The Rowan Institute for Public Policy & Citizenship (RIPPAC) is dedicated to informing, engaging, and training Rowan students, faculty, and the public in politics, policy, and citizen engagement.  To accomplish this, the Institute hosts programs and guest speakers; supports students through academic and career development, internships and scholarships; and connects faculty and students from across the University with public entities to facilitate public policy research and discussion.

This application is by invitation through Rowan’s Applicant Portal, which determines your eligibility. You must have at least a 3.0 GPA to receive an invitation to apply. If you believe you should be seeing an invite but have not received one, please reach out to Liz Dircks at dircks@rowan.edu.

Generally, invites go out mid-to-late March. Applications are generally due in mid-June. Specific dates may vary.

Yes! You do not need to be a Political Science major to apply. However, please be advised that RIPPAC’s resources are optimized for careers in politics, government and issue advocacy.

Unfortunately, this scholarship is available for domestic students only.

The required internships for our program would primarily be completed during the summer, with an additional internship in the fall or spring of your junior or senior year. If you plan to study abroad during those times, there may be conflicts with our scholarship requirements. The program also asks for a certain level of volunteer commitment at our events over the course of an academic year, which may be challenging if you don’t anticipate being on the Glassboro campus regularly.

Unfortunately, our program is designed for undergraduates who plan to pursue 4-year degrees, which may not be the best fit for those pursuing extended degree programs.

There is no set list of specific internships associated with our program. Typically, appropriate internships include those in political campaigns, offices of elected officials, and government agencies, and those involving lobbying/advocacy and other government-related work. The more important element for an appropriate internship is a focus on politics, government, or issue advocacy. These fields best reflect RIPPAC’s intention in providing support.

To view a non-comprehensive list of past internships our students have completed, click here. Applicants are also encouraged to check out our current internship guide, which is constantly updated with new opportunities, to determine if we are a good fit for your interests.

No! RIPPAC will assist you every step of the way, from creating your resume to putting you in contact with internship providers. However, if you find an opportunity independently and feel it fits with our mission, we can assist you there as well.

The number of days you would intern per week over a summer varies based on your internship. We strongly recommend students work at internships at least 20 hours/week, or roughly 3 days/week, for 10 weeks over the summer.

Our program is designed to assist with internships in politics, government, and issue advocacy. There may be opportunities for crossover; for instance, a Finance major might pursue an internship with the NJ Business & Industry Association or the NJ Chamber of Commerce.

However, these internships are usually not accessible until you’ve built up some experience with other internships. Typically, students would need a more traditional political internship (e.g. working for a state legislator over the summer) to get started. 

The requirement for this $12,000 scholarship, spread out over four years, is that you would do three (3) of these internships (one during each of your three summers), and one in the fall or spring semester of your junior or senior year. Each of the summer internships will be expected to be at least 20 hours/week. The internship during your junior/senior year will need to be at least 15 hours/week. Therefore, you’d have to balance these requirements with any additional internships you may wish to pursue.