BSCV 302: CIVICUS Capstone Internship Guidelines

Spring 2023

The purpose of this capstone internship is to provide CIVICUS students in their final semester with hands-on experience in an area related to civic engagement through work with non-profit organizations, political engagement, community outreach, or research. The internship gives students real-world experiences that will help them develop both hard and soft skills to support their ongoing work with the community. The internship is part of BSCV 302, a blended course (some on-line and some in-person classes) that reinforces the connection between the skills students develop in internships and the strategies for civic engagement that they learned in previous CIVICUS courses. This course fulfills a General Education: Scholarship in Practice requirement. Completion of the course or an exception listed below is required for the CIVICUS Citation.

FINDING AN INTERNSHIP

CIVICUS Resources: We will be adding internship listings to the weekly CIVICUS newsletter. You can also check the CIVICUS internship database https://go.umd.edu/civicusinternshipdatabasesp22 for internship students have done in the past.

Other Databases: Students can find internship opportunities on the Career Center's Careers4 Terps webpage at https://careers.umd.edu/careers4terps. Other possible search engines for jobs with civic engagement are https://www.indeed.com/ and https://www.idealist.org/.

Speak with a Career Advisor: Students in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences can schedule an appointment with the Feller Center. There are also career centers specific to A. James Clark School of Engineering and the Robert H. Smith School of Business. Students in other majors can visit Careers4Terps and schedule an appointment with an advisor.

If you would like to discuss possible internships or brainstorm ideas, reach out to Korey Rothman at krothman [at] umd.edu to schedule a one-on-one meeting.

BASE REQUIREMENTS

Nature of Internship: The internship must have a component related to civic engagement. Some examples include working with Common Ground, political engagement, community outreach, direct service, research, or work with non profit organizations.

Supervision: Students must have a supervisor who is an experienced professional in the field. The supervisor must oversee the student, have regular engagement with the student, and be willing to provide frequent mentorship and feedback.

Hours: Students must work a minimum of ninety hours over the course of the semester, excluding travel and meals. Internship hours must be completed between the first day of spring classes and the reading day of spring classes. You cannot count an internship retroactively – i.e., it cannot be an experience you completed in a past semester. Students who do not complete the ninety hours by the last day of classes (without previous consultation with Korey Rothman) will have a grade reduction of 1% per hour they did not complete.

Delivery Method: It is preferable that the internship be in person, but, in some cases, remote or hybrid internships will be considered. Adherence to the site’s vaccination requirements as well as current state and local COVID-19 directives and CDC guidelines in the workplace and on transportation is required.

Prior Experience: It is preferable that this not be an organization you have already worked with. If it is, the internship must be a new experience with different responsibilities than you have had in the past.

Responsibilities: Students participating in internships must complete significant pre-professional work. This includes:

• Research
• Attending professional meetings
• Report writing
• Data collection
• Data analysis
• Preparing correspondence
• Editing documents
• Updating websites
• Training and development
• Constituent assistance
• Event and program planning and implementation
• Development
• Communication
• Program evaluation

APPLYING

The UMD Career Center offers a number of resources to help you prepare to apply for an internship. The Terp Guide has helpful information on ways to find jobs, write resumes and cover letters, and ace the interview. Students can find more information on resumes and cover letters, including information on scheduling a one-on-one consultation with a career advisor, at https://careers.umd.edu/students/resumes-cover-letters.

APPROVAL

Students must get approval from Korey Rothman before officially accepting an internship. This is for all internships, including internships found in the CIVICUS database, the newsletter, or Careers4Terps. In order to get approval, complete the form at https://go.umd.edu/CIVICUSInternshipsp23

REGISTRATION

There is currently a registration block on BSCV 302, and you will not be able to register for it until your internship is approved. You must have approval before the beginning of the spring semester and will not be added to BSCV 302 after the end of the Spring 2023 schedule adjustment period.

OTHER OPTIONS

Coursework: Students may enroll in PLYC 380 Innovation and Social Change: Do Good Now. (Note – there are very limited seats. The course is not affiliated with CIVICUS and CIVICUS students do not have priority for seats.). For students taking this course, it will replace the BSCV 302 requirement for the CIVICUS citation. Your grade in the course must meet CIVICUS citation requirements. If you would like this option, once you are officially registered for the course (not on the waitlist), submit the approval form at https://go.umd.edu/CIVICUSInternshipsp23

Departmental Internships and Federal Fellows Program: Students enrolled in the Federal Fellows Program or a Spring 23 internship course in their academic department that is for a minimum of three-credits may be able to count that internship for their CIVICUS citation. If you would like this option, email Korey Rothman with your internship and the course syllabus for the internship class. Once you have gotten approval, submit the approval form at https://go.umd.edu/CIVICUSInternshipsp23. Students cannot receive credit hours for BSCV 302 and for another course.

Student-Created Internships: Think about organizations with whom you have worked that may have a need that will allow you to carve out an internship. For example, you could propose to an organization that you undertake a major project to support them – (i.e., developing a social media campaign, creating inter generational podcasts for nursing homes, developing after-school activities). The project would need to meet the requirements and be of the scale of an internship (including the number of hours), have a professional willing to serve as a supervisor, and be separate from your service requirement. To take this option, you must meet with Korey Rothman. Even if you have a broad idea but not a clear plan, we can brainstorm together.

SCHOLARSHIPS

Students in unpaid internships who may incur expenses related to their internship (i.e., travel expenses, school background checks, etc.) are eligible to apply for a limited number of scholarships to help offset expenses incurred because of the internship. If you are interested in applying, complete the form at https://go.umd.edu/CIVICUSStipendSp23 no later than December 15.

If you have any questions or would like to schedule a time to talk about possible internships, please reach out to Korey Rothman at krothman [at] umd.edu.