GVPT Undergraduate Newsletter

1. Advising Updates

The advising staff would like to remind students that registration season is almost upon us! Please log on to Testudo to check your registration status. If you have any blocks, be sure to take action to remove these as soon as possible. Don't forget that it is always best to register on time for the most selection of GVPT courses. As a reminder, GVPT students are limited to 3 GVPT courses per semester.

2. The Student Government Association Invites YOU to Sign up for uHub!

'The uHub' is Maryland's new student homepage that brings together students and student groups. The website provides an interactive calendar that you can tailor by subscribing to the student groups whose events you want to see, an online book exchange when you want to buy or sell books, and it also centralizes all campus information (with useful links) all in one place!

This new resource is provided FREE of charge for all students to use and allows you to know exactly what events are happening that you won't want to miss.

Visit www.terpshub.com to sign up and you’ll always know what’s happening on campus! Student group leaders: add your group's events today so they can be found on 'The uHub!' If you have any questions, please email SGA's Director of Student Groups, Sumia Ahmad, at SGAstudentgroups@umd.edu

3. Attention Seniors: Tailgate TOMORROW
Tailgate with your fellow Seniors before the Terps play Wake Forest this Saturday, 10am-12pm. What better way to celebrate our senior status than a tailgate?? Come out to Tailgate Terrace and join all of the seniors to gear up for the game! Don't pass up this morning of fun, friends, food, and football!

We'll have quite the spread:
Bagels, Fruit, Muffins (food is free) and a... BAR
$3 Wine, $2 Beers, $1 Sodas and Water

Come together with the BEST class at UMD to cheer on our Terps!! (We only have 4 home games left!)

Note on Location: Tailgate Terrace is at the Riggs Alumni Center entrance that faces Lot 1 and the Tennis Courts.

*Bring cash for the bar
**"Kiss Me I'm a Senior" pins are in!!! We will have them on Saturday as well as Senior Class T-Shirt forms

4. The Conversation Continues: Race, Religion and Politics

The Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland, Inc., the African American Studies Department and the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences' dean's office will host “The Conversation Continues: Race, Religion and Politics," on Friday, Oct. 31 in the President’s Conference Room West in the Miller Senate Office Building at 11 Bladen Street in Annapolis, Md. The free event will feature a keynote address by Bishop Vashti Murphy McKenzie, presiding prelate of the 13th Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church and a University of Maryland graduate and the first female elected bishop of a major African American denomination. It will also feature a panel discussion with community and religious leaders and scholars. It is sponsored by the Dean of BSOS as well as the Cahir of the AASP department. All are invited.

For further information please visit http://www.bsos.umd.edu/aasp/ or contact Beck Krefting at rkrefting@aasp.umd.edu or 301-405-4470. For further information about the events planned for the entire LBCM Legislative Weekend 2008, please visit http://www.legislativeblkcaucusmd.org/conferences.html

5. Spend your Junior Year Abroad at the University College of London

UCL is recognised in the latest THES-QS rankings as one of the top ten universities in the world: in the same league as Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Chicago. This year we moved from ninth to seventh in the world league.

UCL’s Department of Political Science is a graduate school, with just one undergraduate programme: the Affiliate Programme for overseas students. It is an exciting and demanding programme in which undergraduates are taught just like graduates. The classes are small, and typically contain a mix of students from Britain, America, Europe, and around the world.

In addition to core courses from the Department of Political Science, students can choose from over 50 approved courses in political studies from other UCL departments. There are particular strengths in international relations, international security, international development, the European Union, British politics, West and East European politics, political theory, political anthropology, political geography, political philosophy and history. Being based in London, it is also easy for students to visit the Westminster parliament and the institutions of the European Union.

You can find more information about the programme at the following address: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/spp/teaching/affiliate. You can also email advising@gvpt.umd.edu for more information about how to apply and earn GVPT credit.

6. Office of Student Legal Aid Is Accepting Applicants

The Undergraduate Student Legal Aid Office will begin to accept applications for the Spring 2009 Internship Program on October 6, 2008. The closing date for the acceptance of applications is October 24, 2008.

The Internship has both an office work component and a classroom component. For the work done in both the classroom and in the office, the student gets 3 hours of graded credit (EDCP 386). Besides the office hours (6-7 hours per week), the classroom component is held on Tuesdays from 4:00 to 5:15 P. M. To be eligible, the student must have completed 56 credit hours by the time they begin the internship (12 of which must have been at UMCP). A minimum GPA of 3.0 is recommended.

Applications for the Internship Program can either be obtained from the Student Legal Aid Office in Room 1235 of the Stamp Student Union, or downloaded from our website at: www.studentorg.umd.edu/legalaid/.

If you should have any further questions, please feel free to contact the Director, Jim Jones, at 301-314-7756.

7. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Fellowship

CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE - JUNIOR FELLOWS PROGRAM

Website: http://www.carnegieendowment.org/about/index.cfm?fa=jrFellows

Who can apply: Graduating Seniors; US Citizens, Permanent Residents, Foreign Citizens (must be eligible for a full-time work permit); 3.6 GPA or higher strongly recommended; IMPORTANT: Applicants for the Carnegie Junior Fellows Program must be nominated by their University.

