College of Humanities and Social Sciences > ADJ > return to last page
ADJ Internship Program
Johannes Wheeldon, Internship Instructor
Bull Run Hall room 304
(703) 993-9714
jwheeldo@gmu.edu
ADJ 479 Forms
Internship Application Form
Common Resume Errors
The ADJ Internship Program affords students the opportunity to apply what they have learned in the classroom through work experience in a justice agency or on a justice-oriented research project conducted by faculty or a qualified research organization. By working in the field, students will observe some aspect of the justice process and will develop their knowledge by applying theories and empirical studies learned in the classroom to those observations. During the internship students may also develop some of the skills required of a justice professional working in this area and gain insight into how the justice system looks from the perspective of those who work in it or experience its consequences. Students are expected to learn the requirements, opportunities, and challenges of professional work in the area in which they are interning.
This course is designed to sharpen a number of academic skills: observation, applying book learning to those observations, communication (both written and verbal) in a variety of settings, analytic thinking, and research.
Pre-requisites
The following courses must be successfully completed before enrolling in this course:
- ADJ 100 (offered fall and spring),
- ADJ 300 (offered fall, spring, and summer),
- ADJ 479 (offered fall and spring), and
- At least 15 credits of other upper-level courses required for the ADJ major.
Students may not begin an internship until they have received approval from the internship instructor for that internship (usually acquired while taking ADJ 479). This approval requires satisfactory performance in ADJ 479, completed application forms, resume and cover letter, research plan and agency contract letter.
Ideally, ADJ 479 will have been taken the semester before the internship is conducted. If the student does not take ADJ 480 the semester following completion of ADJ 479, the student is required to provide the instructor with an updated contract and research plan for approval (no additional credit hours given) before enrolling in this class.
Format
The number of credits depends on a student’s catalogue year. Most students may take this course for 3, 6, or 9 credits. Beginning in 2007, students may take the course for 12 credits. For questions about your catalogue year please contact Alisha Manandhar Academic Advisor, ADJ Undergraduate Program 703 993-8314 amanandh@gmu.edu.
Students are encouraged to take the internship course over one semester for 6, 9 or 12 credits. This maximizes your opportunity to make contacts, network and find employment following your placement. In some cases, students may combine the number of credits over more than one semester.
Students are required to meet the minimum number of on-the-job internship hours for the number of credit hours for which the student is registered:
- 3 credits of ADJ 480 - 115 hours on the job (average of 1 day per week)
- 6 credits of ADJ 480 - 230 hours on the job (average of 2-3 days per week)
- 9 credits of ADJ 480 - 345 hours on the job (average of 3-4 days per week)
- 12 credits of ADJ 480 – 460 hours on the job (average 4-5 days per week)
In addition to working at their internship site, student interns maintain two sets of journals that recount important events and experiences submitted to the internship instructor for a grade. Students also complete interview based research assignment, designed to assist the student to learn more about their agency and highlight the student’s research ability within the agency.
During the semester, internship students meet as a group three times with the instructor to share experiences and insights and to exchange ideas. These meetings form an integral part of the participation grade and should be missed only where absolutely necessary.
Note that you need a total of 9 or 12 internship credits to satisfy the internship requirement as part of the ADJ major, unless you take the internship as an elective. Students should take all their internship credits in one semester but may in some cases spread them out over two or three semesters.
To complete the 15-credit internship "skills for the justice professional" option, students must take one 3-credit subs tantive topics course that is relevant to the student's internship experience. This is any course that satisfies ADJ requirements for the major and may be taken before or after ADJ 480 is taken. It may not be used to fulfill other requirements of the major, however.
Academic Integrity
All graded course work must be done independently. Students are bound by the George Mason University Honor Code. Failure to abide by these conditions will result in a failing course grade and may be referred to University authorities for discipline.
Required Textbook
Textbooks will be assigned in the first week of class.