Experiential Learning

Internships provide students with the opportunity to move between the academic setting of the classroom and into the applied setting of an agency, organization, or business. The primary goal is for students to gain hands-on experience in professional work environments related to their academic and career interests.

Internships in criminal justice, human services, business and community contexts also provide students with practical experience, as well as career and networking opportunities. Internships are often a key step in becoming familiar with job requirements and obtaining a job upon graduation.

Unique, Substantive, and Diverse Internships

Butler students are encouraged to identify internships that are related to their career interests and goals and to participate in experiences that will expand their knowledge base while also exposing them to diverse and new ways of thinking. Butler sociology and criminology students have completed internships in a wide variety of organizations, agencies, and businesses, including:

• Barnes and Thornburg
• Beacon of Hope Crisis Center
• Children’s Policy and Law Inititaves
• Englishton Park
• Exodus Refugee Immigration, Inc.
• Independence Health and Therapy
• Indiana Legal Services
• Indiana Supreme Court
• Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (various divisions)
• Marion County Prosecutor’s Office
• View a more complete list of past internship sites here

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Internship Criteria

The department of Sociology and Criminology has established the following evaluation criteria for internship students and their evaluators.

Criteria 1: Provide experience breadth and depth

The internship needs to provide the student with a broad overview of the organization. In addition, the student should gain a clear understanding of what this career field or occupation entails. The student should have the opportunity to engage in projects and activities at a professional level to not only learn about the organization, but to also develop new skills and knowledge.

Criteria 2: Provide opportunities to apply principles learned inside and outside the classroom

Just as the student benefits from interning with the organization, so does the organization benefit from having the student work alongside them. Throughout the internship experience, the student should have the opportunity to refine their skills while also deepening their understanding of the concepts and theories they are learning in the classroom.

Criteria 3: Provide opportunities to observe professionals in action

An internship should provide the student with hands-on experience and a good sense of what an actual job in the organization will be like. We encourage interns to participate in company meetings and to attend client when appropriate. Additionally, interns should have the ability to ask professionals at the internship site about their respective jobs and career paths.

Criteria 4: Provide opportunities to develop specific skills

The students should leave the internship with a new set of skills or improvements in their current skill set. We encourage students to concentrate on their research skills, writing skills, technical skills appropriate to the field, and presentation skills throughout their internship time.

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Internship Requirements

Students in the department of Sociology and Criminology are required to complete either a three-credit-hour internship (SO484) or a service-learning course. The department also offers a six-credit-hour internship (SO485) for interested students. Please note that only three credit hours of this internship will count toward the major requirements.  

Students must complete an internship that is related to their specific major (sociology, sociology/social work or criminology) and all internship sites must be approved by the department prior to enrollment.

Student performance is evaluated both by a faculty member (academic requirements) and by the on-site supervisor (internship site/job requirements).

Specific requirements include:

• Complete information forms and contract including necessary signatures prior to beginning internship
• Develop specific goals and objectives prior to beginning internship
• Complete 160 hours for SO484 (or 280 hours for SO485) in the field at the internship site
• Keep a work journal of experience and observations while doing the internship
• Attend biweekly meetings with the designated faculty internship supervisor; be prepared to discuss ongoing journal entries during these meetings
• Turn in an internship reflection paper at the conclusion of the internship

Additional details about all of these requirements can be found in the Internship Packet. You can stop by the Sociology & Criminology Office (JH246) to get a physical copy of this packet. You can also email your faculty advisor for a digital copy of this packet.

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Finding an Internship

Students are responsible for working, in consultation with their advisor, on finding an appropriate internship site. Once a site has been identified, the student is responsible for applying for the internship and identifying a full-time faculty member to serve as their faculty supervisor.

There are several resources available for identifying an internship:

• Ask your advisor about the list of previous internship sites maintained by the department
• Consider participating in Butler’s Washington, DC Internship Program
• Keep an eye on your email for new internship opportunities shared with all department majors and minors throughout the school year
• Complete your own internship search for local, state, national and international internship opportunities
• View a list of government agency websites (including the FBI)
• Visit Butler’s Office of Internships and Career Services (Dugan Hall, Room 102); this office provides students with a number of resources including help with your initial search, counseling and advice, help writing resumes and over letters, interviewing best practices, etc.

Students in the department of Sociology and Criminology are required to complete either a three-credit-hour internship (SO484) or a service-learning course. All department service-learning courses also satisfy the University’s Indianapolis Community Requirement (ICR). Enrolling in a service-learning course offered by the department of Sociology & Criminology simultaneously satisfies a department and core university requirement.

The discipline of Sociology is well situated to provide conceptual and theoretical tools for understanding social problems and the experiences of disadvantaged groups of people. Service-learning courses combine academic studies with volunteer work or service projects related to a class topic. Many community-based organizations that students work during their service-learning courses include disadvantaged groups and focus on the amelioration of social problems.

