Global Studies and Geography

Internships

The Advantages of Internships

Our department strongly encourages all of our majors to complete an internship, which we see as an ideal opportunity to apply academic and theoretical knowledge to practical work situations. Both Global Studies and Geography have dedicated internship course listings (GS 190 and GEOG 190). These courses can be completed in any semester, and can count for variable credit (1-3 semester hours).  

The amount of time spent on the internship and academic work required is adjusted according to the amount of credit hours the student is undertaking. In general, the prerequisite for pursuing an internship is the successful completion of at least 18 semester hours of geography or global studies, with a geography or global studies grade point average of 3.0 or above. We will, however, judge each request on its merits and can waive the above requirements in certain circumstances.

We constantly advertise internship opportunities on our Department Facebook group page and will work with students to help find relevant internships. Internships allow students an opportunity to apply academic and theoretical knowledge gained in the classroom and from textual materials to practical situations. Internships also offer students a structured framework in which to gain practical experience in their chosen field or alternatively to test the scope of their interest in a field of potential occupational interest. Students acquire exposure to the methods, professional requirements and training, and the work culture of a given application of geography and/or global studies to the real world.

Internships give students the chance to pursue a field of personal or academic interest that will be useful in compiling resumes and personal statements for graduate school or job applications, and gain experience in an area they may later hope to pursue as a career, or, alternatively, to try out some type of work environment that seems interesting to determine whether it is appropriate for them. Please note that students can do more than one internship for credit toward their major. Some of the companies our students have interned at in the past few years include the American Association of Geographers, the American Geographical Society, Mediterranean Shipping Company, the Global Network of Women Peacebuilders, and KLD Engineering, P.C.

Student Internship Blogs

The views expressed by the students on their internship blogs are entirely their own and are not directly moderated by our department and furthermore do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the department or our faculty members.

Fall 2018

Summer 2018

Spring 2014

Spring 2013

Spring 2012

Fall 2011

Spring 2011

Instructions

Completing an Internship in the Department of Global Studies and Geography (GEOG 190 and GS 190)

Approval Process and Registration:

  • Admission to the internship program is by application only.
  • Set up a meeting with the chair of the department.
  • At least one week prior to the meeting, you should email a proposal to the chair about what you are planning on doing in the internship and how the internship fits in with wider issues relevant to our department.
  • In your email, you can also request a particular faculty member as a supervisor. To expedite the process, if you had someone in mind as a supervisor, it is BEST if you also have discussed this with that faculty member prior to the meeting with the chair.
  • The chair will then discuss/confirm the willingness of the faculty member to perform this role.
  • At the meeting with the chair, you will be given confirmation of your supervisor and you will complete the Internship Approval Form.
  • This form MUST be signed by you, your supervisor, and the chair.
  • Once you have all the signatures, you need to bring the Internship Approval Form to the department secretary, who will fill out the paperwork to create the course.
  • You will register for the course once the course appears online (this normally takes about two weeks after you have provided us with the approval form).
  • You MUST register for the course no later than two weeks from the beginning of a semester. It is thus best to set up the internship well in advance of the start of a given semester.

Internship Requirements:

  • Students are expected to work on-site for 6 hours per week (for a 3 s.h. internship).
  • Have your on-site supervisor send us the Internship Sponsorship Form. We need to receive this form no later than one month after the beginning of a semester (two weeks during summer).
  • Send in a weekly report to your supervisor of around one page about the work you have done each week as part of the internship (by agreement with the supervisor, this can be replaced by your blog entries).
  • For guidance about what is expected, see Samples of Work Required.
  • Maintain a blog about the internship that is updated weekly. Directions for setting up the blog: Use http://www.blogger.com/tour_start.g. This site is linked to Google, so if you have a Gmail account you won't need to open up a new account. After you log in, there's a step-by-step process that will ask you to create a name, choose a layout, etc. It's very user-friendly and quick; no extensive HTML knowledge is necessary. Help can be provided on how to do this. Please look here for an example of a recent blog.
  • Write a short report at the end of the internship, which summarizes your internship experience and whether you recommend other students doing the same internship.
  • Have the on-site internship supervisor complete the Internship Evaluation Form.
  • Write an essay of around 12 pages that incorporates your internship experience and the goals of your organization (where you did the internship) into a broader issue that is relevant to our department. The exact requirements of this paper need to be discussed with your department supervisor. Please make sure to do this when you register for the course. 
  • All academic work for the internship must be completed within the semester that you register. 
  1. Internship Approval Form [PDF]
  2. Internship Sponsorship Form [PDF]
  3. Internship Evaluation Form  [PDF]

Samples of required work for the internship

To provide guidance, we have attached the work of a recent student. Please review and use these samples as a guide for what is expected of you.

Internship Opportunities