Hosting a Department of Political Science student enrolled in one of our internship classes means being a teacher, mentor, and opportunity-creator. 

We only approve those experiences that maximize learning potential for the student while providing useful, quality work products for you and your organization. 

As such, we work with students to build their capacity to assess if they are a good fit for you in addition to you being a good fit for them; our goal is to ensure that the benefits that you receive from your intern outweigh the time you will invest in their personal and professional development. 

Should a match occur between you and one of our students, one of the first tasks for you both is to sit down and walk through our Internship MOU together, discussing expectations before work commences. This MOU serves to prevent miscommunication and to provide a tool against with correct action, if needed, may occur.

Items that may appear in the MOU include:

• Report to work on the days and times agreed upon with their supervisor for the required number of hours, based upon the program and class. 
• Perform all assigned tasks to the best of their ability. 
• Set up and attend a weekly one-on-one check in with their supervisor to ask questions, receive task assignments and feedback. 
• Meet weekly with their faculty instructor and my classmates during an assigned virtual reflection discussion time. 
• Arrange for a 'site visit' meeting between themselves, their supervisor, and their faculty advisor at least once during the experience.  

Then, the MOU states that you, the work supervisor, will:

• Provide the student intern with practical work experiences that are professionally relevant to the student intern. 
• Provide the student with work experiences that generate meaningful learning related to the student's major and/or minor. 
• Meet weekly, on average, with the student intern to develop a relationship, provide instructions, create a space for questions, and deliver feedback. 
• Participate in the 'site visit' meeting arranged by the student intern and including the faculty advisor. 
• Contact the faculty internship faculty members with any concerns regarding the student intern or unforeseen interruptions of the ability to fulfill the other items of this MOU. 
• Assist the faculty coordinator in evaluting the student intern's performance to assign a grade at the end of the internship experience. 

Inquiries concerning the Department's main campus undergraduate internships should be directed ro Dr. Fred Mayhew, Undergraduate Internship Coordinator, mayhewfd@jmu.edu

For questions regarding undergraduate internships in the JMU Washington Semester program, contact the JMU D.C. Center Director Dr. Edward Yang at yangyx@jmu.edu 

Questions regarding the department's graduate internship programs should be directed to the director of the graduate program of interest:

• Master of Public Administration (MPA) program -- Dr. Rob Alexander (alexanrw@jmu.edu)
• Master of Political Science program with a concentration in European Union policy studies (EUPS) program -- Dr. Charles Blake (blakech@jmu.edu) 

Return to the Internship Program Home Page