Opportunities
2009 Undergraduate Paper Award
The Advisory Board for the Department of Political Science has established an annual undergraduate paper award competition. Receiving a paper award is a nice addition to your resume as you begin your job search or apply to graduate or professional schools. And the awards come with cash prizes!
There are no set guidelines on the length or type of paper considered. For example, if you are writing a 6-page policy memo or a 20-page research paper, both are eligible and will be evaluated based on the writing assignment given by the professor. A professor may nominate a paper you wrote in the spring, summer, or fall of 2009. The first step is to suggest your paper to the course professor, or the professor may contact you recommending that you submit for the competition.
The Director of Undergraduate Studies, Professor Cameron Thies, will contact you for a copy of the paper for the committee of faculty reviewers. The committee will select three finalists. Those finalists will be asked to work with their professor to revise the paper and prepare a PowerPoint presentation for the Advisory Board.
The three finalists will make their presentation to the Advisory Board at the annual meeting in February, 2010. The Advisory Board will then vote for a first, second, and third place winner. The award for first place is $500, second place is $250, and third place is $100. The awards will be presented at the board meeting.
If you have any questions about the paper award competition, please contact Professor Cameron Thies.
Career Center
Contact the Career Center for information about internships available to UI students, including the Government Internship described below. Some internship opportunities are posted on the bulletin board outside of room 140 Schaeffer Hall, or listed on our Internships web page.
030:191 Government Internships 1, 2, 3 s.h.
Undergraduate internships in state or national legislative office, executive agency, or election campaign official. Offered Satisfactory/Fail basis only. Consent of instructor required. Does not count towards major or minor in Political Science. However, the course will be counted in the 50 semester hours of credit from one academic department maximum that the University of Iowa accepts toward the 120 semester hours needed for a B.A., B.S., or B.L.S. degree. Students may not take this course more than twice for a total of 6 credit hours.
Requirements:
1. Student is to work approximately 10 hours/week over a 15 week period which equals 150 hours of office work for three hours credit. Credit may be prorated for fewer hours of office work (100 hours equals 2 credit hours; 50 hours equals 1 credit hour.
2. Student is to provide a job description, signed by immediate supervisor. May choose state or national legislative office, executive agency, or election campaign official.
3. Student is to provide a detailed log of activities for a typical one-week period.
4. Student is to provide a file of illustrative paperwork.
5. A letter of appraisal is to be sent by the supervisor to the faculty director of the internship.
6. The student is to provide a five-page paper evaluating the internship experience.
Consider these possibilities
