Internships today have become an integral part of criminal justice higher education because of the nature of the discipline and the early availability of federal funding in 1968. Because of this, staffing for many programs continues to draw upon a variety of academic and professional talents from sociology, public administration, social work, education, history, and political science. It is hypothesized that during the early years of the discipline, the idea for a field experience component in many college programs may have already existed. The agency, in return, would assist in the training future professionals and acquire additional personnel on a limited basis. This program, however was phased out by 1980 along with the entire LEAA apparatus.
Many people believe that learning occurs only in a formal classroom setting.
However, learning must be viewed as a continuous process that occurs through formal and informal means. An internship program demonstrates how an individual can lean by many methods. Generally cited educational goals are knowledge acquisition, applying knowledge, skills development, personal development, and professional development. The purpose of the internship is to complement, reinforce and place in realistic perspective, the cognitive and effective objectives of classroom instruction. In addition to being an important phase of the educational process, the internship also serves as a test of the student's potential for responsible, concious, disciplined use of self in a constructive relationship with others.