Internships in sociology are designed
to connect real-world, outside-the-classroom experience to
concepts and empirical findings in sociology. Internships
can be a valuable part of the undergraduate program, providing
experience critical to future employment or graduate work.
Students may receive
credit for internships in two ways:
SOC
494: Sociology Practica
Practica courses immerse
students in real-world projects with local organizations and
businesses. Practica projects address real issues, and their
outcomes have a direct impact on the organizations and the
communities they serve. Students leave each practicum with
new skill sets, connections in the community, and a deepened
understanding of scientific inquiry and study.
Two practica in particular
place students in schools, organizations, agencies or businesses,
depending on students' individual goals:
- Practicum
in the Sociology of Education: This
practicum course--offered in autumn, winter and spring quarters--continues its long-standing service
learning partnership with Aki Kurose Middle School and Madrona
K-8. Both schools serve extremely diverse student populations,
including children from families who have recently emigrated
to the U.S. and from families at or below the poverty level.
Students also have the opportunity to tutor at select high
schools ( Rainier Beach , Cleveland or Garfield ) through
the MESA (Math, Engineering, Science Achievement) program.
( MESA serves primarily African-American, Native American,
Latino and female students.) Enrolled students work three-4
hours/week for 10 weeks aiding taxed teachers and helping
struggling students overcome academic problems. In addition
to tutoring, students attend a two-hour seminar each week
to share teaching experiences, discuss current research
in education, and develop research projects. There is no prerequisite or application needed to sign up for this practicum.
- Practicum
in Applied Sociology: The Sociology of Work and Organizations:
Offered winter and spring quarters, this practicum course is designed
to combine experiential learning in the workplace with critical
reflection about practical and theoretical issues of work
and organizations. Each student will participate in an internship
in a local agency or organization. Students can come in
with an internship already in place, or can apply through Sociology Advising to intern
at specialized internships when available, such as US Department of Labor's Office of Federal Contract
Compliance Programs (OFCCP), Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC), Housing and Urban Development (HUD) among
others. Th FAQ and application for this course can be found here: SOC494_FAQ_Learning_Contract
For much more information
on these practica, go to: Sociology
Practica
SOC
399
Students may receive
2-5 credits for internships through SOC 399.
Students interested in internships should also be aware of
SOC 494, the Sociology Practica. Practica courses immerse
students in real-world projects with local organizations and
businesses. Practica projects address real issues, and their
outcomes have a direct impact on the organizations and the
communities they serve. Students leave each practicum with
new skill sets, connections in the community, and a deepened
understanding of scientific inquiry and study. For more information,
see Sociology
Practica.
Registering for
SOC 399 credit involves three basic steps:
- find an internship
- find a faculty sponsor
- complete the necessary paperwork
To register for
SOC 399 credit, you first need to find the internship on your
own. Here is a list of resources to help you do this:
- Blog: www.asksoc.wordpress.com
- The Sociology Internship Binder, available in the Sociology
Advising Office, is a list of recent sociology related
internships.
- The Carlson
Leadership and Public Service Office cultivates and
publicizes internships in the public sector (community-based
organizations, government agencies, and educational institutions).
- Center
for Career Services offers internship listings and other
career related resources.
- English
Advising offers a listing of internships, many of which
are applicable to sociology.
- the soc-announce list serve provides news of internships
to subscribers. Students are subscribed when admitted to
the major, but can also subscribe by emailing
soc-announce@u.washington.edu.
- You can also approach companies that you find interesting.
Look at their websites and email appropriate contacts to
ask about internship opportunities.
Once you have an
internship, you need to find a sociology faculty member to
sponsor you. The faculty member supervises the academic component
of the internship. The most natural "fit"
is a faculty member whose research interests match the content
of your internship. Go to the faculty listings on the sociology
webpage to find out who is doing work related to your research
interests and internship. You might also approach faculty
with whom you already have a working relationship.
When you approach a faculty member, be as prepared and as
specific as possible. More concretely:
1) Produce a written proposal that is as specific as you
can possibly make it. This is a proposal for an academic
project connected with the internship area, not a proposal
for your site work. Remember that you are not getting credit
for the internship itself or the work you do there but for
an academic project connected to that work (e.g., a paper,
etc.).
2) Email your selected faculty member and ask if it would
be appropriate to meet during office hours. Offer to email
or leave the proposal ahead of time, or to bring it when
you meet.
3) At your meeting, make your pitch and demonstrate that
you are self-directed, motivated, responsible, and capable.
A student is doing an internship with an organization offering
services to single mothers. The student needs to articulate
the sociological relevance of the subject - to show why this
is sociology rather than, say, social work - and provide a
concrete proposal to the faculty member. Thus, "I
want to get credit for working with single parents" is
a good reason to do an internship; it is not a good reason
to get sociology credit.
Sociology credit
comes from an academic project done from a sociological perspective.
For example, would you study single parenthood from a social
problems perspective? From a criminology perspective? From
a family perspective? From a gender perspective? These are
the general areas into which faculty separate their own research;
it is how sociologists think about their research.
A good approach
would go something like this: "I am working at Youth
and Single Parent Organization, and I would like to do more
research on teenagers raised in single parent homes. I propose
writing a 15 page essay on academic achievement among teenage
girls raised in single parent households, assessing the arguments
of authors on my proposed reading list. I will also use current
research from The American Journal of Sociology and
The American Sociological Review and data from interviews
of staff at the Youth and Single Parent Organization."
This kind of proposal
demonstrates that you have done background research, that
you have a focused idea, and that you are self-directed and
motivated. It provides evidence that you will be responsible
and do good work without the faculty member having to guide
you through every step. It gives good evidence that you are
not a student just looking to pick up some easy credits.
You can pick up
hard copies of the relevant forms outside Sociology
Advising Office. When you have completed the registration
form, turn it in to the Sociology Advising Office, and we
will register you for the credits. You can also download the
forms here:
SOC
399 REGISTRATION FORM
Along with completing
the SOC 399 Registration Form, your site supervisor must complete
a Site Evaluation at the end of your internship. Give your
supervisor the form (downloadable below) and have him or her
send it to the address listed.
SOC
399 SITE EVALUATION
Please note that you can receive 2-5 credits of SOC 399 depending
on the work you arrange with your faculty sponsor. The general
guideline is 3 hours per week, per credit received. All credits
in SOC 399 are graded C/NC. You can count up to 5 credits
of SOC 399 toward the Sociology Elective Requirement. These
courses cannot count toward Degree Option requirements.
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