Campaign Internship

Catalog description

POLI 395 is a guided internship course designed to be taken in conjunction with a 10-14 week campaign internship. Course readings and assignments focus on providing students with a thorough understanding of the governmental and non-governmental institutions that shape campaigns, including constitutional foundations, election systems, and ballot requirements, the districting process, and the role of parties, interest groups, and political consultants. The course also examines key theories in the discipline, including those related to incumbency advantage, strategic politicians, political ambition, descriptive and substantive representation, the influences and motivations of the American voter, the role of money in the U.S. political system, the value of incumbency, and democratic theory. This course will also provide students with the opportunity to assess major theories in light of the firsthand interactions with political actors and the direct observation of political institutions and processes that they experience over the course of their internship. Course Attributes: Writing Flag Core College of Arts & Sciences Political Science