Opportunities for Internships

Internships can be an excellent complement to a political science major. The Department of Political Science encourages majors to consider political internships as an opportunity to experience politics and government from the inside. Many Kenyon political science majors undertake internships during the summer, as a part of an approved off-campus studies semester, or after their graduation.

Most students who intern arrange those internships on their own, usually as summer opportunities. An excellent site is maintained by the federal government to facilitate arranging internships in federal agencies: http://www.studentjobs.gov . Another comprehensive list is provided at the USAJOBS website. Students might also consider directly contacting their members of Congress, federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, and state agencies about internships. Most federal agencies post web pages that describe internship opportunities that you can easily find with a web search engine. The Career Center has developed a handout of information regarding internship opportunities in Political Science: http://documents.kenyon.edu/cdc/political_science_internships.doc.

Several Kenyon political science majors have studied for a semester off campus at the Washington Semester Program at American University. Another program encouraged by the Department is the Semester in Washington at George Washington University. Both programs combine academic study of politics and public policy with internship placements in federal agencies, non-governmental organizations, or on Capitol Hill.

Other political science majors have found excellent opportunities for internships on study-abroad programs in Britain and Ireland.

Some political science graduates choose to work as interns upon completion of their Kenyon degrees. An especially popular program among our graduates has been the Ohio Legislative Fellowship Program with the Ohio General Assembly in Columbus.