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Criminal Justice Internships


Please make note of the following requirements before applying for a Criminal Justice internship.

  • Students MUST meet with a Criminal Justice Faculty member before pursuing an internship opportunity.
  • Internships are available from 1-8 credits.
  • Students intending to take an internship must have completed at least 90 credits and have a 3.0 GPA in the major.

Although an internship is not required, it can be a very valuable experience.  Students are strongly encouraged to discuss internships with a Criminal Justice Faculty member.  Students should begin this process well before the semester in which they wish to register for the internship.  Internships are a privilege, not a right.  If students demonstrate excellent academic achievement (as evidenced by a 3.0 GPA in the CJ Major), as well as maturity, professionalism, and discretion, they may earn a criminal justice internship. If earned, criminal justice faculty members will work to provide a student intern with an academic experience within a criminal justice agency.

Internships also carry an academic requirement.  To successfully complete the academic portion, students must integrate the field experience with their academic curriculum.  Typically, this is done through periodic consultations with a faculty advisor during the internship and the submission of a related paper or portfolio.

Since criminal justice agencies go out of their way to provide an educational experience for the student, we insist that the student be able to provide something to the agency as well.  We encourage each host agency to put the student’s academic skills to use, particularly in the area of research, analysis, and prison programming. 

The criminal justice faculty will make a concerted effort to ensure that student interns receive real-world experience within a criminal justice agency.

The availability of internship positions is limited.  For this reason, academic achievement is not the only criteria necessary to earn an internship.  The faculty evaluation of the student’s professionalism, maturity, and “fit” between the student and agency are all elements in the selection process.

Paid Internship Program

The Paid Internship Program is offered through UWO’s CJ Department and The Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office (Spring 2023).  Right now, the CJ Department will be screening interested students to make sure they qualify for this internship.  After that, we will send the names of qualified candidates to the Sheriff’s Office, where they will select two of these candidates for the internship program.

If you need more information before you decide, please view the flyer about this program that is attached to this email and/or view the recorded video below by clicking on the link (it is a recording of the presentation the Sheriff’s Office and the CJ Department gave about this internship program last Wednesday on campus).  Keep in mind the hope for the Sheriff’s Office is that you will accept the position they offer you (as a Deputy Sheriff) at the end of the successful completion of this paid internship.

Additional benefits come once the offer is accepted at the end of the internship (see the flyer and/or recorded video for more details on these benefits).

🎥Recording-1(211 MB) https://wisconsin-edu.zoom.us/rec/play/buPr6RVoJcaIkFrrLG1LLmllL2HMbzJ7jhIK-0mHMoQQ-nHmmgvTRdlwx0ugx9ZXhlbAoP399ZSq0EBz.p2JpThXM78rJFXB0

👉🏻Flyer Intern Brochure_PAID_Winnebago County Sheriff

Inviting Convicts to College Program

A Teaching Service Internship in Local Prisons

The Inviting Convicts to College Program (ICCP) is a unique teaching internship that is offered by the Department of Criminal Justice. As an ICCP intern, the student is expected to teach a non-credit college course on-site at an area prison (Taycheedah or Oshkosh Correctional Institution). The courses taught are designed to prepare the inmates for enrollment and the expectations of students at UW Oshkosh (and/or other universities, colleges or tech schools).

The course taught will focus on two main components. The first component will cover a substantive topic, such as an introduction to sociology, criminology, or theoretical criminology. The topics covered in the course will vary depending on the intern’s interests and abilities. The second component will focus on how to enroll at UWO (and/or other universities, colleges or tech schools), register for classes, apply for financial aid, adjusting to college life after prison, etc. During the course the inmate students are expected to attend class, take and pass exams, write papers and participate in class discussions.

ICCP FAQs

ICCP Teaching Description

Criminal Justice Interns who teach in the ICCP are required to:

  • Teach the ICCP over the course of a 13-week period; the ICCP meets once a week on-site at Oshkosh Correctional Institution; the class period (depending on the prison’s policies and/or procedures) will last anywhere from one to two hours.
  • Meet at least once a week with a CJ faculty member who is supervising the internship.
  • Develop a teaching portfolio that includes: syllabi, collection of lectures, discussion topics, exams, assignments, etc.

Depending on your availability, you may have the ability to present your experiences with the program at a regional and/or national conference (previous interns have presented both research posters and presentations at conferences, such as the Midwest Sociological Society’s annual conference).

How will the ICCP internship benefit me?

You can receive up to eight credits in the ICCP; four credits can be earned for teaching one course during one semester. Depending on your performance and course demand, you may be able to teach an additional section of the ICCP for another four credits (eight credits total).

You will gain valuable teaching experience that can make your application to graduate school more attractive. Most students applying for graduate school will also apply for a teaching assistantship, and participation in the ICCP will help prepare you for these graduate assistantships.

Your participation in the ICCP might lead to regional/national conference presentations, which could make your graduate school application more attractive.

If you are not interested in graduate school, the experience gained will give you on-site experience in the prison environment, which would look nice on your resume.

Prerequisites for ICCP Interns

The following are requirements of the ICCP internship:

  • A GPA of 3.0 in CJ major or minor
  • A minimum of 90 college credits earned