internship

– Internship Proposal

– Internship Capstone

 

Demonstrate broad-based knowledge of their area of concentration and be able to review and synthesize relevant political science literature and theories.

 

 1.    Analyze and critically evaluate competing political science theories developed in the academic literature.

– Internship

– Internship Proposal

– Internship Capstone

 

 
2.    Write effectively in a variety of formats, including formulating essential questions.
3.    Organize evidence and construct complex written arguments.
Demonstrate proficiency in interpreting social science data. 1.  Gather and critically evaluate quantitative and qualitative social science research

– Internship

– Internship Capstone

 

 
2.  Organize evidence and social science data to construct complex political science arguments.
3.  Identify and gain access to appropriate information and sources.
Demonstrate proficiency in writing skills including academic and policy professional writing.

1.     Organize and write a compelling

research paper.

– Internship

– Internship Proposal

– Internship Capstone

 

2.     Write effectively in a variety of

formats, including formulating essential questions.
Demonstrate a proficiency in oral communication skills. 1.     Orally articulate complex ideas in an organized, persuasive, and rigorous manner. – Internship Presentation & Defense

Course Requirements:

 Students will be evaluated based on the following:

  • Internship Contract or Offer Letter
  • Learning Agreement
  • Internship Topic Proposal
  • Comprehensive Internship Topic Proposal
  • Completed Capstone Full Draft
  • Completed SkillSurvey
  • Final Internship Capstone
  • Capstone Presentation
  • Internship Completion Form
  • Bi-weekly Zoom Meetings (days/times TBD by poll) 

1. Internship Contract or Offer Letter:

Upload either a completed Internship Contract or Offer Letter from your Internship Placement Site.

2. Learning Agreement:

Upload a copy of your completed Learning Agreement. You should also share this with your internship supervisors so that you can be on the same page with respect to what you hope to achieve or gain during the course of your internship and how your supervisors can help you to do exactly that.

3. Internship Topic Proposal:

Upload a concise, but informative description of your proposed Graduate Report topic. Be ready to discuss via our next group Zoom meeting on June 20th.

4. Comprehensive Internship Topic Proposal:

Upload a comprehensive proposal that expands on the topic description that we have agreed to for your project that includes the scope of your project, the rationale for your choice of this topic and why it is interesting / important. The proposal should include a preliminary bibliography of at least 15 robust sources that are appropriate to your topic / area of research. These should be a mix of recent peer reviewed academic journal articles, long form white papers or articles from reliable sources (think tanks, research institutes or reputable policy periodicals) and, depending on your topic, sources of primary data. We will be workshopping these in our next Zoom group meeting. We will also discuss your on the job experience to date.

5. Completed Draft Report:

Submit a complete draft of your Internship Report. The report should include:

Part I.

a. Executive Summary: (<1 Page)

Part II.

Options

a. Literature Review

Write a critical review of the academic literature as it relates to a topic related to your Internship experience. The literature review is your opportunity to situate your internship, and any of the policy or political questions and debates associated with the work you did during the internship within the broader academic literature. You must clearly identify a research question, explore the relevant literature and include a discussion and analysis section that is substantive original content. The paper should be no more than 10 pages.

b. Policy Analysis (5-8 Pages)

Write a policy analysis that 1) identifies the core policy issue or issues you worked on during your internship; 2) examines the policy literature concerning related policy solutions; and 3) asserts which of these policy solutions you think, based on your internship experience, is the most feasible option.

Part III.

a. Presentation to faculty committee

Part IV.

a. Complete graduate program survey:

We will ask you to provide thoughtful reflection and critical analysis of your experience in the graduate program your internship.

b. SkillSurvey must be completed by both intern & supervisor(s)

Provide Stephen Meno (smeno@suffolk.edu) with supervisor contact information, complete your portion, and ensure your supervisor does the same.

Part V.

a. Signature (Name, Contact Info., Social Media Profile)

Your full draft will be distributed to Faculty who will serve on the committee for your presentation, the date of which will be TBD.

6. Final Internship Report:

Submit a final PDF version of your internship report by the date specified by the Faculty Committee on the day of presentation.

7. Internship Presentation

8. Completed SkillSurvey

9. Completed online Department Survey:

You will be provided with a link to complete

10. Bi-Weekly Zoom Meetings

Students are required to meet as a group every two weeks over the term via Zoom. Days & times will be determined by polling availability.

Grading & Course Schedule:

Assignment                                                                             Due Dates
Learning Agreement                                                 5 ASAP
Internship Topic Proposal                                         5 2nd class meeting
Comprehensive Internship Topic Proposal             15 4th class meeting
Completed Draft Paper                                           20 1 week before defense date (TBD)
Skill Survey                                                             20 By defense date
Final Internship Capstone                                       10 2 days before term grades due
Defense / Presentation                                           10 End of Term
Completion Form                                                      5 By defense date
Course meetings / Participation                              10 n/a
Total                                                                      100  

Student Engagement Hours:

To complete this course, students will need to dedicate, at a minimum, the following amount of time to the listed activities:

Item Activity Hours (total)
Internship   200
Internship Proposal   5
Internship Capstone   25
Internship Presentation   10
Bi-weekly Meetings   10
SkillSurvey   5
Total: 255 hours

Readings:

There are no required readings for this course.

Class Zoom:

Zoom Policies:

  1. Students will be able to join the Zoom session before the class officially starts..
  2. My expectation is that you will have your video for the duration of the class.
  3. My expectation is that you will actively participate in both class and group discussion sessions.

University Policies:

Academic Resources & Student Support Services

http://www.suffolk.edu/syllabus

Unexpected Course Cancellation Plan (Inclement weather, illness, etc.)

In the event that the university cancels classes, such as for severe weather, students are expected to continue with work as originally scheduled. Any assignments scheduled are due at the next class meeting unless other instructions are posted at the course website or communicated via email.

Expected Course Cancellation Plan (University Holidays, Conference Travel, etc.)

In the event that the university is not open, or I’m attending a conference, students are expected to continue with readings as originally scheduled. Any assignments scheduled during those missed classes, such as an exam or paper, are due at the next class meeting unless other instructions are posted at the course website or communicated via email.

 

 

Graduate Internship Paperwork
Graduate Internship Resources
Graduate Internship: Student Evaluations of Internship Sites

Internship Evaluation form

Graduate Internship Report Site Evaluation
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Graduate Internship: Internship Report Examples