Internships in Political Science

Internship opportunities are available for both undergraduate and graduate students in the Saint Louis University Department of Political Science. 

In addition to classroom and community internship opportunities, SLU students can also apply to these internship programs:

• The Fund for American Studies
• Illinois Legislative Studies Internship Program
• The Washington Center

Undergraduate Internships

SLU's Department of Political Science encourages our undergraduate majors to take political internships as part of their degree program, in consultation with their mentors. Internships can help you select a future career and provide excellent practical experience that potential employers appreciate.

The department offers a variety of types of internships, which may satisfy up to six credit hours of electives, including:

• POLS 3910: Federal Government Internship
• POLS 3911: State or Local Government Internship
• POLS 3914: Foreign Service Internship
• POLS 3915: Legal Internship
• POLS 3916: Campaign Practicum
• POLS 3917: Research Internship
• POLS 3918: Overseas Fieldwork
• POLS 3919: Women Leaders Internship
• POLS 4910: Political Science Internship

For more information on undergraduate internships contact Robert Cropf, Ph.D., at 314-977-3936 or robert.cropf@slu.edu. 

Graduate Internships

Graduate political science students at SLU may complete internships for up to six hours of credit. Students work under the direction of a preceptor at the internship location and a faculty member in the department.

A six-hour graduate internship will involve about 200 hours of work of a serious, professional character, central to the work of the agency or institution in which it occurs.

In addition to the work at the internship location, you will write an extensive paper, grounded in relevant academic literature, which may take the form of a well-defended policy recommendation paper, a formal grant proposal, or a professional quality paper, as approved by a faculty member.

Internship locations may be in St. Louis, Washington D.C., or elsewhere. Some paid government internship programs exist, such as with the CIA. If you want to undertake those internships as part of your M.A. work, apply early as it can take more than a year to make it through the application process.

For more information on graduate internships contact Robert Cropf, Ph.D., at 314-977-3936 or robert.cropf@slu.edu.

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