There are several learning outcomes of service-learning courses as stated by Butler’s Center for Citizenship and Community. These are:

• To engage in learning that integrates academic content with significant activities alongside Indianapolis community partners.
• To connect the active learning experience to enlarge understanding of our community and public good in a pluralistic society.
• To demonstrate a commitment to ongoing community involvement and citizenship.

Service-learning courses that have recently been offered by the the Sociology & Criminology department include:

• Abolition. In this course, students examine abolition as a logic and practice of social analysis and social action. Students complete their service-learning at a local re-integration organization founded and operated by formerly incarcerated women.
• Aging and the Life Course. This course examines the social aspects of health and aging. Students complete their service-learning at Marquette Manor where they interact with older adult residents.
• Homelessness in America. This course examines the social issue of homelessness in America and how it is related to nearly all aspects of life. Students complete their service-learning at a local non-profit drop-in center supporting individuals ages 14-24 who are experiencing housing insecurity in Indianapolis.
• Urban Community. In this course, students study the social, economic, political, and cultural foundations of urban life. Students complete their service-learning at an established Citizenship and Community Center (CCC) in the Indianapolis area.

Directed research is an opportunity for students to get involved with research under the direct supervision of a faculty member in the Sociology and Criminology department. Activities may include library research, data collection, data entry, data analysis, and manuscript preparation.

Through this experience, students will learn valuable research and problem-solving skills and have a chance to apply the sociological theories and concepts they are learning about in their courses.

Collaborative research can also lead to student presentations at academic conferences and co-authored research publications. This experience is particularly valuable for students interested in pursuing a graduate degree in sociology, criminology or a related field or research-oriented careers after graduation.

Faculty in the department will make students aware of directed research opportunities each semester. Students may also inquire about such opportunities with their department advisor or with a faculty in a particular course.

Recent directed research project titles include:

• Anti-Racist Identity Survey Project
• Faculty Mental Health and Well-Being
• Greening the Economy: Do Green Central Banks Matter?
• Indigenous Studies LibGuide and Tribal Child Welfare Records
• Introduction to Media Sociology: All Media Are Social
• Loneliness in Older Adults
• Perceptions of Miscarriage
• Social Media Stalking on College Campuses

All seniors with majors in our department are required to participate in a capstone experience during their senior year.

Unlike other courses in the major, which introduce students to a specific topic, subject, or skill, the Senior Research Seminar (SO486) is instead organized around students making use of the skills and knowledge they have acquired in their other courses toward the completion of an Independent Research Project proposal. In this respect, the focus of this course is on each individual student applying what they have learned to demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of the discipline by creating, developing, and presenting an original independent research project proposal.

The goals of this experience are:

• To demonstrate mastery of the sociological/criminological perspective – theories, issues, concepts, research methods – through the formulation and completion of an original research project proposal
• To develop a reflective, critical perspective on contemporary society through developing an independent sociological/criminological research project proposal on a significant and relevant social issue or concern
• To develop the necessary analytical and research skills for success in advanced graduate study and to meet career demands after graduation
• To develop written and oral presentation skills

Students involved in the Honors Program or students interested in completing a departmental honors thesis may do so in place of the senior research seminar requirement. Please speak to your advisor and visit the Butler Honors Program website for additional information about this option.  We’ve also provided a high level overview of the Honors Program in the section immediately below this one — Broader Butler Research Opportunities.

Butler Summer Institute (BSI)

Do you have a research question you would like to pursue? Have you identified a specific contribution you can make to a scholarly conversation? Are you prepared to produce a creative work? If so, then The Butler Summer Institute (BSI) is a program to consider.

BSI is the University’s preeminent undergraduate research program that allows students to pursue a significant research question or produce creative work while being mentored by a faculty member from mid-May to mid-July.

BSI Scholars are typically sophomores or juniors who have completed multiple courses related to the project topic, conducted research in one or more courses, and intend (or are required) to write a thesis. Proposals and Mentor Recommendation Forms are due in January of each year, so if this program is of interest, please speak with your department advisor early and often in the fall semester.

Honors Thesis

Outstanding students may also participate in the Butler University Honors Program, which culminates in an Honors Thesis. Students can be admitted into the Honors Program through the end of their sophomore year.

The Honors Thesis allows students to work with a faculty advisor on an independent research project in an area of interest to them. Students can apply for a BSI grant, as discussed above, to help fund their Honors Thesis research.

If the research topic is in your major, the Sociology & Criminology department will consider it for departmental honors in addition to university honors. Please consult the FAQ section of the Honors website or speak with a faculty member within the department for additional information about this exciting program.