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Internships Within Political Science

Internships provide students with the opportunity to apply knowledge and skills they have acquired during their studies in an applied setting. Political science internships usually last for one semester, are undertaken alongside other courses, and require students to complete an extended research project while working in a host organisation. In this paper, I discuss the benefits of creating internship schemes, highlight examples of distinctive and best practice, and identify some of the challenges involved in establishing and, crucially, sustaining internships. The paper has been written with the assistance of colleagues coordinating internship programs in other political science departments and is intended to stimulate interest in establishing internships elsewhere. Appearing elsewhere in this issue, Ann Capling (2010) offers a generally critical assessment of teaching within the discipline. Internships are not a panacea for the problems she identifies. The development of a number of innovative internship schemes does, however, constitute a disciplinary success story.