Internship & Capstone Course

Graduate Field Internship

In the final phase of the degree program, students will be involved in an extensive field experience in which they intern for a semester in one of a variety of internationally based or internationally focused governmental and nongovernmental organizations, international commissions, embassies, agencies, or corporations. These internships provide students invaluable entrée to international entities or internationally focused entities with the goal of facilitating their employment in these organizations and/or the development of their skills and network as they seek other employment.

All Graduate Field Internships must be approved by the Assistant Director for Employer Relations and must be conducted after the student has completed a minimum of 18 credit hours in the program.

Please see our database to see where students have completed internships.

Capstone Course

Students summarize their internship experience and area of study in a final capstone project that investigates, analyzes, and provides policy-based solutions to real-world problems.

Examples of Past Capstone Projects:

  • “The Islamic State Online: Ideology, Radicalization, Policy and the Need for Counternarratives”
  • “Organized Crime and the Illicit Wildlife Trade in Mexico”
  • “Challenges for the Colombian Oil and Gas Sector in the Post-Conflict Era”
  • “How Drug Trafficking Organizations Innovate”
  • “A New Cuban Constitution: Institutions for Democratic Stability”
  • “From the Inside Out: The Role of Host Organizations in The Sustainability of International Development”
  • “Basic Income Against the Competition”
  • “Russia’s Nuclear Modernization: The Quest for Non-Proliferation”
  • “North Korea’s Cyber Capabilities and China’s Involvement: An Analysis and Policy Prescriptions”
  • “What Complimentary Methods Have Developed Recently to Permit Rural and Remote Communities in Sub-Saharan Africa to Benefit from this New Mobilization?”
  • “Social Media in Public Diplomacy: A Case of Embassy Jakarta’s Facebook Efforts”
  • “How to Increase China’s Discourse Power in World Politics”