CJ Internship

Internship

All Criminal Justice majors must complete an internship with an agency or organization whose responsibilities are related to the criminal justice system. Such organizations may be governmental, private businesses, or non-profit agencies. The internship is 400 hours (essentially 40 hours a week for 12 weeks) and counts as 12 credit hours towards a student’s graduation requirements. Students may complete an internship with an approved agency in any geographic location. Students choose the agency with which they intern depending upon their professional and intellectual interests as well as other considerations.

The purpose of the internship is to provide a real-world learning experience for students. In particular, the experience will allow students to see how things discussed in the classroom are applied in real-world settings. Interns are not simply volunteers who run errands or file paperwork, though these will likely be part of any internship experience. What an individual intern does will vary depending on the type of agency and the unique circumstances at the time. However, it is expected that interns will have numerous learning experiences such as interacting with a variety of agency and non-agency personnel and being involved in a range of activities associated with the agency’s official responsibilities.