Internships are an opportunity for students to gain real-world, professional experience. The right internship can jumpstart a student’s career and clarify what they want to do after graduation. Internships are also a means to build a professional network and establish references for future employment.
This page and its links contain a range of internships in various political science fields, e.g., public service, issue advocacy and community engagement.
The Department of Political Science provides two for-credit internship courses that students register for and then complete under faculty supervision, namely PLSI 603/604 and PLSI 610/611 (see below for more information). We also offer other classes that may include community service learning components. Please note that not all internship courses are offered every semester.
Many of these resources are from outside organizations that are unaffiliated with San Francisco State University. Some, but not all, of these organizations offer paid internships.
Students are responsible for all internship applications. Likewise, the Department does not guarantee any student an internship. For internship classes, students should inquire with presiding faculty members. Students should apply to outside organizations directly.
The U.S. federal government offers many paid and unpaid internships. Interested students should consult with USA Jobs website.
SF State PLSI grad Samanthan Logan interns with Congresswoman Jackie Speier.
Disclaimer: These listings are an assortment of political science-related opportunities within the greater Bay Area community. Inclusion of any particular internship does not connote Department or University support for that organization, representative, candidate or cause. Not all listed organizations will have current internship opportunities, and some organizations will accept student interns even if they don’t advertise the positions. The Department encourages students to reach out to organizations that interest them; it never hurts to ask!
PLSI 603/604
PLSI 603/604 is an opportunity for students to earn academic credit by interning in political or political adjacent fields, such as government, non-profit issue advocacy and community organizing.
In conjunction, PLSI 603 and 604 are worth four Political Science elective units:
- PLSI 603 (three-units) is the internship. Students are responsible for searching for and obtaining their internship placements. Participants will work 12-15 hours per week at instructor-approved organizations.
- PLSI 604 (one-unit) is an on-campus seminar comprising several mandatory meetings and internship-related written assignments.
Before registering for the course, students must attend an orientation meeting with the presiding instructor. Those who cannot attend the orientation should promptly arrange to meet with the instructor individually.
Students who attend the orientation will be granted priority registration status for the course.
As stated above, students are responsible for securing their internships. However, there are resources elsewhere on this page that will help guide them in their search.
PLSI 603/604 is conditional on instructor approval. Students who have not locked down an instructor-approved internship by the first week of the Spring semester will lose their registration in the course. Please note that you may not receive credit for this course after you have already worked for or interned at an organization.
For more information, please contact Prof. Jason McDaniel by email at mcdaniel@sfsu.edu.
PLSI 610/611
PLSI 610/611 is a four-unit judicial internship that pairs undergraduates with San Francisco Superior Court Judges. This internship is especially valuable for students planning to apply to law school. It is divided into two parts:
- PLSI 610 is the internship itself, a weekly ten-hour commitment at the courthouse, working directly with an SF judge and their staff (three units).
- PLSI 611 is the class, a weekly fifty-minute group meeting on campus with the presiding instructor (one unit).
Interested students should not register for the course in advance but instead email a PDF to Professor Nick Conway at nickconway@sfsu.edu before the end of the semester prior to the internship. The PDF should contain the following:
- A one-page resume with your current contact information, and
- A brief statement addressed to coordinating Judge Gail Dekreon on why you want to participate in the program, what you hope to gain from this internship, and how serving the San Francisco Superior Court fits in with your post-graduate careers. You should also indicate which court division(s) (criminal, civil, family, drug, veterans’, traffic, housing, juvenile, young adult) you want to work in and why.
Please note that PLSI 610/611 has limited seats and is generally competitive--no student is guaranteed an internship. Selected applicants will receive an add code during the first week of the semester when the internship takes place to register for the course. Students must apply by the deadline to be eligible for consideration; check with Prof. Conway for the specific deadlines.
For more information, please contact Professor Nick Conway by email at nickconway@sfsu.edu.
In partnership with the Institute for Civic and Community Engagement, the Political Science Department offers several courses that include the possibility of earning service-learning credit. To earn service-learning credit, students undertake a community service learning (CSL) project with an approved organization.
CSL courses are designed to help students apply theoretical classroom knowledge to structured, hands-on community-based experiences. CSL courses provide structured critical reflection and opportunities for professional development. CSL offers structured opportunities for professional training and supervised skills-building. Community partners benefit in myriad ways as well.
For additional information, visit the CSL website.
