Fill out the packet electronically (the entire Independent Study Form with the completed Internship Learning Work Plan) and submit by January 26th, 2026 for the Spring 2026 Semester deadline.
Below is a guide on how to enroll in an Independent Study Program, which provides course credit and may be a requirement for certain internships. For Political Science, this Independent Study Program is underneath course (POLI 192), and is composed of two parts: the Academic Internship Learning Work Plan, and the electronic Independent Study Program.
The first step to being enrolled in an Independent Study Program involves filling out the Academic Internship Learning Work Plan, linked here.
- First, determine how many credits you want to do within the plan, between 1-4 units with corresponding work loads. Add how many credits you want to do with the classes you are already planning to take. If the total is between 18-20 credits, you need to file a SSHA Petition for Excess Units, linked here, with processes between 2-3 business days. If you are taking MORE than 20 credits, you need to do a SSHA General Petition Form, linked here, which processes in 4-8 weeks. Keep in mind that there are enrollment deadlines for the semester and that this component (the entire Academic Internship Learning Work Plan) needs to be completed and approved at least 5 days before the last day to add classes for the intended semester.
- At the same time, find a faculty member who agrees to supervise your Independent Study Course (must be a full-time Senate faculty member, here are the Political Science faculty members). Collaborate to create a syllabus for the course, and after developing that, you can fill out the Academic Internship Learning Work Plan application, which has two different forms depending if it’s a Fall/Spring or a Summer Semester. Here is the Academic Learning Work Plan application for the upcoming Spring semester.
- Complete the Academic Internship Learning Work Plan, which requires the syllabus, breakdown of activities, and the signatures from the student, faculty sponsor, and internship sponsor.
The second step is filling out the electronic Independent Study Enrollment Form.
- You need to log into your account to fill out the form, which will automatically be sent to your Instructor and to the Dean. This form is processed in 3-5 days, and needs to be completed before the last day to register for courses (January 26th for the Spring 2026 Semester). You can find the link to this form underneath the Independent Study Program Section of the Office of Registrar Forms webpage; click on it, log-in, and access the form. An additional step-by-step process guide to fill out the form and register is linked here.
- The form will ask for the Internship Learning Work Plan as an attachment. Make sure to attach it once it is completed and signed. It doesn’t need to be signed by the Director of Student services.
- You will be notified if you are approved or denied after it is processed. If approved by the Dean and Professor, you will be sent a CRN number. You will then use that number to register into the Independent Study Program yourself through your registration portal. Once again, this needs to be submitted and completed before the January 26th deadline.
Unit to Contact Hours:
Internships with The Maddy Institute:
If your internship is through The Maddy Institute, you HAVE to be enrolled in an Academic Internship Learning Work Plan and the Independent Study Program before you can start your internship. You should plan to enroll in a minimum of a 1-unit independent study course. If you have a Summer internship, it’s dependent on your situation, but you definitely have to for any Fall and Spring Semester internships. Please contact The Maddy Institute to talk about your situation if you are in a summer internship placement.
In the form, your internship site, intern address, intern phone number, and internship site supervisor is the supervisor at The Maddy Institute (currently Emily Peacock) and NOT information from your internship placement. Putting the wrong person will result in the form not being accepted at The Maddy Institute and can stall the start date of your internship.
