A major public university is located in or very near over half ofAmerican state capitals, and political science departments at theseuniversities advertise the special advantages that such a locationbrings to their students. For example, the political sciencedepartment of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln advertises itsinternship programs: “As Lincoln is the seat of state government,students have an opportunity to observe government in action.Political Science has a vibrant internship program where studentsmay intern with the state legislature, the governor's office, andother agencies of state government. Internships are also availablewith local interest groups, non-profit agencies, corporations, andpolitical parties” (University of Nebraska-Lincoln 2005). Such opportunities for students aremeaningful, however, only if they have some significant effect onstudent learning or engagement. It is reasonable that colleges anduniversities would emphasize the advantages that their location in astate capital might offer; colleges use both their campus and theirlocal community to appeal to students (Choy and Ottinger 1998). Yet there is scant research toconfirm any of the effects that colleges advertise.An earlier version of this article was presentedat the 2005 meeting of the American Political ScienceAssociation. The authors thank Lindsey Lupo, Charles Turner, andthe anonymous reviewers for their comments andsuggestions.