PLSI courses with service learning options:
- PLSI 408/LTNS 670 Mexican Politics and Society
- PLSI 424/SOC 424/IR 424 Social Movements
- PLSI 462 Applied Public Opinion Research
- PLSI 463 The Politics of Immigration in the United States
- PLSI 472 Civic and Political Engagement
- PLSI 473 California Politics and Government
- PLSI 475/USP 485 San Francisco Political Issues
- PLSI 560/USP 560 Urban Poverty and Policy
- PLSI 603/USP 603 Public Service Internships
- PLSI 604/USP 604 Internship Seminar
- PLSI 512GW Urban Politics and Community Power - GWAR
Organization | Program/Role | Internship Type | Paid or Unpaid | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ralph Bunche | Summer Institute | Academic | ||||
Rep. Jackie Speier (CA-14) | District Intern | Elected Official (Federal) | ||||
Assemblymember Matt Haney | District/Capitol Intern | Elected Official (State) | ||||
Assemblymember Evan Low (District 28) | District Intern | Elected Official (State) | ||||
Assemblymember Marc Berman (District 24) | District Intern | Elected Official (State) | ||||
Assemblymember Phil Ting (District 19) | Fall 2023 Intern | Elected Official (State) | ||||
Senator Josh Becker (District 13) | Elected Official (State) | |||||
Senator Nancy Skinner (District 9) | District Intern | Elected Official (State) | ||||
Senator Scott Weiner (District 11) | District Intern | Elected Official (State) | ||||
Senator Steve Glazer (Distirct 7) | Elected Official (State) | |||||
Speaker Pelosi (CA-12) District Intern | Elected Official (Federal) | |||||
Assembly member Buffy Wicks | Elected Official (State) | |||||
U.S Department of Energy | Clean Cities University Workforce Development Program | Government (Federal) | Paid | |||
U.S. Department of State | Student Intern | Government (Federal) | Paid | |||
U.S. Pretrial Services | SF Office Intern | Government Federal | Paid | |||
City and County of San Francisco Internships | Government (Local) | |||||
Central Contra Costra Sanitary District | Government (Local) | Unpaid | ||||
City of South San Francisco | Regional Summer Internship Program | Government (Local) | ||||
Justice Corps | Government (Local) | |||||
Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority | Marketing Intern | Government (Local) | Paid | |||
Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority | Planning Intern | Government (Local) | Paid | |||
San Francisco Ethics Commission | Government (Local) | |||||
San Francisco District Attorney's Office | Government (Local) | |||||
SF Board of Supervisors BOS Intern | Government (Local) | |||||
SF Supervisor Joe Engardio | Intern | Government (Local) | ||||
SF Supervisor Mandelman (District 8) | Fellow | Government (Local) | Unpaid | |||
SF State Environmental Resource Center | Student Intern | Government (State) | ||||
Willie L. Brown Jr. Fellowship | Fellow | Government (State) | Paid | |||
SFSU Community and Government Relations | Intern | Government (State) | ||||
ACLU Nor Cal | Legal | |||||
Bay Area Legal Aid | Legal | |||||
The Sutton Lawfirm | Legal | |||||
Accountability Counsel | Non-Governmental Organization | Unpaid | ||||
Asylum Access | Non-Governmental Organization | |||||
Bayview Hunters Point Foundation for Community Improvement | Non-Governmental Organization | |||||
CAUSE | Non-Governmental Organization | Paid | ||||
Center for Biological Diversity | Climate Campaign Intern | Non-Governmental Organization | Paid | |||
Clean Cities University Workforce Development Program | Summer Intern |
|
Paid | |||
Coalition on Homelessness | Non-Governmental Organization | |||||
Corpwatch | Non-Governmental Organization | Unpaid | ||||
David Brower Center | Non-Governmental Organization | |||||
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights | Non-Governmental Organization | Unpaid | ||||
Evolve California | College Intern | Non-Governmental Organization | Paid | |||
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco | Summer Intern | Non-Governmental Organization | Paid | |||
First Amendment Coalition | Non-Governmental Organization | |||||
Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression | Remote Intern | Non-Governmental Organization | Paid | |||
Global Fund for Woman | Non-Governmental Organization | |||||
Hamilton Families | Non-Governmental Organization | |||||
Homeless Action Center | Non-Governmental Organization | |||||
Horizons Foundation | Non-Governmental Organization | |||||
Larkin Street Youth Services | Non-Governmental Organization | |||||
