Internship in the Master's Programme in Political Science 1, 15 Credits

Contents

The purpose of the course is to prepare the students for a work life in different work areas with connection to political science. The course develops competencies and skills which form a basis for a future professional role at national, regional or municipality level, or at international level. The student should also be able to use experiences from the internship in their continuing studies, for example in the form of a master thesis. 
 
The internship period is placed in the public administration, an organization or a private business in Sweden or abroad. A local supervisor and contact person is provided by the internship organization. The students are responsible for applying and acquiring an internship placement on their own. No financial support for the internship can be given from the university.

Expected learning outcomes

After this course the student should be able to:

• Translate theoretical knowledge and practical abilities into work tasks at a work place within the public administration, an organization or private businesses in Sweden or abroad, active in a relevant field to the political sciences.
• Process experiences from the internship period by relating to theoretical and methodical issues within the field of political science.
• Develop their employability by showing successful work at a work place active in a relevant field to the political sciences. 

Required Knowledge

Political Science, 90 credits including a thesis of 15 credits, or Peace and Conflict Studies, 90 credits including a thesis of 15 credits and at least 30 credits in Political Science, or equivalent. Proficiency in English equivalent to Swedish Upper Secondary course English 6. Where the language of instruction is Swedish, applicants must prove proficiency in Swedish to the level required for basic eligibility for higher studies.

The course is only given as part of the Master's Programme in Political Science. To be eligible for the course, it is required to have completed and passed the courses in the first semester of the programme.

Form of instruction

The course is conducted in its whole at a work place in Sweden or abroad active in a relevant field to the political sciences. All internship places are to be approved by the internship coordinator before the start of the internship.

Examination modes

The course is examined by authoring an extensive internship report upon completetion of the internship, which can be awarded the grade Pass (G) or Fail (U). To complete the course the student also needs to hand in an internship certification. For the course as a whole the grades Pass (G) or Fail (U) are awarded. 

General rules regarding examination
A student who does not meet the requirements to pass an examination can, if decided by the course instructor, be given a complementary assignment to reach the requirements to pass the examination. The complementary assignment can be individually modified to the specific requirements that the student has failed to reach, but the assignment must be of corresponding proportion to the original examination.   

Ordinarily, the complementary assignment is given at the end of the course or when the grades at the original examination is announced. When the student has been given the complementary assignment, he/she should finish the assignment within ten days (not including weekends and holidays). If the student fail to finish the assignment within the required time, a new complementary assignment can only be given the next time the course is arranged, or during the two weeks of re-take exams the Department arranges every year during week 34 and 35.   

If it is not possible to do complementary assignments (if so, it is stated next to each individual examination above), the student is required to do a re-take exam. The first re-take exam should be given two months after the original examination, at the latest, but no sooner than ten days after the grade on the original examination has been given (not including weekends and holidays). If the examination is given during May or June, the first re-take exam should be given no later than three months after the original examination. Two weeks of re-take exams are also arranged every year, which means complementary assignments are treated during this time independently of when the course was given. These weeks are arranged during week 34 and 35.   

Students who fail an examination may retake that examination. A student has the right to request a new examiner if he/she fails two sub-course examinations (i.e. an examination and a re-take). In such cases students should contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies (Studierektor). Examination in accordance with the same syllabus as during the original examination can be guaranteed for up to two years after the student's first registration. 
 
The appointed examiner may decide to use other forms of examination if required by particular circumstances. 
 
Transfer of Credits
Students who wish to transfer credits from other Departments or universities (Swedish or foreign) should do so in accordance to the Principal's decision "Tillgodoräknandeordning vid Umeå universitet (Dnr. 545-3317-02)".

The application must be submitted in written form. The request should specify which module or course the request applies to. An official transcript should also be submitted. The transcript must include the following information: where and when the course was given, the discipline and level of the course, total course credits and grade received. A syllabus describing the course and a list of required readings should be submitted with the request. Where applicable, written research papers should also be submitted.   

Upon completion of this course, the credits can be transferred to a selective course. However it is always the responsible Department or program that determines the possibility for credit transfers and the extent of the credit transfer. The student should therefore always contact the responsible Department or program before submitting an application for credit transfers.

Other regulations

The student is given an opportunity to evaluate the internship course.