Political Science

The Department of Political Science offers many opportunities that involve student engagement in the community. There are internship and service learning opportunities in five areas: politics, criminal justice, legal studies, public administration and international relations. Classes like campaigns and elections, introduction to American government, introduction to criminal justice, legal para-professional, and law, politics and the distribution of justice include projects where

• Interns work on campaigns for city council, state legislature, Congress, and the presidency. Students have worked for both major political parties as well as the Green, Libertarian, and other parties.
• Paralegal interns at the Community Legal Information Center (CLIC) represent clients before administrative judges, assist prisoners with their cases (including death penalty appeals), work with community groups as environmental advocates, and help clients with restraining orders, traffic violations and tenant-landlord disputes.
• Public administration students work with city planners implementing the master plan for the City of Chico.
• The award winning Model United Nations team travels around the country to compete regionally, nationally, and internationally. These students gain valuable international relations experience and sharpen their diplomatic skills.

Students from any major are welcome to take advantage of these outstanding opportunities to gain valuable work experience, learn more about a career field, serve the community, and develop important skills. The department places an average of 175 students per semester in internships throughout the region.

Political Science service learning and internship partners include