Internships for Credit in Economics

Students must register for ECON 398 with the Undergraduate Director to receive 3 to 6 credit hours for an economics-related internship. For more details, contact the course instructor for a syllabus.

Who is eligible?

Enrollment is limited to juniors or seniors who have completed ECON 103, ECON 104, and at least two upper-level (300/400 level) elective hours of economics coursework.

Students must have an overall GPA of at least 2.5 and an economics GPA of at least 2.5.

What counts as an internship?

Students are responsible for locating their own internship (by working with Career Services, for example) and there must be some economic content to the job.

Students may not use a “regular job” as an internship. The internship must be a new short-term opportunity to work with a private firm or public organization to learn something about the field.

Credit cannot be awarded for an internship retroactively – students must be enrolled in ECON 398 and working as an intern at the same time.

Credit cannot be awarded for an internship that takes place in the State of Maryland.

How much credit can be earned?

To earn three hours of credit students must work in an internship for a total of 135 hours. To earn six hours of credit students must work in an internship for a total of 270 hours. We discourage internships of fewer hours than that. (College minimum standard is 45 hours for one credit.)

No more than 6 hours of credit in economics can be earned with internships. This course cannot be repeated for credit.

How can I register for ECON 398?

Registration for this course follows an atypical process. Before registering, you must find an internship and come to an agreement with the workplace sponsor about the approximate amount of hours you will work during the semester. After you have an offer in hand with a work schedule, you should complete the internship for credit application available by emailing the internship coordinator, Prof. Jason Dunick at jdunick@gmu.edu. 

Please submit this application along with the supporting paperwork to the ECON 398 course instructor prior to the start of the semester. Once the application is approved, you will then be given the experiential learning agreement packet for both you and your employer to complete. Each student must complete this required paperwork in full prior to registration. Please note that registration for this course is bound by the same registration deadlines which are relevant for all other courses at George Mason University. Please be sure to start the application process before the deadline to add courses.

How is ECON 398 evaluated?

This is a pass/fail course and students are evaluated based on three components:

  1. An initial 300-word proposal submitted with the Internship Application
  2. An Employer Evaluation Form - completed by the employer
  3. An 800-word reflection paper that is due on or before the last day of finals