SOC 495 CAPSTONE SEMINAR IN COMMUNITY SERVICE
What are the goals of Soc. 495?
Soc. 495-Capstone Seminar in Community Service is a culminating experience for Sociology and Criminology and Justice Studies majors. The purpose of the course is to enable you to apply classroom concepts and theories to achieve a deepened understanding of community efforts to solve society’s social problems. Since we will be using the community as a learning laboratory, another goal of the course will be to give service to the community. And finally, we hope that you will use the internship to explore your own interests, for example, in a future career or other pursuits in which you are interested.
How will you reach these goals?
Spend 6-8 hours per week for 15 weeks in a community organization or agency and draw from your first-hand experiences to apply a sociological perspective as you reflect upon the agency’s efforts to effectively prevent or respond to social problems.
What preparation will you need for enrolling in Soc. 495?
Plan ahead—Obtain an Internship and enroll in SOC 495 early. We attempt to offer enough sections to accommodate graduating seniors, but just like any other section of a course, once Permission Numbers have been given out for every seat in the section, the section is full and will not be overloaded. We offer as many sections each semester as our budget will allow, and we aren’t able to offer Soc. 495 during the summer session. Therefore, WE CANNOT GUARANTEE YOU A SEAT, AND YOUR GRADUATION COULD BE DELAYED. Also, it is important for you to note that because background preparation is important to fulfilling the goals of Soc. 495, the Department will be enforcing prerequisite requirements for enrollment in the course. Sociology majors must have completed Soc. 320 and either Soc. 311 or Soc. 313 or Soc. 315 prior to the semester in which you take Soc. 495. Criminology and Justice Studies majors must have completed Soc. 325 and either Soc. 311 or Soc. 313 or Soc. 315 prior to the semester that you enroll in Soc. 495.
Follow the instructions below (What Do You Do to Set Up an Internship? What Do YOU Do to Enroll?) for securing an internship and enrolling in this course. Follow the steps EXACTLY. Enrollment (i.e., Permission Numbers) in this course is suppressed until you have received permission from the instructor to enroll.
YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO GET A PERMISSION NUMBER AND ENROLL IN THE COURSE UNTIL YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE STEPS LISTED BELOW FOR ACQUIRING AN INTERNSHIP.
Deadlines for Getting an Internship and Submitting Your Paperwork: BE WISE, START EARLY! You MUST have your internship site AND the internship activities approved by both the course instructor and your site supervisor. You will need to get these approvals and submit your paperwork before you can receive a permission number from the instructor that enables you to enroll in the course.
Near the beginning of registration, an e-mail will be sent from the Sociology Department to all the Criminology and Justice Studies and Sociology majors (sent to your campus e-mail address) that states the deadline for getting your internship and submitting the paperwork required for enrollment. We strongly advise you not to wait until this deadline, since it is likely that the course will fill and be closed by the deadline date, and you will have to wait until the following semester to take the course.
What if the course is closed?
Sign up on the waitlist if SOC 495 is closed when you attempt to enroll for the course. The Sociology Department Closed Course Waitlist can be found on the Sociology Department website. Waitlist Forms
Follow the waitlist instructions carefully. If additional seats become available after the course is closed, you can ONLY BE ADMITTED IF YOUR NAME APPEARS ON THE WAITLIST. You will be notified by e-mail if it becomes possible for you to enroll.
What do YOU Do to Set Up an Internship?
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Think about an area or topic that interests you (e.g., criminal justice, child welfare, teaching, etc.).
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Choose an Internship Site: Review the list of recommended agencies listed below. While it is not required, we highly recommend choosing your internship from this list, since not all internship placements are conducive to the kind of learning experience we encourage in Soc. 495. We recommend these agencies because students enrolled in Soc. 495 in the past have found them to be very productive internship sites. Look for one or more agencies in your area of interest. Some sites require the additional steps described below in #2.
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Call and/or visit the agency: Once you have selected an internship that interests you, call and/or visit the agency. Tell them about your interest in an internship and the goals of the course (described above). Remember to emphasize that this is an academic course, and you will be expected to fulfill assignments based on your experiences and observations in the internship. Either by phone or in a visit, tell the agency representative that you will need an internship in which the majority of your time will be spent involved with the services the agency delivers. Activities that satisfy this requirement could range from tutoring a child or having your own client caseload to “shadowing” and assisting a social worker, parole officer, etc. The important thing to remember is that to make this a significant learning experience, you will need to be in the “thick of the action,” to be able to observe and/or participate in the primary work of the agency and to interact with the target population/community. This means that you should not spend the bulk of your time involved in activities such as filing or answering the phone, etc.
