2009 Press Releases

UCC BSc Government students depart for New York
05.03.2009

Six third year UCC BSc Government students will shortly begin work placement in the New York State Assembly in Albany, New York.
The students are recipients of the Thomas Whalen Scholarship which was established in honour of the late Thomas Whalen, former Mayor of Albany and former Visiting Lecturer in the Department of Government, UCC.

Students Ian Mawe (Passage West, Cork), Hayley O’Keeffe (Kinsale, Co. Cork), Colm Bergin (Nenagh, Co. Tipperary), Eadaoin O’Halloran (Blackrock, Cork), Darragh Mehigan (Blackrock, Cork) and Peter Horgan (Blackrock, Cork) will spend 14 weeks in New York as part of their degree programme.

The scholarship is open to BSc Government students and provides them with an opportunity to participate in US state government and the legislative process through a well-structured practical learning experience.  Students are assigned to Assembly Members and duties include responding to constituent mail, conducting research, preparation of statistical analysis, reporting on committee meetings and meeting with lobby groups with and on behalf of their Assembly Member. The students reside on the campus of the nearby College of Saint Rose while on work placement.

The BSc Government is one of an exciting new generation of degrees emerging in the Irish university system.  Based in the Department of Government, University College Cork, the degree combines political science with business, law, modern languages, social science and IT.

During the 14-week work placement in year three, students are placed in private and public sector organisations as well as in voluntary agencies.  Government departments, local authorities, PR firms, political parties, interest groups, research bodies, enterprise boards and the broadcasting industry are just some examples of where people are placed. Some twenty-five percent of students travel abroad annually to countries such as the United States of America, Great Britain, Belgium and Spain to complete their placements.  At present, links have been developed with the New York State Assembly, Massachusetts State Legislature, Scottish Parliament and the European Parliament.
 
The Department of Government believes that work placement is an important element of the four-year degree.  “We offer students many different opportunities to find interesting and rewarding work placements.  Whether students want to work in Ireland or abroad, the Department of Government has established an array of links that allow students to pursue their individual interests and goals,” said Fiona Buckley, Academic Director of the BSc Government Work Placement Programme.

For further information on the BSc Government degree and its work placement programme, please contact the Department of Government on 021-4902770.

Pictured prior to their departure to New York are L-R: Ian Mawe, Hayley O’Keeffe, Colm Bergin, Eadaoin O’Halloran, Darragh Mehigan and Peter Horgan.

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