What would an Internship (PS 504) look like?
Internships (PS 504) allow students to acquire practical experience in such fields as public policy, legislative affairs, the foreign service, and the non-profit sector. The Department’s internship program has a long history of placing interns in local, state, and federal government, the Oregon delegation to Washington, nonprofit organizations, and election campaigns.
Thesis
The final requirement for the master’s degree is, of course, the master's thesis—an investigation demonstrating mastery of a topic in political science and the capacity to formulate an original argument, effectively communicated to an audience of one's peers. The faculty expect that a student’s thesis will put on display a high level of resourceful-ness, productivity, and mature perception of the political science discipline.
The thesis topic is chosen during the Spring term of the first year in consultation with the student's thesis advisor, who supervises the drafting of a thesis prospectus. By the end of the term, the student presents the thesis prospectus to the advisor and one other faculty member, at which time the student either receives approval to move forward with the-sis research or is directed to revise the prospectus for approval during the Fall term of the second year. Thesis advisors work with students to establish criteria for an acceptable thesis prospectus, but generally this is a synopsis of the literature relevant to a particular topic, the contribution the student intends to make to our understanding of that topic, and the methodology to be employed.
All research involving human subjects, including research involving surveys and questionnaires, must have Human Research Protection Program (HRPP) approval. The student should allow a minimum of six weeks for the approval process. A student cannot have a thesis committee appointed until HRPP approval is granted.
The completed thesis is defended during the Spring term of the second year in an oral presentation laying out the purpose, implementation, and findings of the project, and making a case for its contribution to political science scholarship. The successfully defended thesis must follow specific formatting guidelines and is submitted electronically to the Graduate School.
While working on the thesis, students enroll in Thesis credits (PS 503). There is no upper limit on the number of thesis credits a student may take, but only 9 of those credits will apply to the degree requirements. You must be enrolled for at least one thesis credit during the term in which you expect to defend your master’s thesis or paper.
For further details regarding the thesis committee, deadlines, procedures, and forms, read the Graduate Student Handbook.
Before signing up for Thesis or Internship Credit via a By Arrangement Request, please contact the professor to confirm their availability to advise you.