In response to a Faculty Senate mandate, the Political Science department implemented a Capstone requirement. The department’s goal was to add an experiential learning component to the academic curriculum. While some students fulfill this requirement with a Study Away program, most will choose some form of internship.
A recent study underscores the market value of an internship experience. In general, employers are more likely to offer a position to students who had internships, whether paid or unpaid. Most Political Science majors will have unpaid internships. While there may be chicken soup and popcorn for dinner in the short run, unpaid federal government interns increase their job offer chances by 50% and unpaid state/local government interns increase their offer chances by 34%.
While there is a market advantage, the real value of an internship is the experience itself; allowing students to connect-the-dots between academics and a career.