Photo by PDPhoto.org.

Summaries of Projects & Requirements

Course Numbers

  • CPSP 239N, 249N, 339N: Internship, Service Learning, Independent Research, Course Study, & Film Study
  • CPSP 318: Discovery Project
  • CPSP 339W: Discovery Project: Congressional Research

Internships & Service Learning

Hours: Eight to Ten hours
Requirements: Meetings, Journals (8), Internship Evaluation, Reflection Paper (10-15 pg)
Additions: You may receive payment for your internship, but you may not receive credit for another program.
Examples: the White House, Brookings Institute, Africa Action, Arab Chamber of Commerce, Aflac, Minorities at Risk (MAR),START Center, Smart CEO Magazine, Various Congressional Officials

Types of Research Projects

ALL DISCOVERY PROJECTS PARTICIPATE IN ACADEMIC SHOWCASE

Discovery Project: Traditional

The students will learn how to formulate research questions and the fundamentals of basic research to evaluate those questions. The course depends on the active participation by its members to present, discuss and criticize each other’s research. The course has weekly meetings at a regularly scheduled time.

Discovery Project: Library of Congress

The students will The students will learn how to formulate research questions and the fundamentals of basic research to evaluate those questions through the Library of Congress.

Independent Research Project

The students in the International Studies program have a variety of interests in world politics. We encourage students with developed interests in a substantive area of international politics to pursue the Independent Research Project. The student should have some previous experience with the topic, in terms of reading, research and such on an issue. The project allows students to explore these interests further by expanding on their ideas and insights on the subject into well-developed arguments about international politics.

Requirements: Contract for Semester, Meetings, Paper (20-25 pgs)

Course Study Research Project

The University of Maryland offers a variety of courses that deal with fascinating subjects, several of which touch on international politics. This project encourages students to find courses of substantive interest that they can assist them in developing research projects. Students may take advanced courses on a subject (preferably 300 or 400 level) that includes a research component. The student then pairs that course with their College Park Scholars practicum for International Studies to develop a research project.

The student will take a course on a selected area of interest and the International Studies practicum. Students cannot double count the course: they must take the appropriate College Park Scholars practicum course to fulfill the International Studies requirement. Furthermore, students will develop separate research papers for each course. We do require that the student submit both research papers at the end of the semester to their teaching assistant.

Requirements: Contract for Semester, Meetings, Paper (20-25 pgs)

Film Study

One option that is new to the program is that students may choose an Independent Research Project organized around the use of films and international studies. For the project, we would require a brief prospectus, a two-paragraph description of a thematic or contestable issue you would like to explore. Students may choose a region (for example, Africa, Asia, Latin America) an issue (for example, just versus unjust wars; the nature of violence and its attack on ethics; the ‘ordinariness’ of mass murder) and then select ten (10) films and a number of readings that reflect on the issue. Students will be responsible for seeing the films, reading the texts and constructing their final analysis.

Requirements: Contract for Semester, Meetings, Paper (20-25 pgs)

Examples of Posters from Previous IS Students

Click on the links before to look at research topics and posters students have developed in previous years for the Academic Showcase.