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 ≥2.5, GPA in POS courses ≥ 3.0
- Completed at least 50 semester hours of credit
- Completed POS 110 or 310: Politics and Government, or equivalent
- 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.
Important Details
- The course is 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. David Ebner before the student begins the internship.
How to apply and receive POS 484 credit
Our internship application is currently being updated. Please email Dr. David Ebner ([email protected]) for more information.
Explore SPGS-led programs
Frequently Asked Questions
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.
It is not necessary to be a Political Science major to complete 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. See course requirements above.
Yes. If you are a Barrett student, you will automatically receive honors credit for completing POS 484.
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.
If you are a Political Science major in a catalog year prior to the 2025-2026 catalog year, POS 484 is not a planned option in the major and therefore you cannot be approved for CPT. We would suggest discussing the option of pre-OPT with your ISSC advisor and/or discuss with your SPGS Academic Advisor whether moving your catalog year forward would allow you to be eligible for CPT. If you are a Political Science major in a catalog year 2025-2026 and after, POS 484 is a planned option in the major and therefore can be approved for CPT.