Livable City | Open Streets Ambassador | Non-Governmental Organization | Paid | |||
Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority | Planning Intern | Non-Governmental Organization | Paid | |||
National Center for Lesbian Rights | Non-Governmental Organization | |||||
New Door Ventures | Non-Governmental Organization | |||||
Oakland Rising | Non-Governmental Organization | |||||
Panetta Institute | Congressional Intern | Non-Governmental Organization | ||||
Parricipatory Budgeting Project | Non-Governmental Organization | |||||
San Francisco Foundation | Multi Cultural Fellowship | Non-Governmental Organization | ||||
Siren | Immigrant Rights Organizer | Non-Governmental Organization | ||||
Social Justice Collaborative | Non-Governmental Organization | |||||
350 Bay Area | Policy | Unpaid | ||||
50+1 Strategies | Fellowship | Political Consultancy | ||||
Baughman Merril | Political Consultancy | |||||
BMWL | Political Consultancy | |||||
New Deal Advisers | Political Consultancy | |||||
SCRB Strategies | Political Consultancy | |||||
Storefront Media | Political Consultancy | |||||
Tramutola Political Strategists | Political Consultancy | |||||
California Calls | Political Organization | |||||
OurFuture | Political Organization | |||||
San Francisco Rising | Summer Fellow | Political Organization | Paid | |||
David Binder Research | Public Affairs | |||||
EMC Research | Public Affairs | |||||
Fall Line Analytics | Public Affairs | |||||
FM3 Research | Public Affairs | |||||
Goodwin Simon | Public Affairs | |||||
Kearns and West | Public Affairs | |||||
Novos Consulting | Public Affairs | |||||
SGR Consulting | Public Affairs | |||||
Telegraph PR | Public Affairs | |||||
The Lew Edwards Group | Public Affairs | |||||
APICA | CA State Legislature Internship | Non-Governmental Organization | Paid | |||
Supervisor Connie Chan (District 1- Richmond) | SF Board of Supervisors Intern | Elected Official (San Francisco) | ||||
Supervisor Catherine Stefani (District 2- Marina, Presidio Heights) | SF Board of Supervisors Intern | Elected Official (San Francisco) | ||||
Supervisor Aaron Peskin (District 3- North Beach, Russian Hill) | SF Board of Supervisors Intern | Elected Official (San Francisco) | ||||
Supervisor Gordon Mar (District 4- Sunset, Outer Sunset) | SF Board of Supervisors Intern | Elected Official (San Francisco) | ||||
Supervisor Dean Preston (District 5- Haight, NOPA, Western Addition) | SF Board of Supervisors Intern | Elected Official (San Francisco) | ||||
Supervisor Matt Haney (District 6- Civic Center, Tenderloin, SOMA) | SF Board of Supervisors Intern | Elected Official (San Francisco) | ||||
Supervisor Myrna Melgar (District 7- Ingleside, West Portal, Park Merced) | SF Board of Supervisors Intern | Elected Official (San Francisco) | ||||
Supervisor Rafael Mandelman (District 8- Castro, Noe Valley) | SF Board of Supervisors Intern | Elected Official (San Francisco) | ||||
Supervisor Hillary Ronen (District 9- Mission, Bernal Heights) | SF Board of Supervisors Intern | Elected Official (San Francisco) | ||||
Board President Shamman Walton (District 10- Bayview, Hunters Point) | SF Board of Supervisors Intern | Elected Official (San Francisco) | ||||
Supervisor Ahsha Safai (District 11- Excelsior, Outer Mission) | SF Board of Supervisors Intern | Elected Official (San Francisco) | ||||
Women's Earth Alliance | Programs and operations intern | Non-Governmental Organization | Paid | |||
Public Service Aide |
Government (Local) | |||||
Cal State DC Scholars | Spring 2024 DC Scholar | Academic | ||||
Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority | Finance and Administration Intern | Government | Paid | |||
Cause | Cause Leadership Academy | Public Affairs | Paid | |||
Congressional Hispanic Leadership | Global Leaders Program | Public Affairs | Paid | |||
San Bruno Community Development Department | Intern | Government (Local) | ||||
TogetherSF | Political Fellowship | Non-Profit | ||||
California Academy of Sciences | CA Volunteer Network | Academic | ||||
Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco | Summer Internship | Public Affairs | Paid | |||
Panetta Congressional Internship | Congressional Intern | Government (Local) | ||||
Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute | Global Leaders Program | Non-Governmental Organization | Paid | |||
US Department of Energy | University Workforce Development Program |
Government |
Paid | |||
URGE | Pro Abortion Student Advisory Board Member | Non-Profit | Paid | |||
Fresh Lifelines for Youth | Volunteer | Non-Profit |