Internship Information

Internships can be a useful and important part of undergraduate work in Sociology, providing a unique opportunity for students to integrate classroom learning with a supervised practice experience in various work settings.

Montclair State University has partnerships with organizations, agencies, and companies in the state of New Jersey and in New York City. You may be placed in settings with areas of specialty including, but not limited to:

Internship Application and Deadlines

Sociology Majors have a new option for their senior capstone. Students may continue to register for SOCI 400 Senior Project. They may also register for SOCI 410 Internship Capstone.

Spring Application Deadline: November 15 2023

After submitting the online application, you should receive a confirmation message and an email with your submitted responses immediately.  If you do not receive these, your application may not have been successfully submitted and you should follow up with the instructor, Dr. Ruszczyk.

This is an online application, but you may preview the application as a PDF here.

Purpose

This Sociology capstone course is designed to help students understand the social forces that shape professional settings in human services, schools, community organizations, and policy and research settings. This experiential course draws upon theories and concepts students covered in previous sociology courses and, therefore provides them with the opportunity to integrate and deepen understandings of social theory, social research, and the social world as well as examine issues of professionalization and methods of social change.

The Capstone Internship is designed to prepare students for starting life as sociologists after college—this includes preparing for the work force and understanding how we can be public sociologists. The goal of the course is to provide you with an end-of-program “capstone experience” in which to apply your sociological knowledge and skills to the world of work and beyond. Additionally, this course will help students to recognize the opportunities and privileges that come with a college degree as well as its limits, challenging them to devise long-term strategies to pursue a meaningful and engaged life.

Eligibility & Prerequisite Requirements

All Sociology Majors must successfully complete the application process in order to receive permission to register for SOCI 410 Internship.  For students who anticipate registering for SOCI 410, the following requirements must be met by the start of the semester you are applying for:

• Senior level standing is recommended
• The successful completion of SOCI 240 and SOCI 301 is required
• Completion of SOCI 313 is recommended

Important Factors to Consider

Students must submit their application and meet the eligibility requirements by the following DEADLINES:

SPRING:  November 15th for SOCI 410.

All applications must be completed and submitted online.

• Students are encouraged to submit the application as soon as possible.
• Students are responsible for checking their MSU email for important updates about the internship process.
• Many internship sites require a background check. You must advisethe instructor if you have a prior arrest, conviction or expungement.
• Internships require 100 hours of fieldwork over the designated semester.
• All self-placements must be approved by the Department.
• Students must create a well designed and grammatically correct resume with no spelling errors. Click here to view a Guide to Resume and Cover Letter Writing.

Additional Information

Check our FAQ page for answers to common questions regarding SOCI 410.

Contacts

Dr. Stephen Ruszczyk, Associate Professor, Sociology
Dickson Hall Room 313
Phone: 973-655-3719
Email: ruszczyk@gmail.com