Internships, Jobs & Careers
Internships
Why an internship?
- Learn through practical experience
- Invaluable as a means of professional networking and career advancement
- Make connections between regular classroom work and possible profession
- Earn college credit
- Intern in DC via our affiliation with The Washington Center
Placements
- national, state, and local executive and legislative offices
- government agencies
- political campaigns
- party and interest group organizations,
- think tanks
- judicial agencies
- law firms
- international business
- international non-government organizations (NGOs).
For Employers
If you are interested in sponsoring an internship, please email us at plsdept@gvsu.edu with the following:
- Position Description
- Estimated hours
- Length of Position
- How to apply
- Contact information
Set Up Your Internship
Internship Syllabus
PLS & IR Internship Syllabus
Experience Matters
See examples of GVSU Political Science internships from each student's perspective at the Experience Matters site.
Contacts
Political Science: Dr. Donald Zinman
Phone: (616) 331-8714; Email: zinmand@gvsu.edu
International Relations: Dr. Polly Diven
Phone: (616) 331-3282; Email: divenp@gvsu.edu
Internship Postings
April 17, 2018
State Rep. Jim Lilly (R-MI 89th) internship announcement
March 21, 2018
U.S. Senator Gary Peters State Office Intern Opportunity
Paid Political Campaign Fellowship with Students for a New American Politics PAC Summer 2018
February 26, 2018
Paid Political Campaign Fellowship with Students for a New American Politics PAC Summer 2018
Jobs, Careers, Grad School & Law School
Jobs & Careers
The department faculty work closely with Career Services and students on internships and career advising. Students are highly encouraged to pursue an internship. Capstone professors help senior students to prepare for careers and graduate school. For more information, consult our career guide and visit with your faculty advisor.
Career options
- Advocacy
- Business
- Campaigns & elections
- Communication
- Criminal justice
- Education
- Government
- International affairs
- Law
- Non-profit
- Public administration and policy
Graduate & Law School
Political science is a suitable major for many graduate programs:
- Business
- Communication
- Criminal justice
- Education
- International relations
- Law (Pre-law information)
- Political science
- Public administration
- Public Policy
- Earn a dual degree in political science and law through LEAP. Earn a BA or BS from GVSU political science and a JD from Michigan State University College of Law
For more information:
Pre-law
See the graduate school section of our career guide.
Spotlights
LEAP student with multiple clerkships at MSU Law
Pursuing PhD and Studying Medicare Policy
Master's Student Working for State Department
Product Technician at Sydex Computing Systems
Thomas Bell
Higher Education Consultant
News
September 09, 2019
Beyerlein and Mattler Named Batchelder Scholars for 2019-2020
September 09, 2019
Bretschneider and Mendez Win Malson Memorial Scholarship
August 19, 2019
Professors Teach at GVSU Partner University in Germany
August 14, 2019
GVSU Students Participate in the National Security Seminar
Professor Gasim Provides Expert Analysis of Developments in Yemen
July 29, 2019
Dr. Gamal Gasim, Professor of Political Science and Middle East Studies, has been quoted and interviewed in multiple news outlets recently about the UAE's announcement of a troop reduction in Yemen
Events
HRT Film Series: Good Night, and Good Luck.
September 19, 2019 6:30 PM
Pizza will be provided, and the event is Lib 101/201 approved. This Oscar nominated film, starring George Clooney, tells the story of news reporters’ efforts to stand up to Joseph McCarthy...
Water on the Mind: A Baroque Musical Journey - LIB 100 APPROVED!
September 23, 2019 7:30 PM
Water has transfixed the imagination and creative artistry of the human race since the earliest days on earth. To the ancient Greeks, water defined life and was seen as the essential element in the...
JEFFREY ROSEN: CONSTITUTION DAY 2019
September 24, 2019 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
The Hauenstein Center for Presidential Studies helps us celebrate Constitution Day by hosting Jeffrey Rosen, esteemed legal scholar and CEO of the National Constitution Center. Rosen will offer his...
HRT Film Series: Beasts of No Nation
October 15, 2019 6:30 PM
Pizza will be provided, and the event is Lib 101/201 approved. According to international law, it is a crime to enlist children under the age of 15 to serve as soldiers in war and yet hundreds...
GVSU FALL 2019 CAREER & INTERNSHIP FAIR
October 16, 2019 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Wed. 10/16/19: Career & Internship Fair, 1-5 p.m. Thur. 10/17/19: Next-Day Interviews (by employer invitation only), 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. The Career & Internship Fair is an excellent place...