PSCI 3906 Political Science Internship – 1.0 credit – Offered Fall/Winter 2024-2025
PSCI 3907 Political Science Internship – 0.5 credit – Offered Fall 2024 and Winter 2025
Get placed in a politically-active organization in Ottawa area!
If you have always wondered how to put your political science coursework into practice, consider registering for the Ottawa Experience Placement course. You will be placed in a politically-active organization in the Ottawa area for one semester, and participate in their work using the skills and knowledge you have learned in your Political Science program at Carleton. These organizations include the offices of elected politicians, research and strategy firms, and advocacy organizations. This course is available for 0.5 or 1.0 credit, requires a minimum 9.0 GPA and third or fourth year standing, and is restricted to Political Science major students.
How does the placement work?
The course places a student in a politically-active organization for about one full day per week during the fall and/or winter semester, where they will perform a range of tasks set by the organization. The exact number of weeks is determined by the academic credit earned by the student (eg 0.5 versus 1.0 credit). Students will also meet in person with the whole class twice during the semester, once for an orientation to the placement, and once to discuss career-related issues. The time commitment of the placement falls roughly in line with the time commitment for a typical third or fourth year undergraduate course.
How is the course evaluated?
As this course is for an academic credit (rather than a work experience as per a co-op), it is evaluated by the course instructor. Evaluation consists of compiling an ongoing activity log, completion of a career-related assignment, and completion of a final reflective essay that uses your placement experience to consider the role of that organization in the political system of which it is a part (whether local, national, international). Additionally, the organization will provide a short end-of-placement evaluation of the experience of studenty, ranked according to a Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory scale using a rubric provided by the course instructor. Students will not receive a grade for this course unless they receive a satisfactory ranking in this evaluation.