DEADLINE TO APPLY FOR MARYLAND NOMINATION: December 1, 2008. If you are interested in learning more about the Maryland Nomination Process for the CEIP Junior Fellows Program, please contact the National Scholarships Office at: scholarships@umd.edu. All Maryland applicants for the Carnegie Junior Fellows Program must be nominated by the University.

DESCRIPTION: Each year the Carnegie Endowment offers 8-10 one-year fellowships to uniquely qualified graduating seniors and individuals who have graduated during the past academic year. They are selected through a highly competitive process from a pool of nominees from close to 300 colleges.

Carnegie Junior Fellows provide research assistance to senior researchers working on the Carnegie Endowment's projects such as non-proliferation, democracy building, trade, US leadership, China-related issues and Russian/Eurasian studies. Junior Fellows have the opportunity to conduct research for books, co-author journal articles and policy papers, participate in meetings with high-level officials, contribute to congressional testimony and organize briefings attended by scholars, activists, journalists and government officials.

Students who have started graduate studies are not eligible. Candidates should have significant coursework and/or other experience in any of the various project areas described below. In addition, quantitative and/or advanced language skills are be required for some positions.

AWARD: Positions are paid, full-time positions for one year beginning July 1, 2009. Junior Fellows are currently paid a gross salary of $35,000 per year. A full benefits package is also provided.

Project areas for 2009-10 Junior Fellowships include:

Democracy / Rule of Law – Political Science background preferred; Middle East Studies – Native or near-native Arabic language skills essential; Nonproliferation; South Asian Studies – Strong math skills required in additional to background in international affairs or political science; Energy and Climate Change – Quantitative skills required; Chinese Studies – Mandarin Chinese reading skills strongly preferred; Chinese Economics – Mandarin Chinese essential and strong Excel computation skills required; Trade, Equity and Development – Economics and quantitative background needed; Russian / Eurasian Studies – Excellent Russian skills required; Central Asian Studies – Ability to read and translate a Central Asian language, Uzbek language skills most desirable; International Economics; and The U.S. Role in the World.

The Center for the Study of the Presidency, a non-partisan, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization located in Washington, DC, is currently offering unpaid internships for undergraduate and graduate students with a demonstrated interest in the Presidency and U.S. government policy. Center internships offer motivated students the opportunity to assist in the development of programmatic elements such as publications, event planning, research, and nonprofit development, while working in a small, fast-paced think tank. Interns would develop creative approaches to character and leadership education or work with fellow college students also actively interested in policy matters facing the American Presidency. While interns are assigned a primary project to work on during their time at the Center based on their experience and qualifications, they also have the opportunity to participate in a variety of Center activities and operations during their internship.

Recent examples of Center activities in this area include the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group (which CSP co-sponsored), supporting the Department of Homeland Security’s Domestic Nuclear Detection Office and an initiative to create a Foundation for International Understanding (with support from both Congress and the Department of State).

Professional responsibilities may include:
• Working with experienced policymakers and former government officials.
• Conducting research and writing to support policy analyses and other Center projects.
• Helping organize meetings with Presidential scholars, former White House staff, and former National Security Council officials.
• Assisting with conferences, publications and public relations outreach.

Candidates may be working in one or more of the following areas: geo-politics and foreign policy (including Middle Eastern, European, Latin America, African or Asian affairs and international economics), climate change and environmental policy, and science and technology policy, among others. While interns are assigned a primary project to work on during their time at the Center based on their experience and qualifications, they also have the opportunity to participate in a variety of Center activities and operations during their internship. Internship applicants must maintain a high standard of work in a fast-paced environment and be detail-oriented, able to multi-task, and eager to learn. Students in all majors are welcome to apply, especially those studying political science, history, international relations, economics, business, medicine or science policy.

Center internships offer motivated students the opportunity to assist in the development of programmatic elements such as publications, event planning, research, and nonprofit development, while working in a small, fast-paced think tank. Interns would develop creative approaches to character and leadership education or work with fellow college students also actively interested in policy matters facing the American Presidency. While interns are assigned a primary project to work on during their time at the Center based on their experience and qualifications, they also have the opportunity to participate in a variety of Center activities and operations during their internship.

• Conducting research and writing to support policy analyses and other Center projects;

• Helping organize meetings with Presidential scholars, former White House officials and staff, and other high-ranking individuals; and

Internship applicants must maintain a high standard of work in a fast-paced environment and be detail-oriented, able to multi-task, and eager to learn. Students in all majors are welcome to apply, especially those studying political science, history, international relations, economics, business, medicine or science policy. It is preferable that interns work Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., when the Center’s offices are open to gain the maximum experience and be truly integrated into the Center’s projects; exceptions are made on a case-by-case basis. Internship start and end dates are flexible based on the student's schedule.

