Department of Political Science

Internships

The political science department offers a wide variety of internship opportunities.  In the past, students have worked in law offices, campaign organizations, nonprofit organizations, state legislative and congressional offices, and the governor’s office, as well as for equivalent offices at the county and municipal level. 

Internships, for example, are readily available at the state level, as Governor Jennifer M. Granholm’s office sponsors a website dedicated to helping students find internships in Michigan. Opportunities at the national level are also plentiful, especially as the federal government will need to fill 250,000 open positions across the next two years.  Last year alone, the federal government recruited more than 50,000 interns to work in hundreds of federal agencies across the nation.  Many of these positions groom interns for permanent positions with federal agencies.   

Internships in Lansing

The Capital City Internship Program is available for students to intern in the fall, spring and summer semesters in Lansing. Currently there are approximately 50 legislative, governmental and special interest internships available. Any and all majors are eligible and suited to apply. These internships are unpaid, but transportation is available to current CMU students during the fall and spring semesters. For more information about the program click here. Interested students should call Teisha Thelen, student internship coordinator, Career Services, 989-774-3068/

The most important thing that you can do is to tailor your internship experience to your personal interests.  Ideally, you will gain insight into whether you want to pursue a particular career and will gain connections to professionals working in that field.  Explore the links below to learn about internship opportunities in nonprofit and government offices at the federal, state and local levels.

• CMU Internships
• Michigan Internships
• InternJobs.com
• InternshipPrograms.com
• Congressional Budget Office
• Congressional Budget Office-Job Opportunities
• Arab American Institute Foundation
• City Hall Fellows
• Partnership for Public Service
• PSC Links of Interest

Both public and private sector job recruiters agree that students who have served an internship are at a distinct advantage over the competition.

• An internship demonstrates commitment and personal initiative.
• Interns bring valuable basic hands-on experience to their chosen profession.
• Interns are viewed as people who have tested a career path and enjoyed the experience. Accordingly, they are less likely to quit or be fired after a few months on the job.
• Many organizations recruit for permanent positions from their intern pool. Or they recommend promising interns for career positions with other organizations.

Two students land White House Internship  read story...