Kaprielian Hall 268
(213) 740-8964
FAX: (213) 740-3167
E-mail: unruhins@usc.edu
http://www.bcf.usc.edu/~unruhins

Director: Ann N. Crigler, Ph.D.

Assistant Director: Steven B. Greene, Ph.D.

The Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics conducts programs and holds events to introduce students to the world of practical politics. A student advisory committee, consisting of undergraduate and graduate students, helps guide the Unruh Institute's activities. Each semester, the institute offers intern positions with government, political and advocacy offices and organizations in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The institute also sponsors a Distinguished Leadership series that brings prominent political and governmental leaders to USC to lecture and to meet with small groups of students in an informal setting. In the spring, the institute organizes a student seminar in Sacramento at which students from colleges and universities throughout California meet with members of the California legislature, lobbyists and the media to discuss important issues in state politics. The institute's annual Millennium Lecture, delivered in the spring, provides a forum for thought-provoking discussion of public policy issues and their implications for society in the 21st century.

Directed Government and Political Leadership Internship

Students volunteer to work in one of over 250 political and governmental offices throughout the Los Angeles area, enabling them to gain firsthand political experience. As interns, students acquire basic political understanding and skills in government, campaign, media, legal or advocacy organizations. Through their assignments, students have the opportunity to develop an understanding of the many ways in which people are important to politics and politics to people.

By gaining hands-on experience in government and politics, student interns develop real-world political and jobs skills to assist them in their future careers. Many interns have been talented and fortunate enough to secure full-time employment based upon their internship.

Students enroll in POSC 395 Directed Governmental and Political Leadership Internship, for two to eight units.

Undergraduate Research Fellows

Each semester, the institute accepts a select number of undergraduates to work closely with a faculty member in the Political Science Department on a research project. Fellows must be nominated by a faculty member to be selected for this program. The fellowship experience provides students with knowledge and research skills that will assist them in future careers in politics and government. At the end of the semester, fellows participate in a panel discussing their research.

Students enroll in POSC 490 Directed Research for 4 units.

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