This page is for Criminal Justice majors who are required to take CRJU 4935 – Field Placement I.  Digital Criminology minors should click here to follow instructions to apply for CRJU 4996. CRJU 4996

Upcoming Internship Deadlines

IMPORTANT NOTE:  The deadlines for submitting internship applications are listed below. All students must attend the General Orientation Meeting from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. on the date indicated in the table below.  Students who fail to attend the General Orientation Meeting may not be allowed to intern in the desired semester and may be required to reapply.

Semester	Internship Application Deadlines	Mandatory General Orientation Meeting Dates	File Completion Deadline
Summer	September 15th	4th Friday in October	February 28th (February 29th leap year)
Fall	February 15th	4th Friday in March	June 30th
Spring	May 15th	4th Friday in June	September 30th

General Internship Information

Central to the educational experience of a criminal justice major is the opportunity to compare theory and knowledge acquired in the classroom with practical experience and knowledge gained in a criminal justice agency.

All criminal justice majors are required to participate in an approved internship during their senior year. There are currently over 400 agencies that participate in the internship program. Participating agencies include federal, state, county, municipal, and private sector organizations that deal with all aspects of criminal justice including police, courts, law, corrections, juvenile justice, mental health, immigration, private security, loss prevention, and corporate cyber security, as well as faculty within and outside the department of Criminal Justice and Criminology.

Limited to Criminal Justice Majors: Only undergraduates who are declared degree seeking criminal justice majors are eligible to participate in the CRJU 4935 internship program.  Students in the Digital Criminology minor should click here to follow instructions to apply for CRJU 4996. CRJU 4996

Internship Program Courses:

The Criminal Justice internship program consists of two courses: CRJU 4935 (Field Placement I), a mandatory 6 credit hour course, and CRJU 4940 (Field Placement II), an optional 3 credit hour comparative course.

CRJU 4935 is a prerequisite for CRJU 4940, and the internship host site for CRJU 4940 must be different than that used for CRJU 4935. Students must successfully complete CRJU 4935 during their senior year of residence at Georgia State University.

Because the placement process commences approximately 6 to 7 months before CRJU 4935 is taken, all criminal justice majors must complete an online internship application no later than the deadline provided for the semester that they plan to intern.  See the top of this page for critical deadlines.

The student’s application is reviewed by the Office of Academic Assistance. Students are strongly encouraged to meet with their academic adviser before applying to the internship program.

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that information contained in the application (e.g., address, telephone numbers, and criminal histories) is always current. Failure to do so may prevent the student from receiving information in a timely manner, which could prevent the student from interning during the desired semester.

Internship Requirements:

Courses in Area F (Criminal Justice Core) are:

• CRJU 1100 – Introduction to Criminal Justice
• CRJU 2110 – Policing in America
• CRJU 2310 – Corrections
• CRJU 2700 – American Criminal Courts

Courses in Area G (Foundations of Analysis) are:

• CRJU 3020 – Research Methods in Criminal Justice
• CRJU 3060 – Ethical Issues in Criminal Justice
• CRJU 3410 – Criminological Theory
• CRJU 3610 – Statistical Analysis in Criminal Justice

They must also have a 2.00 GPA (of total hours earned) at the end of the semester immediately prior to commencing the internship course. Students that meet the internship academic requirements at the time they are placed with an agency but fail to maintain the required GPA in the semester immediately prior to interning will no longer be eligible to intern and will be removed from the course. If this occurs, the affected students must reapply to intern in a future semester.

Students who are terminated by their agency or removed from the agency by the Internship Coordinator for inappropriate behavior, including lack of professionalism, will receive a failing grade in the courses and are not permitted to re-take CRJU 4935/4940.

Internship Contacts

Please direct questions about the status of internship files to:

Internship Coordinator:

Michael B. Shapiro, J.D.

404-413-102855 Park Place NE, Ste. 513.

Applying for Internships

iCollege Criminal Justice Internship Resource Site

Students should refer to the “Criminal Justice Internship Resources” module on iCollege (https://gastate.view.usg.edu/) for answers to internship related questions. All deadlines, the undergraduate Internship Handbook, forms, possible internship host agencies, checklists and other relevant information can be located on the iCollege Criminal Justice Internship Resource site.

Resume Review

Prior to the General Orientation Meeting, students should schedule an appointment to have their resume reviewed by the Career Services Office of the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, (see the Announcement at the “Criminal Justice Internship Resources” iCollege site and use “Handshake” to request a resume review) or use the University Career Services’ “resumania” site.

Students should upload a copy of the reviewed resume to the proper Dropbox on the iCollege “Criminal Justice Internship Resources” site prior to the General Orientation Meeting for the appropriate semester.

Academic Advisers

Students should meet with their Academic Advisers prior to applying to take the internship.

