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One effective way to prepare yourself for a rewarding career is to gain practical experience while still in school.
Internships provide opportunities to develop your skills, gain hands-on experience, and build personal ties with other professionals.
Internships also:
enable you to explore different careers.
integrate classroom learning with real world experience.
provide satisfying and enjoyable experiences.
look great on your resume!
To be eligible to receive academic credit for an internship (SOCI 416), undergraduate students must have an overall GPA of 2.75 and have completed SOCI 101, Introductory Sociology or another course in Sociology at Mason.
To be eligible to receive academic credit for a practicum (SOCI 616), graduate students must have an overall GPA of 3.0 or higher.
Additionally, Mason requires that 50% or more of the student’s internship / practicum tasks be career related and helpful to the student in building academic knowledge.
Search online for organizations or positions in your area of interest (the internship search on Idealist.com is a great place to start).
Talk with the Sociology Internship Director about possible areas of interest and opportunities.
Talk with your professors, classmates, colleagues, and academic advisor about opportunities for interning. The importance of personal networking should never be overlooked, so use social and business networks.
Review the list below for a snapshot of organizations with volunteer and internship opportunities.
Step 2: Apply for Internships
Submit your application, resume, and cover letter directly to the organization. Be aware if references are needed and provide names on your resume.
Check with the Sociology Internship Director to make sure the internship will qualify for course credit. Through this process the University can ensure that the sponsoring organization understands the nature of internships and their linkage to your academic work. For example, Mason requires that 50% or more of the student’s internship tasks be career related and helpful to the student in building academic knowledge.
After you have preliminary discussions with a possible internship contact, you should make an appointment to see the Sociology Internship Director who will provide you with the necessary forms to take to your prospective sponsor and discuss learning objectives and requirements.
Step 3: Complete the Internship Course Application Materials
Upon obtaining an internship and receiving approval from the Sociology Internship Director to pursue the internship for academic credit, submit the following forms for enrollment in SOCI 416/616:
Internship Application
Internship Learning Agreement (requires the signature of the internship supervisor)
Please note that these forms must be submitted by the regular course add deadline for the semester in which you are requesting to take the internship course.
Also note that SOCI 416/616 is a course and tuition will be charged accordingly.
Potential Internship / Practicum Sites
Most of the following organizations, unions, and agencies have hosted Mason Sociology interns in the past, or have expressly indicated that they would welcome applications from our students in the future. Listings in bold represent recent internships or requests for interns (2021-2022).
