Fellowships

Internships

Internships provide invaluable experience for SPIA undergraduates. Most internships will not be suitable candidates for academic credit, particularly those undertaken for just a few weeks during the summer semester. Pursuing an academic component to an internship opportunity adds a significant amount of intellectual effort to the work associated with the actual internship. Please note that SPIA does NOT allow credit for the internship itself, but for the additional academic component required by the faculty.

Students interested in internships are required to secure an offer & arrange for a faculty sponsor.  The Career Center at Clark Howell Hall (706.542.3375) is a valuable resource when searching for & obtaining internships.  Professors normally will serve as sponsors only when convinced that a student has both the necessary preparation & ability to complete a successful research project during the internship. As part of that preparation, a student must have had at least one of the specified pre-requisite courses. SPIA is under no obligation to offer internship credit to any student & will not do so retroactively.

Please click on the following links for information on:

Georgia Legislative Internship Program
Governor's Intern Program
CITS Internships

The course offerings permit students to enroll for 4-12 credit hours for an internship:

Internship performance : One four-hour course graded an "S/U" for job performance. This requires formal feedback from the agency or organization that is sponsoring the internship.

Internship research paper : One four-hour course graded A-F for an original empirical research paper.

Internship analytical essays: One four-hour course graded A-F for 15 analytical essays in which students draw upon their upper division course work and "analyze" observations & ideas from their internship experience.

NOTE: Students are not allowed to enroll only in the S/U course. Students must take at least one, or both, of the other academic courses (research paper and/or analytical essays).

After securing an offer, students must obtain a signed Internship Request Form (available on-line or at Advising) from a faculty member to act as a supervisor and return that form to the advising office. As part of the enrollment process, students also are required to secure a letter of agreement from the agency or organization that will sponsor the internship. This letter should be returned to the advising office

We expect that students will work "full time" for the agency or organization for at least twelve weeks over the course of a semester. The remainder of the semester should be used to focus on activities in support of the internship (including the completion of research for academic credit). Students and faculty supervisors will be in contact via e-mail on a regular basis. In addition, students are encouraged to return to campus to discuss academic requirements with the faculty supervisor for at least one meeting over the course of the semester.

Course offerings

Course offerings are designed to take into account the substantive content of both the internship and the previous academic work completed by that student. Pre-requisites are therefore tied to the substantive content of the internship.

a. Legislative Internship (POLS 5100, 5101, 5102): Internships related to state or national legislatures. Pre-requisite: POLS 4600 Legislative Process or POLS 4660 Southern Politics.

b. Lobbying Internship (POLS 5110, 5101, 5112): Internships for lobbying organizations, including work for non-profits. Pre-requisite: POLS 4540 Interest Group Politics or POLS 4600 Legislative Process or POLS 4650 State Politics or POLS 4070 Theories of Political Choice or POLS 4520 Electoral Behavior.

c. Campaigns Internship (POLS 5120, 5121, 5122): Internships for organizations involved in political campaigns. Pre-requisite: POLS 4530 American Political Parties or POLS 4615 Campaign Politics or POLS 4510 Public Opinion and Democracy or POLS 4520 Electoral Behavior or POLS 4550 Government and the Mass Media or POLS 4600 Legislative Process or POLS 4640 Southern Politics.

d. Federal, State, or Local Government Internship (POLS 5130, 5131, 5132): Internships for governmental agencies at any level, including courts, prosecutors, and public defenders. Pre-requisite (directly related to agency work): PADP 4620 Public Administration and Democracy, PADP 4630 Government Budgeting and Finance, POLS 4640 Urban Politics, POLS 4640 State Politics, POLS 4730 Criminal Law, POLS 4720 Criminal Procedure, POLS 4740 Judicial Process and Behavior.

Students are responsible for identifying organizations to sponsor internships and faculty who will serve as supervisors. Consistent with past policy, students are encouraged to contact those faculty members who were their instructors for a previous upper division course.

Pi Sigma Alpha

The University of Georgia has the Alpha Chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha , the national political science honor society. Students with at least a 3.2 overall grade point average & at least a 3.2 in four Political Science courses not including POLS 1101, are eligible to apply. Application forms are available in the Undergraduate Office & are accepted throughout the year. New members are inducted each spring & participate in Honors Day convocation. The membership fee is $35. For more information, students may speak to an advisor or the faculty sponsor, Dr. John A. Maltese .

Governor's Intern Program

The Governor's Intern Program pays a small stipend & places students with state & local agencies in Georgia , as well as some nonprofit organizations.  Deadlines are October 18th for spring, April 1st for summer, & July 11th for fall.

Georgia Legislative Internship Program

The Georgia Legislative Intern Program places students from Georgia's state & private universities & colleges in the General Assembly every winter.  Only a small number of students are accepted.  Applications are available from the Carl Vinson Institute of Government (706.542.2736) or here .  The deadline falls around May 1 each year for the following spring semester.

Study Abroad

SPIA has several study abroad programs.  The Verona , Italy & Kyoto , Japan programs are both affiliated with SPIA through The Center for the Study of Global Issues.  More information can be found here . 

The SPIA @ Oxford program sends students to Oxford University during the spring.  Information about the SPIA @ Oxford program can be found here.

UGA @ Paris is A joint Study Abroad program of the Department of Geography, Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, and of the Department of International Affairs, School of Public and International Affairs, The University of Georgia. Information can be found here.

There are plans to add more study abroad opportunities & exchange programs in the future.

Model United Nations

The University of Georgia 's Model United Nations Club is sponsored by SPIA.  Students that are accepted to the Model U.N. Club earn course credit in POLS 4300.  They also spend one week in New York City , as well as develop their debating & public relations skills.  Any UGA student interested in the Model U.N. Club should e-mail Dr. William O. Chittick at ugamunc@yahoo.com .

Center for International Trade & Security Internships

CITS offers University of Georgia students the opportunity to intern with the center.  More information can be found here .