Internship

Program Purpose

The internship in Criminology and Criminal Justice (CRCJ) is not a required course, but is an opportunity for students to gain “hands-on” practical experience by working with practitioners in the various components of the criminal justice system. These components include local, state, or federal law enforcement; criminal justice adjudication; probation; corrections; and corporate or governmental security. The program provides connection between the environment of classroom learning and the professional world. You must complete 112 hours in the field to earn three credit hours and 224 hours in the field to earn six credit hours. Students interested in earning six hours of course credit may complete all hours in one semester or separate two internships over two semesters.

Program Benefits

Internships provide students the opportunity to determine if the work they think they want to do as a profession is a good fit. In other words, the internship experience can confirm a student’s future career plans, and can provide an opportunity for self-evaluation of goals, attitudes, and values. Awareness of the demands of the profession, as well as awareness of additional career opportunities is provided to those who are selected as interns.

Although CRCJ 4390 is an elective, it is a privilege, not a right, to be selected to be included in the course. Participation in the internship is solely at the discretion of the internship coordinator. Interns in the program represent the University, the Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, as well as themselves. Therefore, students selected are expected to represent all of these interests in a very positive and professional manner.

Prospective interns will be selected by a process which includes an application review and an interview with the internship coordinator. After preliminary acceptance, it is the responsibility of the student to contact an agency or organization that is involved with the criminal justice system, complete their required application and interview process, and be accepted as an intern by that agency or organization. Students may also consider private companies that have a corporate security or investigative department, such as large retailers and insurance companies.

Internship participation is jointly under the supervision of both the CRCJ department internship coordinator and the internship director of the host agency or company.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for participation in the internship program, students must meet the following requirements:

Be a UTA CRCJ major with junior or senior status (60-90+ hours completed) in the semester in which the student is enrolled in the course.
Have completed at least 12 credit hours of CRCJ courses at UTA and 15 credit hours of CRCJ courses overall.
Have earned a cumulative GPA of 2.5+ and have a GPA of 2.5+ in CRCJ courses.
Be in good standing academically at UTA.
Have a recommendation from one UTA CRCJ professor who had the student in at least one class.
Establish a UTA email address and have access to a computer.
Be able to pass an agency criminal background investigation, and a urinalysis (if required).
Be able to work at least 112 hours during the semester (for three-hour course credit) or 224 hours (for six-hour course credit).
Have transportation to the work site.
Have medical and automobile insurance.

Additional Considerations

Students in the program will be required to sign an agreement that outlines the terms of the internship. Interns will not intentionally be placed in dangerous situations; however, accidents can happen. The agency, the University of Texas at Arlington, the CRCJ department at UTA, nor anyone associated with the internship program will be liable for injury or loss of life, limbs, etc. incurred by a student involved in the internship program. Also, it is solely the discretion of the agency or organization if any remuneration is paid to an intern. Very few CRCJ internships are paid. Those that do involve some form of payment or stipend are highly competitive.

Ordinary communication with interns during the semester will be by email involving the use of the UTA email system, as it is the official means of university-related communication. Personal email addresses will not be used.

Intern Application Process

The entire application process must be completed in the semester prior to the semester in which the student will be enrolled in the course (CRCJ 4390). The following steps are required for acceptance in the CRCJ Internship:

Determine what kind of agencies/organizations best meet career expectations and desires
Obtain an application directly from the coordinator or by email request to the coordinator
Complete the Internship Application, and submit, along with a resume and cover letter explaining why enrollment in the program is desired, to the CRCJ Internship Coordinator
Have a CRCJ professor who has had the applicant in one or more courses submit a brief recommendation to the coordinator by email
Schedule a personal interview with the program coordinator (during the interview, the applicant will be expected to prepare for and treat the interview as one would prepare for, and conduct oneself in an interview with an agency or organization for a professional position)
Contact the agency/organization with which the student wishes to intern to determine what will be required to apply for internship, and complete and comply with the process, including any background investigations for temporary security clearances
Upon acceptance by an agency or organization, complete an Internship Agreement, which will be signed by the student intern, and the intern coordinators from the agency and the CRCJ department
Register for the internship course, CRCJ 4390
Obtain a course syllabus from the CRCJ Internship Coordinator