PUAD 496: INTERNSHIP IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
Syllabus/Fall 05
Doug Skelley, Professor
Maury Hall 210/211
Phone: 568-6832 (o); 434-8046 (h)
Email: skellebd@jmu.edu
Office Hours:
MWF 10-11; Th 12:00-2:00
Other Times by Appointment

PUAD 496 serves as the internship course for student concentrating in
public administration and public administration/criminal justice.

Students are expected to do internship activities appropriate to their
concentration.

PUAD 496 does NOT serve as the capstone course for PUAD/CJ (in lieu
of PUAD 482 Senior Seminar in Criminal Justice) starting with students
entering JMU in 2002.
Requirements:
1. AGREEMENT: Complete (with your internship provider) the INTERNSHIP TRAINING
AGREEMENT and return it to faculty internship coordinator (Prof. Skelley) by the end of
the FIRST WEEK of the internship.
2. WORK: Complete the 240 or more work hours required.
3. SHARING THE INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE: Four times during the semester you must
share on the Blackboard Discussion Board:
(a) A self-introduction (who you are, why you are interested in POSC, what you hope to
do, etc.) and your first impressions of the internship. Read others’ postings and write a
comment about someone else’s posting.
(b) Topics you are considering researching. Read others’ postings and write a comment
about someone else’s posting.
(c) Your research topic and comments about the progress of your internship—what you
are doing and learning. Read others’ postings and write a comment about someone
else’s posting.
(d) Evaluation of the internship experience. Read others’ postings and write a comment
about someone else’s posting.
(See Course Information on Blackboard for dates these are due.)
4. VISITATION: The internship coordinator will attempt to visit you and your supervisor
at the internship site either just before or just after midterm. You must assist in
scheduling this visit. Sometimes it isn’t feasible to visit students who are doing
internships out of the area. In such cases the coordinator will attempt to schedule a
phone interview with the student’s internship supervisor and to maintain contact with
the student through email and the Blackboard.
5. WRITTEN REQUIREMENTS:
(a) Keep a DAILY LOG that reports the days and hours worked as well as each day's
activities and any notes on what you have learned. Submit this to the faculty internship
coordinator at the end of the internship.
(b) In the third week of the internship, discuss possible RESEARCH PAPER TOPICS
with the internship coordinator. Submit a two page PROSPECTUS and a RESEARCH
BIBLIOGRAPHY on the topic you want to research in the sixth week of the internship.
(See Blackboard Course Information: Research Report Prospectus.)
(c) Write a RESEARCH PAPER (not less than ten pages) that is related to the work of
the office or agency in which you are working. The topic of this research project should
be determined in consultation with your internship provider and your faculty internship
coordinator. See details at Blackboard Course Information: Research Report
Prospectus.
(d) Write a CAREER REPORT (not less than five pages) analyzing your internship
experience as a learning experience and what insight it has given you into a career in
the office or agency in which you worked. Submit your paper to the coordinator at the
end of the internship. See details at Blackboard Course Information.
6. STUDENT'S EVALUATION OF INTERNSHIP: Turn in this form at the end of the
internship with your papers and log.
7. PROVIDER'S EVALUATION OF INTERN: Give this form to your internship supervisor
who should mail it to the faculty internship coordinator. This form requires an
assessment of your work performance during the internship. Be sure to prompt your
supervisor to complete the PROVIDER’S EVALUATION about two weeks before the end
of classes. You will not receive a grade unless the provider has submitted this
evaluation.
Supervisors should mail this form to:
Faculty Internship Coordinator
Department of Political Science
MSC 1101
James Madison University
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
8. SUBMISSION OF MATERIALS: Please turn in the LOG, RESEARCH PAPER, CAREER
REPORT, and STUDENT’S EVALUATION OF INTERNSHIP together by Monday of the
last week of classes.