1. TYPE: What types of internships are available? How many hours per week do students devote to internships?

CJ450 is 40 hours a week for the semester (12 credits)
CJ451 is 20 hours a week for the semester (6 credits)
CJ453 is 20 hours a week for the semester with a pre-requisite of CJ451 (6 credits)

Students may earn up to 12 credits in internships.

2. ACADEMIC COMPONENT & GRADES: Do all internships have an academic project? What type of grade is assigned for internships? How is the grade determined?

All interns are required to submit a research paper based on either library or empirically-conducted research for which a letter grade is assigned.  The research paper must identify an issue of topical concern to the field in which the student is interning.  Papers are expected to be analytical, not descriptive.  Original field research is encouraged but not required. The final grade for the internship is based primarily on the research paper, with some consideration given to field evaluations.   Field supervisors submit three written evaluations and at least one verbal evaluation on every intern.  These evaluations inquire about work-related qualities and skills.  Assuming an overall evaluation of “Average” or higher, the letter grade is based upon the research paper with the field work evaluations providing the basis for earning course credits.  Consequently, below average or unsatisfactory field evaluations may result in a lower, or even a failing, grade independently of the academic work performed.

Students are also required to attend a seminar that meets approximately three times over the course of the semester.  Unexcused absences from the seminar may result in a lower grade.

3. NUMBER: How many internships are students allowed to do? How many does the department offer in a typical year?

Students can do either one full-time internship (4 courses) or two part-time internships (2 courses).  Approximately 40 students participate internships annually.

4. PREREQUISITES: What are the prerequisites for doing an internship?

During the academic year, internships are restricted to senior, criminal justice majors, with a departmental cum of 2.3 or an overall gpa of 2.0.  Students are also interviewed to assess their general maturity and readiness. 
The summer session internship is available to non-majors of any class rank.

5. PLACEMENT: How does the department determine what is a suitable placement for an internship?  Do students find their own placements or does the department do that? With which companies are students placed? What kinds of work responsibilities do students typically have in their internships?

Students are interviewed by the internship director to determine their career interests and goals, as well as special talents and abilities.

Most students are placed in agencies that have been recruited by the Criminal Justice Department.  Agencies and organizations are carefully screened for their suitability as internship sites.  Many of the agencies have been accepting our student interns for over two decades.  New placements are continually being developed in accordance with students’ interests.  Similarly, agencies that fail to offer a meaningful internship experience are dropped from the list of accepted sites.  Students can also find their own internship site, subject to departmental evaluation and approval. 

Sites include a range of law enforcement, judicial and correctional agencies at the local, state and federal levels of government as well as a variety of human service and justice-related agencies and programs.  To a lesser extent, students have been placed in security-related-related divisions within private companies, for example Fidelity Insurance and State Street Bank.

Students are expected to assume entry-level professional responsibilities.  The specific tasks performed vary in accordance with the nature of the services provided by the particular placement site.  Generally, students will initially “shadow” their supervisor and gradually take on a range of duties that include report-writing, interviewing, data gathering, case screening and/or management, curriculum design, attending hearings or meetings, database development or management.

6. MONITORING:  How is the placement monitored over the course of the semester? How do you know that the students are not just being used as bonus labor for a company?

Supervisors complete three written evaluations that include a description of the tasks engaged in by the intern for each evaluation period.  The internship director contacts each supervisor by phone or in person at least once during the semester (more often if it’s a newer site).  Students complete three written evaluations on the agency that describes their duties during that evaluation period and asks for their comments and assessment of the internship experience.  These evaluations are discussed these with the students to ensure the quality of the placement.  

Supervisors are informed in writing that:   (a) they are expected to  exercise prudent judgment in the choice of activities to which interns are assigned and that interns are not to be considered employees of the agency and should not be presented in any context as agency personnel; (b) interns are expected to work the same hours as employees and perform as fully functioning members of the agency or program.  Accordingly, they are expected to hold responsible positions, to perform duties similar or equivalent to those of any entry level professional, and to be responsible for the same standards of professionalism as other agency personnel; and (c) the internship program is intended to provide students with meaningful learning experiences while, also, providing beneficial services to the agency or program in exchange for this opportunity.

7. CURRICULAR STATUS:  Does the internship count toward the number of courses required by the major, or is it over and above the major requirements? For example, if a department requires 2 courses at a level above a catalogue number,  does the internship satisfy this curricular requirement?

The internship counts as elective courses required by the major.  The major requires students to complete a minimum of 10 courses, 8 of which must be classroom courses.  Consequently, students who register for the 4-course internship will take a minimum of 12 courses.

8.  SUMMER: Does the department offer summer internships, and if so, are they treated in the same way as the semester internships?

Summer school internships are treated in the same way with the following exceptions:

CJ450 requires students to work a total of 432 hours over the course of the summer.  CJ451 & CJ453 require students to work a total of 216 hours over the course of the summer.  These requirements were established by the Registrar several years ago to comply with the standard minimum course hours required for the number of course credits earned.

9.  PHILOSOPHY: Does the department have a statement of internship philosophy that defines its connection to the educational goals of the college/department?

The philosophy of the Criminal Justice Internship Program is consistent with the philosophy of Saint Anselm College.  It is designed to allow an opportunity for career exploration and experiential learning within the context of the liberal arts education.  As such, it is intended to enhance the educational experience in a manner that is complimentary, not supplementary to the academic process.

The purpose of a liberal education, preparation for useful and productive lives and the development of human potential, is more fully realized by providing students an opportunity to apply the values and intellectual skills acquired in the classroom to their chosen field or profession.

By providing students with an opportunity to integrate theoretical principles with practical experience, the internship program will assist students in realizing the significance of a broad-based liberal arts education in addressing the problems and realities of their chosen profession and of adult life in general.

10.  CONTRACTS: What sorts of contract issues are involved in the internship program? Are there any conflicts or concerns about contractual obligations?

Some agencies require a Memorandum of Understanding.  For most agencies, the placement letter which delineates our mutual responsibilities serves as the “contract”.