What internship opportunities are available?

Do students and faculty work together on research projects?

Do students present research findings at national conferences?

What internship opportunities are available?

Every Political Science student completes an internship to gain real-world experience and learn what type of career in Political Science is right for them. Students have completed internships in a variety of locations including the Missouri General Assembly, U.S. Senator’s office, Legal Aid of Western Missouri, Missouri State Government, City of Kansas City, and Buchanan County.

Several Economics students have gained valuable hands-on training through internships at the St. Joseph Area Chamber of Commerce, Missouri Western Admissions Office and Gray Automotive Products Company, to name a few.

Do students and faculty work together on research projects?

Students may work individually or in small groups with professors to complete research projects on a variety of topics. Summer research programs and independent research courses provide opportunities for research. For example, a student and faculty member in Sociology completed a research project on “Public Funding, Education, and Student Success Rates in Missouri.”  With a commitment to undergraduate research, students are well prepared for graduate programs.

Few schools in the nation promote undergraduate student research as aggressively as Missouri Western. Working one-on-one with professors on summer research projects, students have researched the economics of distance education, foreign exchange rate movements, and similar topics. Recently, a small group of students worked with an Economics professor to compile a database of statistics describing the historical path of economic development as well as the current state of the St. Joseph economy.

Do students present research findings at national conferences?

For two years in a row, a senior Economics major has been invited to present his/her research findings at an international business conference. At both conferences, the Missouri Western student was the only undergraduate presenter. Nick Limle attended the conference in January in Orlando, and presented his research study entitled “The Trade Implications of the Foreign Exchange-Rate Forecasting.”