Department of Political Science

Internships

Students often find that practical experience helps deepen their understanding of a specific area of study. By seeing how the principles they have studied are put into practice in the real world, they learn subtleties and complexities that are often not apparent from textbook reading, lectures, and class discussions. Students also find that having practical experience in an area of work they are interested in gives them an advantage when pursuing jobs. Finally, many students have found that when they do well in an internship they may be offered a full-time job upon graduation or given priority when a position opens at the office where they were an intern.

Touro students who wish to intern at government agencies or legislative offices may do so on a part-time basis during the term. In the past year, Touro students interned at the offices of such public officials as Senator Hillary Clinton, Congressman Brian Higgins, and Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. Opportunities are also available in City and State governmental agencies. In addition, students may intern on various political campaigns; one student is interning this year on Eliot Spitzer’s gubernatorial campaign.

This past summer, senior Chana Shaffer interned in the New York City office of Senator Clinton. While an intern, she provided assistance to constituents, especially members of the military and veterans, and learned about how a Senator’s home office operates. Two students, Molly Brock and Amanda Minkoff, interned in Washington D.C. through a program sponsored by the Orthodox Union’s Institute for Public Affairs. This program provides students with dormitory housing and positions in the Capitol Hill office of various legislators, and is open to Touro political science majors each year. Department Chairman David Luchins spent twenty years working for New York Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and has great success in placing Touro students in valuable internships.

Touro also participates in the New York State Session Internship program, which operates during the spring semester. Students receive a full semester of Touro credit in addition to a 30 hour a week paid internship with a member of the State Assembly in Albany. They take a course with two senior-level professors on state government and produce a research paper on pending legislation in addition to attending weekly issue forums with state government officials. Entrance to the program is competitive and requires application by November 1. Assistant Professor Tom Rozinski is Touro’s coordinator for this program.