Internships in New Jersey
Internships in Political Science give our students valuable work experience and career guidance. Many of our interns have been successful in acquiring employment at or through their internship placements after they graduate. Placements are available in the offices of:
To take the Internship course, you must have a 2.7 GPA and permission of the instructor, Dr. Lauby. You don't need to find your own placement, but you must see Dr. Lauby before the semester begins to arrange a placement. Most internships are unpaid and require about one day a week of work at the internship site for each 3 credits (for a total of 120 hours in the semester).
Before you register, you must see Dr. Fanny Lauby for approval: Office: Raubinger 405, x3422, LaubyF@wpunj.edu. After meeting with her and securing an internship, you will receive a permit to enroll in the course from the Politics, Legal Studies and Urban Science Department Secretary, Julie Vigorito (Raubinger 433, x2183).
Washington Internships
The Department also offers students the possibility of spending a semester in Washington, D.C. to complete an immersive internship experience. The semester covers 6 to 9 credits in Political Science internship, Senior Seminar and a Political Science elective course. Students will pay no more in tuition than it costs to go to William Paterson, but will have to pay for housing, meals and transportation in Washington. Some scholarships to help pay for these expenses may be available. Students will be placed in any one of a variety of Washington-based interest groups or with Executive Branch agencies or members of Congress and will be required to participate in additional seminars with other students in the program. Students will live together in housing provided by the internship program and will enjoy the cultural and other benefits of Washington on the weekends.
The Washington internship is an excellent experience for any major and can sometimes lead to job opportunities after college. Since employers are increasingly looking for work experience as well as academic performance, a Washington internship will look very good on your resume.
If you are interested in the Washington internships, please review the Washington Internship Institute website (http://wiidc.org/) for complete information, admissions criteria, and deadlines. You must also meet with Dr. Lauby, 405 Raubinger Hall (x 3422; laubyf@wpunj.edu) to discuss the course credit distribution.
Geography and Urban Science majors are encouraged to complete professional internships prior to graduation. Internships cover co-ops, temporary projects, and some full or part-time jobs. In all of these cases, the student receives academic credit for job-related research. For Geography and Urban Studies majors, the job must be related in some way to geography and/or urban studies.
The basic premise of an internship is that a junior or senior student works outside the traditional academic environment to gain practical job experience and extend his/her learning to a new setting. Internships provide students not only with valuable work experience, but also help them to build professional networks, and give them a tremendous advantage in landing a good job upon graduation. Internships also give students the chance to get to know themselves better and to explore potential careers: What kinds of work do you enjoy the most? How do you react in particular work environments? What kinds of people do you like to work with? What things can you do particularly well? What area of geography and urban studies would you like or need to know more about?
The Department of Geography and Urban Science assists our majors in their search for internship opportunities by providing them with information, and possibly even contacts, but students are also encouraged to look for possible sponsors.
William Paterson University
300 Pompton Road
Wayne, New Jersey 07470
973-720-2000
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