Criminal Justice Internships




The School of Criminology and Criminal Justice has established internship opportunities with over 50 criminal justice agencies in the Lincoln and surrounding area.  Whether your interest is in law enforcement, corrections, probation, parole, courts, law, juvenile services, victim services or other related areas, you will receive valuable experience and contacts in the field to enhance your career development.  You can apply three to six hours of CRIM 397-Criminal Justice Internship towards the 39 hour major area (fulfills the ACE 10 requirement).

Qualifications
• Must be a Criminology and Criminal Justice major or minor. 
• A minimum of 75 credit hours completed before starting the internship.
• A minimum of 12 credit hours completed in Criminology and Criminal Justice before starting the internship.
• A minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 at the end of the semester preceding the start of the internship.
Requirements
Our current internship coordinator is Chris Eskridge (ceskridge@unl.edu).  Please contact him if you have questions regarding the requirements below after reading the syllabus:
  • Read the course syllabus and the internship manual found on the course webpage.  http://www.unl.edu/eskridge/cj397index.html
  • After you are accepted by an agency for an internship, email Chris Eskridge for the permission code to enroll in CRIM 397.
  • A minimum of 160 work hours must be applied to the internship during the semester (approximately 10-12 hours per week).
  • Work out an acceptable schedule with your agency supervisor.  
  • Provide your own transportation.
  • Keep a log of hours and activities to be turned in at the end of the semester to the internship coordinator.
  • Write a paper integrating your internship experience with what you learned in the classroom.
Application Process

Application forms are available online at: http://www.unl.edu/eskridge/cj397index.html
Please complete the application form and rank order your top four choices of preferred agency placement.  Other internship options can be explored, but must be approved by the Internship Coordinator.  A copy of the internship application can be turned in to the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice office, or it may be submitted electronically to the Internship Coordinator, Chris Eskridge at (ceskridge@unl.edu). 

Application deadlines are due as follows: April 1 for fall internships, October 1 for spring internships, and February 15 for summer internships.

The Internship Coordinator will begin to arrange your internship shortly after the application deadline for the semester you plan to intern.  You will be contacted by the Internship Coordinator and will be given more specific information in order for you to set up your internship.  Contact the Internship Coordinator once your internship has been confirmed by the agency and you will be given the course permission number to register for three hours of internship credit (CRIM 397) under the Pass/No Pass option.

Note that each agency has their own procedure for selecting interns.  Some require an extensive application process while others will simply require you to contact the agency supervisor to arrange an interview.  Be prepared for the agency to conduct a background check.  Most agencies will require you to provide a resume.

Local Internship Agency Work Descriptions