POS 484: Political Science Internships
Earn course credit with your internship
Get valuable, hands-on work experience upon graduation through an internship and earn POS 484: Political Science Internship course credit offered by the School of Politics and Global Studies within the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Students are encouraged to research internship opportunities on their own. Explore options offered by SPGS like Capital Scholars, Policy Design Studio and the Arizona Legislature Internship Program or find other opportunities through ASU’s Career Services.
Application Deadlines
Students must have an internship secured, all necessary paperwork submitted to the Political Science Internship Coordinator and complete the application in Handshake by the dates indicated. Learn more about how you can apply and receive POS 484: Political Science Internship credit below.
Oct. 1st
Fall deadline
March 1st
Spring deadline
July 10th
Summer deadline
Eligibility Requirements
- Overall GPA of at least 2.5.
- Completed at least 50 semester hours of credit.
- Students are expected to have at least 12 hours of coursework completed at ASU.
- 3.0 in all Political Science courses taken. Preqs POS 110 or 310: Politics and Government or the equivalent.
- It is not necessary to be a political science major to do an internship for political science credit. It is necessary, however, that a student has completed some political science course work before beginning an internship for political science credit.
Important Details
- The course is offered as an online class, so you can participate in the academic component of class from anywhere. If your internship is out of state, you may still be eligible to enroll.
- The course a letter-graded class and applies to your GPA. Coursework is completed with the POS 484 professor.
- Internship credit must be earned during the semester in which a student completes the internship. Retroactive credit is not granted.
- All paperwork and final approval must go through Political Science Internship Coordinator Dr. Gina Woodall before the student begins the internship.
How to apply and receive POS 484 credit
- Ensure you are eligible for credit by emailing your transcripts to Dr. Woodall
- Internship organization or agency is then approved or denied by Dr. Woodall. If denied, Dr. Woodall will contact you.
- Once these steps are completed, apply online by going to ASU Handshake.
- Click on “Career Center" > “Experiences" > “Submit an Experience" and search for “Political Science Internship POS 484”
- Fill out the application form fully. It’s important that you have your supervisor’s correct email address under “Internship supervisor” information.
- Let Dr. Woodall know you applied and await further instruction.
Explore SPGS-led programs
Frequently Asked Questions
The first step, before you go through the application process, is to (1) be sure you are eligible for credit and (2) the internship organization/agency is approved by Dr. Woodall. After steps 1 and 2 are complete, then apply online by going to http://asu.joinhandshake.com/experiences and searching “Political Science Internship POS 484.”
Yes. If you are not enrolled in the Arizona Legislative Internship program, you are limited to earning 6 POS 484 credits per internship experience. You may complete more than one internship during your time at ASU, however, and may earn additional credits (beyond the 6) that don’t go towards your major requirements, but do go towards your total upper division elective credits.
No. You must be registered for POS 484 in the same semester that you complete your internship work.
No, your current job is not eligible to be considered for POS 484 credit. However, if it can be demonstrated that you will be working on special projects OUTSIDE of your “normal” job duties, and it is related to political science broadly, then we can discuss the possibility.
Yes. Contact Dr. Woodall to chat about different possibilities.