General Description | Types of Internships | Who is Eligible?

Since the mid-1970s well over 900 Stockton students have completed para-professional internships in Washington, DC. One of the largest groups of Washington Center alumni is from Stockton College. It is very common to find Stockton alumni – in the Washington, DC metropolitan region – who trace the trajectory of their career paths to their internships as Stockton undergraduates.

 

General Description:

The Washington Internship program is an intensive para-professional and academic experience in which Stockton students live, work, and study in the Washington, DC metropolitan region. Stockton College is affiliated with the nation’s largest internship organization, The Washington Center. This organization provides all the major facets of a student’s internship experience, i.e., facilitating the application process; distributing the application to potential placement sites; providing program activities, advising, supervision, and evaluation; hiring faculty for the evening classes; and providing housing and residence life activities.

• Internships are available for all majors at Stockton College.
  Interns receive 12 academic credits that are applied to graduation requirements (e.g. Program, Cognate, ASD). Internships are available during the regular Fall & Spring semesters (15 weeks) and during the summer (10 weeks). Stockton students who are unable to do an internship during their undergraduate years can apply for a Post-Graduate internship (available Fall, Spring, and Summer).
• Internship expenses are comparable to the costs of a semester at Stockton.
  Generally, the cost of a Washington internship is comparable to the expenses (i.e., tuition, fees, room & board, books) for a full semester at Stockton College. This is the case because Stockton College is the only institution in the country that receives an automatic $2,550 discount from the Washington Center. Whatever financial assistance Stockton students receive during the regular academic semesters is applied directly to the costs of a Washington internship. The Washington Center provides scholarships and a few fully paid internships (on a competitive basis). Moreover, all Stockton interns also receive an $800 stipend that can be used to defray the costs of commuting, meals, tuition, or personal amenities.
• Internships significantly enhance marketability for professional jobs and graduate schools.
  In addition to academic credit, internships represent an invaluable opportunity to significantly enhance a student’s resume by developing professional skills, on-the-job training, and analytical tools for jobs and graduate school. Interns also acquire a broad network of contacts which can be critical in job searches, job referrals, and letters of recommendations for professional positions or graduate school.
• Internships offer innumerable opportunities for personal development.
  A semester can profoundly (and positively) affect an individual’s growth and maturity. Many students become increasingly self-confident by successfully negotiating the demands of working at a full-time (36 hours weekly) internship; commuting to their internship job and program activities; meeting the academic requirements of their internship class; developing new friendships, enjoying the rich social and cultural life of the nation’s capital; and maintaining an apartment with three (fellow-intern) roommates

 

Types of Internships:

It is important to bear in mind that there are literally hundreds of individual internship placements within the following list of internship categories.

• US Congressional Offices; the White House, Political Campaigns
• Executive Branch Departments & Federal Agencies
• Nonprofit, Social Service & Advocacy Organizations
• Federal and Local Criminal Justice Agencies & Law Firms
• Broadcast & Print Media
• Public Relations and Lobbying Firms
• Museum & Cultural Institutions
• Investment, Accounting, Marketing, and Advertising Firms
• Foreign Policy & International Aid Organizations
• Research Organizations in the Natural, Biological, & Medical Sciences

As the largest internship organization in the country, the Washington Center utilizes its vast network of contacts to facilitate the placement of students. Internships are also possible with organizations, firms, agencies, etc. that are not currently part of the Washington Center’s network of placement sites, i.e., for students that a particular placement site in mind that has not previously had an internship relationship with the Washington Center. 

 

Who is Eligible for an Internship?

Many students believe incorrectly that it is quite difficult to be accepted into the Washington Center’s internship program. In fact, the admission requirements are fairly minimal, a 2.75 GPA. Essentially, once the Campus Liaison signs a student’s application they are virtually assured of acceptance. If a student’s GPA is slightly below a 2.75 an additional letter of recommendation is required, and the application is given an additional level of review by the Washington Center. Thus far, the (very) few Stockton students who have applied with a GPA below a 2.75 have all been accepted, and have received excellent internship placements.

Please Note: Internships are open to both US and international students. However, some (Washington Center) scholarship opportunities are available only to US citizens. Also, all prospective interns cannot start a Washington internship until they are at least a second-semester sophomore.

It is crucial to bear in mind that the main question for any prospective Stockton student is not whether they will be accepted into the Washington internship – that is virtually assured with a 2.75 GPA and the Campus Liaison’s signature on the application. Nor is it a question of whether a student will receive an internship placement – once their application is accepted an internship is guaranteed. Instead, the only real question is “where” a student will be placed.

Next ⇒ Preliminary Considerations before Applying for an Internship

---