Internship Program

General Description

The Department of Criminal Justice Administration (CJA) offers internship opportunities for students who are seniors and Criminal Justice majors in the undergraduate program or who are students officially accepted in the CJA graduate program. The internship program provides placement with over 30 criminal justice agencies including district attorneys offices, public defenders offices, police departments, sheriffs departments, probation and parole offices, circuit courts, juvenile courts, drug courts, and several state and federal level agencies. The internship program integrates criminal justice practical on-the-job elements with the academic aspects. The student not only experiences the pragmatic operations of the criminal justice system, but also the applications of theory to the profession.

Procedures

To receive placement in the internship, the criminal justice student may obtain an application form from the CJA Department. The completed form and three letters of recommendation must be submitted to Dr. Deborah Wilkins Newman, Chair of the Department, at least 7 weeks before the beginning of the internship semester; however, submitting applications and materials earlier helps assure placement in the student's choice of the type of internship. After submitting the form and the three letters of recommendation, the student must contact Dr. Newman ( dnewman@mtsu.edu or 615-898-2630) to set up a meeting to discuss potential placement. These are the prerequisite steps which must be completed before contacting any agency. After the student has been approved by the Department for placement, and has been accepted by the criminal justice agency, the undergraduate student must register for CJA 4300 (9 hours credit), and the graduate student must register for CJA 6250 (3 hours credit).

Additional information can be obtained by contacting Dr. Deborah Wilkins Newman ( dnewman@mtsu.edu or 615-898-2630) and by obtaining a copy of a syllabus from the Department.