POLITICAL SCIENCE 685: Honors Research Internship

Overview

The purpose of the Honors Research internship is to introduce a talented student to political science research.  A research intern does not carry out an independent project.  Instead, he or she serves as a research assistant on faculty research and scholarly projects.  The student's assignments should provide an opportunity to develop research skills and should be above those of a 'gofer' or basic clerical assistant.  The Political Science Department will post on its web page and in the Undergraduate Advisor's office a list of those faculty members seeking interns for the upcoming semester.

Use this form (pdf) to apply for the honors internship.

Guidelines

• Tasks: The student and faculty member will establish the duties of the internship.  Research skills will vary by project and field, but some examples would be data collection and analysis, database management, archival research, textual or content analysis, and interviewing.  Ideally, the internship would involve a mix of skills, but this may not be possible in every project.  Where appropriate, the faculty member should also introduce the student to issues and dilemmas inherent in the research enterprise such as hypothesis formation and testing, case selection and analysis, qualitative versus quantitative techniques, time series versus cross sectional analysis, and so on.  Early in the internship, the faculty member should address the confidentiality of the research process, results, and participants to avoid misunderstandings.

• Credits: 3 credit hours.  Grading is on a pass/fail basis only.
• Stipend: There is no stipend or financial compensation for the student except for reimbursement of incidental research expenses.
• Prerequisites: All political science honor students are eligible.  The faculty member may have specific prerequisites related to the internship.  Examples would be language proficiency, statistical training, computer skills, and particular coursework.
• Hours: For an internship of 3 credit hours in the fall or spring semester, a student should expect to work about 10 hours per week on average.  The student and the faculty member should arrange a mutually convenient schedule for the work.
• Meetings: Frequent meeting between the student and faculty member are encouraged.  The exact number of meetings will depend on a number of factors, but at least one meeting a week is recommended.  These meetings are considered a part of the student's weekly hours.
• Form: The student and faculty member must complete and submit to the Undergraduate Advisor the Honors Research Internship Form (pdf)
• Problems: The Undergraduate Advisor is available to assist the student and faculty member