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E-mail the appropriate instructor for approval of internship: (Professor Roche: mroche@csusm.edu or Professor Cullity: scullity@csusm.edu) with the name of your potential site, a brief description of what the agency/organization does, and a description of what your duties will be as an intern. You MUST have approval of BOTH your internship site and the activities you will be involved in at the site before your internship will be approved and you are able to enroll in the class.
What Do You Do to Enroll?
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Signature of Internship Representative: Once Professor Roche or Professor Cullity have approved both your internship site and your activities, you need to get the signature of an agency representative on the Agency Signature Form. (use this link: Agency Signature Form)
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Fill out Risk Management Form for agencies not on the Office of Community Service Learning approved list: Some agencies have a contract with the University (for risk management purposes) through the Office of Community Service Learning (use this link www.csusm.edu/ocsl/agency.html) to obtain the full list of OCSL contract agencies. To secure an internship site that is not on the OCSL approved list (this could include a recommended agency on our list below with an asterisk next to it or an agency of your own choosing that is not on the Office of Community Service Learning Agency list), you will need to fill out an Informed Consent form (use this link: informed consent form) and turn it into your instructor with your internship paperwork. You should do this after you your instructor has approved your internship site.
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Place your completed paperwork (Agency Signature Form and Informed Consent form if required) in the mailbox of the professor who is teaching the section in which you wish to enroll by the deadline. (Outlined in your email from the Sociology Department) Professor Cullity’s and Professor Roche’s mailboxes are located in Craven Hall 6116/6119. DO NOT turn your forms into the Sociology Department office. Once the instructor has your paperwork, you will receive an e-mail with the Permission Number for enrollment in the course.
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Set a start date: Once your internship has been approved and you have enrolled in the course, arrange a start date for the internship that coincides with the first week of classes. If they require training or an orientation, it is important that you complete this prior to the beginning of the semester.
Recommended Internship Placements These internships (**) require that you fill out the Informed Consent paperwork described above :
informed consent form
**San Pasqual Academy
**International Rescue Committee
**Oak Grove Institute – Temecula
**Ecumenical Migrant Outreach
**Any Humane Society
**Most School Sites and After School Programs
**Most Senior Centers
**Most Homeless Shelters and Support Services
**Most Youth Programs
**Truancy Supervision Program, San Diego (contact Prof. Roche for information)
**Some Criminal Justice Settings (depends largely on intern tasks)
The internship placements below have contracts with the University and DO NOT require a Risk Management form (Note: for a fuller description of these internship sites, their locations, and contact information, go to the Office of Community Service Learning website by clicking on this link: http://www.csusm.edu/ocsl/.
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Boys and Girls Club – any location
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Ecumenical Migrant Outreach
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Phoenix House Teen Recovery Center
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Casa de Amistad
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Community Resource Center
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George C. Glenners Alzheimer’s Association
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Rancho Coastal Humane Society
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San Diego County Office of Ed – Migrant Education
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Center for Community Solutions
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Community Housing Works
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Fraternity House
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Michelle House
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Interfaith Community Services
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Brother Benno
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Casa de Amparo
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McAllister Institute
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Meals on Wheels
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Mental Health Systems
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TERI (Training Education Research Institute)
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Women’s Resource Center (multiple locations)
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Alzheimer’s Association
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County of San Diego Alternate Public Defender
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County of San Diego Public Defender/ Child Advocacy Division
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Mama’s Kitchen
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San Diego Youth and Community Services
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Supportive Parent Information Network (SPIN)
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CSUSM Peer Health Education
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Hope Through Housing
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Panorama Teen and Family Resource Center
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Twin Oaks Continuation High School
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Girls, Inc
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New Haven Youth and Family Services
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North County Lifeline
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Vista Townsite Community Partnership
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Camp Pendleton Marine and Family Services
Notes from Course Professors:
If you are interested in a site that is not listed, you will need to seek approval from the course instructor for BOTH the internship and the activities you will be engaged in. Feel free to explore opportunities that are interesting to you, but bear in mind that internships that do not offer regular opportunities for engaging with the community served are NOT acceptable placements. Finally, if you wish to intern at a site that is not on the Office of Community Service Learning approved list, you will need to seek instructor approval AND submit an Informed Consent Form (see link above). Some of these internship placements offer opportunities in several cities. See the Office of Communities Service Learning website for further information.
