Humboldt State University
PSCI 470
Thursday, 6:00 - 7:00 pm (as announced)
Fall Semester 2008                                                                                                                                       

Prof: Bill Daniel
Office: 130 Founders Hall
Hours: 11:00 - 1 2:00 Tu,Th, 10:30 - 11:30 W,or by appointment
Phone: 826-3914
wrd1@humboldt.edu, wrdaniel05@ pacbell.net
www.humboldt.edu/~wrd1


INTERNSHIPS

This internship allows you to gain experience in and understanding of a political world beyond the classroom. You will also have the opportunity to reflect upon this experience and explore the links between it and your classroom studies. This can fulfill the experience/methods requirement for political science majors.

There are two avenues to arranging an internship placement. If you already know of an organization, agency, or office in which you can work, then you may set up the placement yourself and discuss it with me. Otherwise, you should review the binders in our department office that list possibilities and work with me to arrange a placement. Once we identify a possibility together, I will help arrange a meeting between you and a potential supervisor. You will be responsible for meeting with this person and determining whether the position is mutually agreeable and discussing expectations and scheduling with them. Internships are unpaid.

Hands-on experience can be the most effective and interesting way to learn. As a liberal arts major, it is also a great way to develop skills that will open up future career possibilities. I encourage you to make the most of this opportunity. Ask questions, make suggestions, demonstrate interest and motivation! Don't always wait for a supervisor to tell you what to do; sometimes it's best to figure out what needs to be done and offer to do it. Most importantly, be sure to communicate frequently with your supervisor and with me.

Requirements: The central requirement of this 'class' will be to serve the organization or office, for which you are interning, capably and professionally. Remember that your performance reflects not only upon you, but also upon our department and University. Your supervisor will fill out an evaluation of your performance at the end of the semester.

You will be required to keep an informal journal of your internship. These will serve as the basis for our Tuesday evening discussions. In addition you will have an "informal assignment," which you will be asked to report on some aspect of the organization for which you intern.  You will be required to submit a "Career Plan", where you make some tentative career choices, assess the skills you have, those you need, and how to get the latter.  Obviously there's no b

life long contract here.You may wish to work with Rebecca at the Career Center on this assignment. Also you will be required to produce a five page "what I have learned" paper. Finally, you will be asked to provide a brief evaluation of the organization for which you have interned and your experience there. Hand in Papers, Plans and Journals December 11.

Credit Hours: This is a variable unit course (1-4). (NOTE: If you do not select a particular number of units when registering online, the default is 1 unit!) For each unit of internship credit, you should work an average of 3 hours per week during the semester. So, if you are registered for 4 units, you should expect to work about 12 hours a week. In some cases, you may work more hours at one point in the semester and less at another point. A minimum of 3 units is required to complete the experience/methods requirement for political science majors.

Class Meetings: We will only meet as a whole group on Tuesday evenings six times. I have scheduled these required meeting dates for:
August 28,            September 4*         September 18      October  9,    October 30 1,   November 20       December 11   (Journals, "Plans" and Papers turned in by December  11)

These are subject to change. I will also try to arrange at least one individual conference with you so that you can get some mediated feedback from your supervisor. This is a place and time where you can share thoughts, experiences, or frustrations, as well as pose questions to me and your peers. It is your responsibility to contact me between these times if you have any questions, problems, etc., with your internship.

* For those who have not yet secured a placement by this date