Placement Locations for Undergraduate Internship

Below is a list of organizations that have hosted undergraduate internship placements in recent years. Students may suggest their own sponsoring organizations. While each intern's duties varies, students tend to contribute to research reports, prepare briefing notes, attend meetings or conferences, design information brochures, analyze data, and make policy recommendations.

ADVOCACY GROUPS AND NOT-FOR-PROFITS
A great place to work if you believe in the cause and share the energy and passion to achieve success, and welcome the challenge of working in a small office, often independently.

  • 4-H Newfoundland and Labrador
  • Association for New Canadians
  • Choices for Youth
  • Community Services Council
  • Engineers Without Borders
  • Fisheries Conservation Group
  • Food First NL
  • Leslie Harris Centre of Regional Policy and Development (Harris Centre)
  • Murphy Centre
  • Newfoundland & Labrador Medical Association (NLMA)
  • NL Sexual Assault Crisis & Prevention Centre
  • Oxfam Canada
  • Refugee and Immigrant Advisory Council (RIAC)
  • St. John's Board of Trade
  • Stella's Circle
  • Thrive -- Community Youth Network St. John's
  • Vera Perlin Society

BOARDS AND ADVISORY COMMITTEES
An opportunity to see how public policy decisions are made and enforced in a specialized area that operates at arms-length from the executive branch of government.

  • Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB)*
  • Provincial Advisory Council on the Status of Women (PACSW)
  • English Language School Board (renamed), Prince Edward Island

*interns should have completed some courses offered by the Faculty of Business

ELECTED OFFICIALS AND POLITICAL PARTIES
A fantastic opportunity to understand how politics and public policy operates in practice, from working on communications campaigns to helping constituents get government services.

  • Conservative Party of Canada
  • Liberal Party of NL
  • Members of Parliament (interns have worked in St. John's, Halifax and Ottawa)
  • New Democratic Party of NL
  • Progressive Conservative Party of NL

GOVERNMENT - FEDERAL
Unlike our undergraduate Co-op program or M.A. with internship, securing placements in the federal government for POSC 4600 tends to present logistical difficulties due to the part-time nature of the employment. Undergraduates interested in working with the Government of Canada should know someone in the federal public service who is willing to explore employment options on the student's behalf.

  • Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA)
  • Industry Canada
  • Public Safety Canada

GOVERNMENT AND ADVOCACY - MUNICIPAL
A fantastic way to understand how local government operates and often within a setting that provides strong potential for mentoring.

  • City of Mount Pearl
  • City of St. John's
  • Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM)
  • Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador (MNL)

GOVERNMENT - PROVINCIAL
The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is a great place to learn about life in the bureaucracy and how public policy is administered. Moreover the provincial government tends to welcome supporting student learning with internship opportunities.

Note: department names are subject to change

  • Advanced Education and Skills
  • Centre for Learning and Development
  • Education
  • Environment and Climate Change
  • Finance*
  • Fire and Emergency Services
  • Fisheries and Aquaculture
  • French Services
  • Health and Community Services
  • Intergovernmental Affairs
  • Municipal Affairs
  • Nalcor Energy**
  • Natural Resources**
  • Public Service Commission
  • Rural Secretariat
  • Volunteer and Non-Profit Secretariat
  • Women's Policy Office

*interns should have completed some courses in Economics
**interns should have completed some courses offered by the Faculty of Business

LABOUR ORGANIZATIONS
Interested in advocacy, unions and/or workers' rights? A labour organization might be the place for you.

  • Labour Relations Agency
  • Newfoundland & Labrador Federation of Labour
  • Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC)

LEGAL AND LEGISLATIVE BODIES
Preparing for a transition to law school? Many students seek out a position related to the legal sector to discover an interesting side of the practice of law.

  • Elections Newfoundland and Labrador
  • House of Assembly
  • Human Rights Commission**
  • John Howard Society
  • Legal Aid Commission**
  • Legislative Library
  • Office of the Auditor General***
  • Office of the Citizens' Representative**
  • Public Legal Information Association of Newfoundland (PLIAN)**
  • Royal Newfoundland Constabulary (RNC)**

*interns should have completed some courses offered by the Faculty of Business
**interns should have obtained high marks in courses with "law" in the title
***interns should have completed some Economics courses

MEDIA
The 'fourth estate' provides an invaluable role in communicating information between the government and the public.

  • Newfoundland Broadcasting Company (NTV)*
  • Rogers TV*
  • The Herald*
  • The Telegram*

*due to the specific skill sets associated with journalism, political science students interested in a placement with a media organization should have some related experience to draw upon, such as a portfolio of work from the MUSE or CHMR. Suggestions for how to develop a journalism portfolio are identified on The Canadian Journalism Project resource website.

PRIVATE SECTOR
1. SmartICE Sea Ice Monitoring & Information Inc. (in 2018 expressed interest in hosting an intern in a future semester)