Parliamentary Internship Programme

Since the establishment in Edinburgh of a Scottish Parliament in 1999, the University of Edinburgh has been offering, to qualified undergraduates, the opportunity to serve as interns to MSPs (Members of the Scottish Parliament) in a semester-length programme.  Students may take part in either of two fifteen-week sessions, the first from late August to mid-December and the second frommid-January to late-April.

Academic Courses

In the first five weeks of the programme, students enrol in course work offered by members of the College of Humanities and Social Science, taking three subjects. These will provide you with a background in British Politics and the specific nature of Scottish politics, society and culture. Academic work (comprising 30 contact hours per course) and project work will be examined.  The academic element of the Internship continues across the duration of the Internship as a whole, as described below.

Interning in the Parliament

Following the completion of course work, students will be assigned to MSPs.  A research project (on a topic agreed between intern and MSP, and approved by the Director of Studies) will be undertaken.

Recent research projects by parliamentary interns have included a wide range of subject matters and topics, including:

  • 'Why does Scotland have no plumbers?!?' An Investigation into Scotland's Skills Shortage
  • Beyond the Numbers: Female Representation in the Scottish Parliament 
  • Business and Educational Achievements by the Scottish Executive and their Communication
  • Class Size isn't Everything: A Study of Class Size Reduction Policy in Scotland
  • Comparative Analysis between American and Scottish Election Campaigns
  • Controlling Firearms in Scotland
  • The Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2003 and its Effects on the Criminal Courts
  • Suicide in Scotland: The Need for a Hotline
  • A Study of Alternative and Augmentative Communication (AAC) in Scotland
  • Connecting with young People: Labour Approaches to Democratic Engagement through the Scottish Parliament
  • Comprehensive View of Higher Education: Scotland
  • What's the Scottish Parliament ever done for me? A Study on the Awareness of Scottish Parliament Policy Amongst Older People

Interns will be provided with study space in the new Parliament building while continuing to have a permanent academic base and office facilities in the University's Institute of Governance, whose members will support interns in their research. Interns will carry out responsible work, and will contribute meaningfully to the development of Scottish political life.

The Internship phase of the programme comprises a two-week transition, in which coursework is completed and preparations for residency at the Parliament are finalised; and an eight-week period in which the Interns, at their new base at the Parliament, focus upon their research project, returning to the University, one day a week, for a compulsory session organised by the Institute.

Credit Transfer

The programme is designed specifically to provide students with 70 credits (30 credits for the three courses and 40 credits for the project).

Read Paddy Bort's article about the Parliamentary Programme:  Ten Years of the Parliamentary Progamme

Farewell reception for interns on Parliamentary Programme Autumn 2009.

Leaving reception for interns on Parliamentary Programme Spring 2009.
 

This page was published on 6 January 2010


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