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Internships

Requirements for 3 Credit Internships:

  • Students seeking academic internship credit in Political Science must have both a minimum 2.0 GPA and have completed 60 credit hours (junior status) at the time of application for credit.
  • Students seeking internship credit must email Prof. Ebony Dawkins at endawkns@memphis.edu to request an application for internship credit.
  • Students must work 150 hours during the semester to be eligible for 3 academic credit hours in POLS 4231. Based on the working hours completed, students may earn 6 credit hours in one semester for POLS 4231.
  • Students granted a permit to register for the academic internship course will receive notification via their university email, including the CRN for which the student may register and an internship packet with all documents the student is responsible for submitting to complete the internship course successfully.
  • To be eligible to receive academic credit for an internship experience, students must register for the internship course, POLS 4231, and pay tuition for the credit hours.
  • Students receiving academic internship credits in Political Science should know that the grades earned for the course are “S” for Satisfactory or “U” for Unsatisfactory. Please view the Registrar's website for information on how these grades may affect your GPA.
  • All of the documents in the internship packet must be submitted via eCourseware at the end of the semester in which you are registered for academic internship credit.

*It is the student’s responsibility to submit all documents by the appropriate due date to receive academic credit for their internship experience.*

 Legislative Internship:

Tennessee General Assembly Internship

Every Spring semester, the University of Memphis sends approximately twenty students to Nashville to serve as interns in the Tennessee General Assembly.  Students live and work in Nashville, where they are assigned to work for a representative, senator, or legislative committee responsible for lawmaking in our State.  Interns will be assigned to legislative leadership offices and committees. They will be expected to devote full time to their legislative duties during the term of their appointments, adapting to the legislative schedule. Duties will vary from office to office but will include bill analysis, constituent work, research and general office work. This is an excellent opportunity to view the process of State politics first-hand!

Student interns will earn a minimum of 12 college credit hours at the 4000 level for approximately 600 working hours over the Spring semester. To help defray the costs of living in Nashville, students earn approximately $500/week.

Eligible students must have earned a minimum of 60 credit hours by the end of the Fall semester to apply for the following Spring legislative session, and they must have a minimum 3.0 GPA. Students in all majors are encouraged to apply for this opportunity. Application materials for the upcoming legislative session are available below.

Application Instructions:

Students will need to submit their application materials via email to Prof. Ebony Dawkins at legislativeinternship@memphis.edu, by October 4, 2024 at 5:30 p.m.

NOTE: Students should send all files in one email except the Intern Appraisal Questionnaires. Faculty appraisers are welcome to email their appraisals directly to legislativeinternship@memphis.edu. All documents should be submitted as PDF files. File names should include the applicant’s full name (example: TonyTigerAutobiography.pdf).

Applicants will receive invitations to interview upon receipt of their completed application packet. Initial interviews for the Tennessee Legislative Internship Program will be conducted with Prof. Dawkins via Microsoft Teams between October 7, 2024 and October 11, 2024. Students will be notified that they have been selected for the internship on or before the first week of November.  Students selected for the internship will serve as legislative interns from January 13, 2025 – May 2, 2025.

You can learn more about the internship via the Tennessee General Assembly’s website. Or download the brochure. You can also request further information by emailing the Faculty Representative, Prof. Ebony Dawkins, at legislativeinternship@memphis.edu.

 

tlip Tennessee General Assembly Internship

Representative/Senator Intern Positions:

Interns in any of these offices will handle constituent service, field opinions from constituents, research, and other office duties. To apply for any of these positions, send a resume, transcript (unofficial), and writing sample to Ebony Dawkins.

Representative Steve Cohen
The Clifford Davis/Odell Horton Federal Building
167 North Main Street, Suite 369
Memphis, TN 38103

Representative David Kustoff
5900 Poplar Ave., Suite 202
Memphis, TN 38119

Senator Marsha Blackburn
100 Peabody Place, Suite 1125
Memphis, TN 38103

Senator Bill Hagerty
Clifford Davis-Odell Horton Federal Building
167 North Main Street, Suite 1068
Memphis, TN 38103

Washington Center:

The Washington Center (TWC) for Internships and Academic Seminars is a highly competitive internship program in Washington, DC, that includes an internship, academic coursework and real-life experiences in the nation's capital. Through the Tennessee of Board Regents (TBR), up to five (5) University of Memphis students can receive up to $5,000 in scholarships. An additional $ 1,250 is contingent upon students staying in TWC housing and comes directly from The Washington Center. Visit http://www.twc.edu/ to learn more about the program. For scholarship and application information, contact the Campus Liaison, Yolanda Dillard, at (901) 678-5634 or e-mail ydillard@memphis.edu.

Urban Fellows Program:

The UFP is a year-round initiative that allows local college students to intern with various divisions of the City of Memphis Government. The program primarily enhances the interaction of area college students with the City, advancing the goal of getting students to consider employment after graduation. Departments could include Human Resources, Executive Division (Governor's Office), Public Works, Law, and Police.

This is an unpaid internship. The enrolled fellows will intern or work with the City of Memphis for ten (10) hours or more per week for one (1) semester. Fellows will also have regularly scheduled mentoring sessions throughout the semester and present a final report on their particular project covered. All fellows may receive college credit for their program participation if this is agreed upon with the educational agency.

Interested students should apply online at www.memphistn.gov. To proceed with the Urban Fellows application, you must select "Career Opportunities" and follow the prompts to "Register." To hear from past participants, feel free to view the Urban Fellows video on YouTube.

For questions, you may contact Linda Delaney by email.

Caissa Public Strategy:

Caissa Public Strategy works with non-profit agencies, government entities, and corporations to ensure they are pursuing the best possible plan for success. Caissa focuses on developing relationships between organizations and their key targets and stakeholders. Caissa conducts research, creates action plans, and solves problems for organizations seeking strategic change. The student will learn how to interact with non-profits, government agencies, and legislative bodies on the local, state and federal levels. Intern responsibilities may include but are not limited to: maintaining and creating blog content; researching potential blog topics and content; maintaining Caissa's social media sites; coordinating social media campaigns; working on press releases and earned media pieces; supportive services for everyday tasks; and coordinating volunteer and community outreach for special projects. This is a paid opportunity. Stipends will be commensurate with experience and activities assigned. To apply, students should send resumes and writing samples to Brandy Sims.