Intersted students for either position should submit the following via e-mail (sficenec@thePresidency.org) or fax (202-872-9811):

More information can be found at www.thePresidency.org or by contacting Sarah Ficenec, Associate Director for Policy and Communications, at 202-872-9800 or sficenec@thePresidency.org.

Policy Review, the journal of the Hoover Institution, is in need of an editorial assistant in Hoover's Washington, D.C., office in Dupont Circle. The editorial assistant's duties include proof-reading copy, assisting Hoover fellows Tod Lindberg and Peter Berkowitz with research, and general office duties. The ideal applicant works independently and has an interest in journalism and/or policy research. Web skills are a plus. A particularly motivated editorial assistant may write a book review for the journa, update and re-vamp Tod Lindberg's website, and/or attend related lunches and lectures. The schedule is very flexible around the student's academic schedule; the editorial assistant can work anywhere from 2 days per week, a few hours per day, or full-time.

Before applying, applicants should visit Policy Review's website, http://www.hoover.org/publications/policyreview/, and read about the Hoover Institution, http://www.hoover.org/about/.

To apply, email a statement of interest and resume to Sharon Ragland, ragland@hoover.stanford.edu. If you have any questions, you can email her or call her at 202-466-3121.

How would you like to be in Washington, D.C. to experience the Inauguration Ceremony of the 44th President of the United States?

PRESIDENTIAL CLASSROOM brings 24 of the best college students to Washington D.C., the epicenter of American Politics, for their WINTER and SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAMS (12 students per session).

Responsibilities include managing the Student Services Office, facilitating the logistics of the program, managing seminars and introducing speakers. Noteworthy speakers have included COLIN POWELL (Former Secretary of State) and HOWARD DEAN (Democratic National Committee Chair). Also, we have been addressed at The Pentagon, CIA and The World Bank. At Presidential Classroom, students from the United States and abroad examine the federal government beyond the marble buildings. During each week-long program, participants interact with members of Congress, senior military officials, Washington insiders and journalists. They observe the Congress in action, visit well-known sites and debate key issues with their peers. Your job is to make these weeks happen. You will help create the experience not only for the students, but for yourself as an individual.

Therefore, if you are interested in working the 2009 PC Inauguration Program, then you must apply for our 2009 WINTER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM. ALL-INCLUSIVE ACCOMMODATIONS:

FREE Housing; Stipend for your Meals; College Credit Eligibility (between 6-14 credits as determined by your school)

Experience working with high school students; Completed at least 2 semesters of college by May 2009; Cumulative GPA of a minimum 3.0

Once accepted, you will arrive in Washington, D.C. for training in preparation for the Presidential Classroom programs.

http://www.presidentialclassroom.org/about_presidential_classroom/internship.aspx

Completed application form (written legibly); Copy of most recent official college transcript (NO unofficial transcripts); 2 Letters of Recommendation (1 academic & 1 professional); Most up-to-date resume (include awards and/or distinctions you have received)

**Phone interviews will be conducted for finalists before final sections are made.

**With our first program being the 2009 Inauguration Ceremony of the 44th President of the United States, it will certainly be an exciting time in Washington. Do not miss out to be part of this amazing opportunity!

If you are interested in applying for an internship at Wolf Trap, working in communications, development, special events, or more then visit their website. Applications are due by November 1, 2008.

United Jewish Communities - Washington, DC - Spring Semester Internship Opportunity

The national office of one of the premier American Jewish organizations is seeking spring semester interns who are looking to combine their interests in Jewish communal work and national politics.

United Jewish Communities Washington is the legislative arm of United Jewish Communities (UJC), bringing the voice of 155 Jewish community federations and 400 independent Jewish communities throughout North America to Capitol Hill as a prominent force in health and human service policy decision making. UJC’s legislative agenda is focused on bolstering baby boomer retirement policy, protecting Medicaid’s mission and funding, safeguarding non-profits from terrorism, and creating new alternatives for long-term elder care.

UJC interns have the unique and unparalleled opportunity to be exposed to a wide- range of national public policy issues. Through this internship, interns will learn innovative approaches to stimulate community interest by organizing and informing local grassroots networks of Jewish federations. This includes day-to-day responsibilities of attending Congressional hearings, taking part in advocacy/leadership training sessions, compiling and analyzing surveys, and researching and writing on public issues such as, homeland security, foreign affairs, disabilities, aging, and family caregiving.

Internships at UJC are full-time or part-time. A stipend is available. Please forward a resume, short writing sample, references, and any questions to: Francie.harris@ujc.org or fax to 202.785.4937

The newsletter is sent out everyday Friday to all current University of Maryland students who have declared and been accepted into the GVPT major. Only information relevant to academic and extra-curricular opportunities for these students will be sent through the newsletter. The government advising office reserves the right to edit and review all submissions to the GVPT newsletter and deny any submissions at their sole discretion.

If you would like to submit information or announcements, please email ADVISING@gvpt.umd.edu. Only those submissions which are denied or delayed will be contacted further.