University of Texas at Arlington
Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice
Internship Practicum
CRCJ 4390
Program Purpose
The internship practicum in Criminology and Criminal Justice (CRCJ) is not a
required course, but is an opportunity for students to gain “hands-on” practical
experience by working with practitioners in the various components of the
criminal justice system. These components include local, state, or federal law
enforcement; criminal justice adjudication; probation; corrections; and corporate
or governmental security. The program provides connection between the
environment of classroom learning and the professional world.
Program Benefits
Internships provide students the opportunity to determine if the work they think
they want to do as a profession is a good fit. In other words, the internship
experience can confirm a student’s future career plans, and can provide an
opportunity for self-evaluation of goals, attitudes, and values. Awareness of the
demands of the profession, as well as awareness of additional career
opportunities is provided to those who are selected as interns.
Although CRCJ 4390 is an elective, it is a privilege, not a right, to be selected to
be included in the course. Participation in the internship practicum is solely at the
discretion of the internship coordinator. Interns in the program represent the
University, the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, as well as
themselves. Therefore, students selected are expected to represent all of these
interests in a very positive and professional manner.
Prospective interns will be selected by a process which includes an application
review and an interview with the internship coordinator. After preliminary
acceptance, it is the responsibility of the student to contact an agency or
organization that is involved with the criminal justice system, complete their
required application and interview process, and be accepted as an intern by that
agency or organization. Students may also consider private companies that have
a corporate security or investigative department, such as large retailers and
insurance companies.
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Internship participation is jointly under the supervision of both the CRCJ
department internship coordinator and the internship director of the host agency
or company.
Eligibility
To be eligible to apply for participation in the internship program, students must
meet the following requirements:
 Be a UTA CRCJ major with senior status (90+ hours completed) in the
semester in which the student is enrolled in the course.
 Have completed at least 12 hours of CRCJ courses at UTA and 15 hours of
CRCJ courses overall.
 Have earned a cumulative GPA of 3.0+, and have a GPA of 3.0+ in CRCJ
courses.
 Be in good standing academically at UTA.
 Have a recommendation from one UTA CRCJ professor who has had the
student in at least one class (if the student has not previously had another
class taught by the internship coordinator).
 Establish a UTA email address and have access to a computer.
 Be able to pass an agency criminal background investigation, and a
urinalysis (if required).
 Be able to work at least 112 hours during the semester (for three hours
course credit) or 224 hours (for six hours course credit).
 Have transportation to the work site
 Have medical and automobile insurance
Additional Considerations
Students in the program will be required to sign an agreement that outlines the
terms of the internship. Interns will not intentionally be placed in dangerous
situations; however, accidents can happen. The agency, the University of Texas
at Arlington, the CRCJ department at UTA, nor anyone associated with the
internship program will be liable for injury or loss of life, limbs, etc. incurred by a
student involved in the internship program. Also, it is solely the discretion of the
agency or organization if any remuneration is paid to an intern. Very few CRCJ
internships are paid. Those that do involve some form of payment or stipend are
highly competitive.
Ordinary communication with interns during the semester will be by email
involving the use of the UTA email system, as it is the official means of
university-related communication. Personal email addresses will not be used.
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Intern Application Process
The entire application process must be completed in the semester prior to the
semester in which the student will be enrolled in the course (CRCJ 4390). The
following steps are required for acceptance in the CRCJ Internship Practicum:
1. Determine what kind of agencies/organizations best meet career
expectations and desires
2. Obtain an application directly from the coordinator or by email request to
the coordinator
3. Complete the Internship Practicum Application, and submit, along with a
resume and cover letter explaining why enrollment in the program is
desired, to the CRCJ Internship Coordinator
4. Have a CRCJ professor who has had the applicant in one or more courses
submit a brief recommendation to the coordinator by email
5. Schedule a personal interview with the program coordinator (during the
interview, the applicant will be expected to prepare for and treat the
interview as one would prepare for, and conduct oneself in an interview
with an agency or organization for a professional position)
6. Contact the agency/organization with which the student wishes to intern
to determine what will be required to apply for internship, and complete
and comply with the process, including any background investigations for
temporary security clearances
7. Upon acceptance by an agency or organization, complete an Internship
Practicum Agreement, which will be signed by the student intern, and the
intern coordinators from the agency and the CRCJ department
8. Register for the internship course, CRCJ 4390
9. Obtain a course syllabus from the CRCJ Internship Coordinator
Internship Practicum Coordinator
Kristy Smith
Room 353, University Hall
817.272.0318
Kristy.Smith@uta.edu