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Internship Program

    The Department of Criminal Justice's Internship Program provides students with community-based and professional-based learning opportunities through field experiences within a variety of justice-related settings. Internships offer practical interface with justice practitioners, clients, and other cross-disciplinary professionals in manners which allow students to observe the application of theoretical concepts, the implementation of justice-related policies, and the functionality of justice organizations in community and governmental environments.

    Senior Integrative Experience.  All undergraduate students earning a B.S. in criminal justice must complete a six-unit Senior Integrative Experience. This is normally accomplished by completing an internship. As the primary mechanism for satisfaction of the Senior Integrative Experience requirement, internships are six-unit learning experiences designed to take place at any time during an undergraduate student’s senior year after students have completed the 300-level core courses required for a major in criminal justice (CJRU 301, 302, 303, 304,320, 325, 330, 340, and 350). in addition, students must have an overall university Grade Point Average (GPA) of 2.0; have no more than three (3) CRJU classes remaining in the semester in which the student is applying for the internship course; and achieved advancement to the academic status of “senior.”

    Internship Opportunities.  Where students do their internships is entirely up to them.  Ideally, though, students should intern with agencies or organizations related to their career goals.  For example, students interested in being police officers should investigate internships with police departments; similarly, pre-law students should investigate internship opportunities with law firms or with the offices of prosecutors or public defenders.  Specialized internships with the JusticeCorp and similar organizations are also available.

    Finding an Internship.  Students are responsible for finding their own internship opportunities; however, the Department of Criminal Justice Internship Coordinator can help. Make an appointment to see the Internship Coordinator at least four months in advance of the date on which you intend to start your internship. Why so far in advance? Because the process of securing an internship can take a long time. Accordingly, students must begin the process of securing an internship at least one semester prior to the semester in which they plan to do their internship. Please see the list of previous internship sponsors in the Criminal Justice Internship Handbook. Contact the Internship Coordinator should you require additional assistance.

    Applying for an Internship. 

    • Step 1: This first step criminal justice students should take when contemplating an internship is to download and read the Criminal Justice Internship Handbook.

    • Step 2: After reading the Internship Handbook, students should print out and sign the Handbook Agreement Form. For convenience, the form is also located in the Handbook.

    • Step 3: Make an appointment to see the Internship Coordinator for the Department of Criminal Justice.

    • Step 4: Complete the Internship Student Checklist.

    • Step 5: Attend a Mandatory Internship Orientation Meeting. The meeting dates are listed in the Criminal Justice Internship Handbook and the Internship Coordinator will provide the campus location and meeting time.

      • The final Internship Orientation Meeting for anyone seeking to complete an internship in the summer or fall of 2012 will occur on Monday, May 21st from 9:00am to 1:00pm in ET-103.

    • Step 6: Develop a résumé and cover letter. Examples can be located in the Criminal Justice Internship Handbook.

    • Step 7 : Apply for internships. As part of the intern selection process, many agencies require students:

      • to undergo a background investigation, which may include drug testing and testing for tuberculosis or other infectious diseases;

      • to participate in one or more in-person interviews; and

      • to be fingerprinted.

      Please keep in mind that background investigations often take eight to twelve weeks. It is, therefore, essential that students start the process far enough in advance to insure that they can meet all applicable deadlines.

    • Step 8 : Once a student has been accepted by an agency into its internship program, the student must submit two documents to the Internship Coordinator for the Department of Criminal Justice:
      • the Department's "Internship Enrollment Data Form" (document hyper-linked above, in the right column); and

      • the University's "Self-Placed Internship for Academic Credit Form" (document hyper-linked above, in the right column).

    Registering for CRJU 492.   After the "Internship Enrollment Data Form" and the "Self-Placed Internship for Academic Credit Form" have been submitted and approved, the Internship Coordinator will issue an electronic permit which will allow the student to enroll in CRJU 492. 

    • Please note that the issuance of a permit does not actually register the student for an internship. Rather, the permit allows a student to register for CRJU 492. It is therefore the student’s responsibility to register for the course after having received confirmation that a permit has been issued.

    • The University's usual registration deadlines do not apply to CRJU 492! Students will NOT be permitted to add CRJU 492 after the specific deadline to register for CRJU 492, which is two weeks (14 days) prior to the start of a semester. Thus, even though the add/drop period for classes may still be open for other classes, students seeking to enroll in CRJU 492 will be prevented from doing so since internships must be secured in advance of the start of any given semester. The same registration deadline applies to CRJU 497: Independent Study.

    • Internship Requirements.  Successful completion of CRJU 492 requires students to; (1) complete 130 hours of on-site work at their internship; and (2) complete a number of writing assignments.

      • Internship Hours.  All students who do an internship must complete 130 hours of on-site work.  These 130 hours are expected to be completed in the semester during which the student is registered for CRJU 492.  The 130 hours do not include the time it takes to get to and from an internship site.  Moreover, the 130 hours do not include any training time that may be required for a student to participate in an internship.  It is therefore highly advisable for students to discuss their work hours with their Site Intern Advisor prior to committing to an internship.

      • Writing Assignments.  The specific requirements of the writing assignments for CRJU 492 are identified in the course syllabus that will be provided to all students officially registered for CRJU 492 by the faculty member who will serve as their Departmental Intern Advisor.   At a minimum, students are required to maintain a daily time log (sample document hyper-linked above in the right column); write a weekly journal entry; and write a term paper that blends scholarly research with participant-observations (sample paper hyper-linked above in the right column). 

      Grading.  The agency evaluation of a student’s work at his/her internship constitutes one-third (33%) of final course grade in CRJU 492.  Students are responsible for insuring that their Internship Site Supervisor receives and completes an evaluation form (hyperlinked above, right column). Another third (33%) of the final course grade will be based upon student performance in completing researching and writing the final paper which will be graded using the internship paper grading rubric (hyper-linked above in the right column). The final third (33%) of the final course grade will be based upon weekly journal entries and the timely submission of required time logs.

       

 

Criminal Justice Internship Coordinator
Professor Daryl Meeks
Department of Criminal Justice
California State University, Long Beach
1250 Bellflower Blvd.
Long Beach, CA 90840

Phone: ( 562) 985-8567
Office: E-Tec 230
Email: Daryl.Meeks@csulb.edu

 

Internship Program Handbook and Forms