• Students whose credit hours are between 0 – 89 hours (Freshmen through Junior) will need to visit their advisers at the University Advisement Center (UAC) (25 Park Place).
• Students who have 90+ hours can visit their senior academic adviser located at the Andrew Young School Office of Academic Assistance (14 Marietta St NW, Suite G-52). Senior walk-in hours include: Monday & Thursday 2:30-4, Tuesday & Wednesday 9:30-11:00. Appointment hours: Tuesday & Wednesday 2:00-4:00, Thursday 9:00-11:00; to schedule an appointment, call (404-413-0021).

Internship Application Instructions

Prior to the General Orientation Meeting for the intended semester of internship, students should complete and upload the Undergraduate Internship Seminar & Field Placement Program form to the appropriate Dropbox at the iCollege “Criminal Justice Internship Resources” site.  All internship applications will be reviewed by the Office of Academic Assistance (OAA) to determine students’ academic eligibility. If a student meets all requirements (GPA, course requirements, etc.) the application will be forwarded to the Internship Coordinator in the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology for final review.

Participating Agencies:

Participating agencies have different requirements and deadlines for students applying to intern. Many federal and state agencies require students to begin the placement process with them at least 6 to 8 months or even up to 12 months prior to the semester in which the student plans to intern. County, municipal, and private sector agencies also vary in their application requirements, with some requiring students to apply several months in advance, while others may require only a few weeks or days to complete the placement process.

Agencies also have different requirements regarding the number of hours that a student must work each week while interning and some non-governmental agencies require a full year’s commitment. If a student accepts a placement with an agency that requires completion of a greater number of hours than required by the Department, the student must complete the agreed upon hours in order to successfully pass CRJU 4935/4940.

City of Atlanta Police Department:

Students desiring to intern with the City of Atlanta Police Department should take special note of the information on the iCollege site and follow those instructions carefully. Initial applications to the Atlanta Police Department require: (1) driver’s license, (2) reviewed resume, and (3) the internship letter distributed at the General Orientation Meeting and available on iCollege. Because the City of Atlanta Police Department does not perform background checks until approximately thirty (30) days before commencement of the internship, upon request they will provide a provisional acceptance to the Internship Coordinator.

Georgia Bureau of Investigation:

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation internship application form contains a page certifying that a student is in good academic standing.  This form should be completed by either the Registrar’s Office or an academic adviser.  The Undergraduate Internship Coordinator cannot complete this form.Student’s Responsibility to Obtain Approved Placement:

It is the student’s responsibility to find an approved placement. Students should consult the iCollege list but are also free to identify and explore other sites. Sites on iCollege are pre-approved; however, new sites must be approved by the Internship Coordinator. While the Internship Coordinator will assist students by identifying the types of agencies that are appropriate and providing them with agency contacts (if available), it is up to the student to contact agencies, request an interview, and secure a placement. To facilitate this process, students are encouraged to research agencies online prior to applying for criminal justice internships and learn what is involved in the agency’s placement process.

Placing a student with an agency takes a good deal of time, effort, coordination, and agency resources. Several deadlines are imposed on students to facilitate their success. These deadlines are announced in advance both on iCollege and at the mandatory General Orientation Meeting and are designed to assure that all aspects of each placement are handled in a timely and efficient manner. Students who fail to comply with the deadlines that are imposed will not be permitted to enroll in CRJU 4935/4940 during the semester that they had originally planned. It should be carefully noted the the FILE COMPLETION DEADLINE at the beginning of this document is NEVER EXTENDED.

A completed internship file contains; (1) A reviewed resume, (2) A completed internship form for the semester, (3) confirmation of placement from the host agency clearly denoting; (a) The student’s name, (b) the semester of intended internship, (c) The actual start date which can be no earlier than the Monday before the semester begins nor later than the Monday after the semester actually begins, (d) the ending week as noted in the Important Dates File on iCollege, (e) that the student must complete at least 160 field placement hours.

Internship Policies:

Students are responsible for reading and understanding the policies and procedures of the internship program, which are contained in the Undergraduate Internship Handbook. If a student has a question about the internship program, the student should first consult the Undergraduate Internship Handbook and iCollege site and if the answer is not found, after diligent effort, then the student should contact their academic adviser or the Internship Coordinator. The phone number of the Department of Criminal Justice and Criminology’s Undergraduate Internship Coordinator is 404-413-1028.

Evaluation After the Internship:

At the conclusion of the internship, students are required to complete the Student Evaluation of Internship Experience which asks their opinion of whether they gained valuable practical experience, knowledge, and/or skills as a result of the internship experience with their assigned agency. The information is used to help determine whether future students should continue to be referred to the agency for placement, and to improve the overall internship program.

At the conclusion of the internship placement, agencies are requested to complete the Agency Evaluation of Criminal Justice Intern survey, which assesses students on several measures including work readiness, academic and professional growth and development, and level of professionalism. The survey results will be considered by the Internship Coordinator and used to better prepare GSU criminal justice students for the internship program.