Unlike other PLS courses, you cannot just register for the internship course when you think you are ready to take it. While faculty members can sometimes help you find an internship, most students find their own internship opportunities and bring them to the faculty. If you want help in finding an internship, start talking to any of the PLS faculty now.
information provided by Dr. Gossett
Below is a recommended procedure if you are thinking about doing an internship:
1. Contact the appropriate internship instructor well before you actually plan to enroll in the internship with your idea for the internship. Ideally, this should be about two quarters before (i.e., be talking to someone in Fall for a Spring internship). Only in the rarest of circumstances, however, should you be talking to a faculty member about an internship for the next quarter during pre-registration for the next quarter. Have an initial meeting with the appropriate instructor before finalizing any internship agreement with a potential sponsor.
- if the internship is with a local government agency or local nonprofit organization, you should see Dr. Gossett (PLS 471);
- if it is with a politician (Congress member, Assembly member, City Council member, etc.) or legislative body, you should see Dr. Reese (PLS 472);
- if it is with an organization concerned with international affairs or if it is overseas, you should see Dr. Silliman (PLS 473).
2. Once you have identified an internship opportunity, met with an instructor and been accepted (by both the internship sponsor and the instructor), you should bring a written letter from the internship sponsor that outlines exactly what your tasks will be, how many hours they expect you to know who will be your supervisor (and who will provide an evaluation of your work performance for the instructor).
3. Bring that letter to the instructor who will be supervising your internship. The two of you will develop an agreement about exactly what the instructor expects from you in terms of periodic reports, reading expectations, final written products and anything else they may deem appropriate.
In normal circumstances, the instructor will not provide you with a Permission Number to enroll in the internship unless these three steps have been completed BEFORE the quarter begins.
We recognize that not all internships are designed with Cal Poly's school year in mind. Typically, however, you should be enrolled for the internship credits during the quarter in which you expect to finish up the internship. Some students who have longer internships with fewer hours per week enroll for two internships until they finish up the entire internship. All of these variations can be negotiated with the internship instructor, but it is important that this be done well in advance of actually beginning the work if you wish to earn credit for it.
