For Students

Internships are available during fall, winter, and spring/summer semesters.

The internship experience consists of a total of 160 hours of work. Most students work at their internship two full days per week for ten weeks, and go to class on the other two days of the week. Thus, most students retain their full-time status by enrolling in the internship work (3 credit hours), the internship seminar (3 credit hours), and additional courses as needed. Interns earn six hours of upper level political science credit upon successful completion of both components of the program. Three credit hours are for your work experience.  The other three credit hours are upon successful completion of the Internship Seminar class which is offered in the Fall and Winter semesters.

All majors (except Criminology and Criminal Justice) and all class standings are welcome to apply for an internship.

You must have a 2.5 grade point average to be eligible.

Many of our students are offered a position upon finishing their placement, but there is no guarantee that this will occur. Oftentimes placement supervisors are able to recommend other organizations that are hiring and offer to write you a letter of recommendation.

Currently we offer students scholarship money to defray the cost of parking and gasoline to their placements. Placements in Lansing, Michigan receive additional consideration because of the travel costs and time.

After you have finished one semester at the University of Michigan-Dearborn you are eligible for placement. It is a good idea to make sure and turn in all of the required materials to our office as soon as possible as the best placements are first-come, first-serve.

Students wanting to intern in Washington, D.C. foreign policy, defense and intelligence agencies and think tanks need to apply as early as possible as many placements have extensive background clearance procedures. The Director will match your interests with placements that are currently accepting applications. Washington, D.C. is a very competitive and desirable placement, so you need to consider applying to a number of venues to obtain the best offer.

Students are required to pay for three credit hours tuition, based on your registration status. Students are required to take the internship seminar course before their placement, or in the fall semester following their placement. Students are also responsible for food, housing, transportation, laundry, and entertainment expenses. You can obtain a schedule of expected costs from our office.  Scholarship money is available for Washington, D.C. interns.

We have arranged housing through the George Washington University Summer Housing Program located in Washington, D.C. GWU housing rates are very reasonable and the campus is centrally located in Foggy Bottom, accessible to the Metrorail and bus routes, the Kennedy Center, and the State Department. Students may arrange their own housing or they are welcome to use our housing arrangement through George Washington University. Students need to pay in full the housing costs to GWU and the tuition fees to the University of Michigan – Dearborn before going to Washington, D.C.