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Internships

An internship is a professional-level learning experience in the workplace. It provides an opportunity to apply learning from the classroom in a real situation. Internships may be paid or unpaid, and they may be full- or part-time. They may be local, national, or international, and they may be for academic credit or non-credit (but immigration laws require that international students register for credit).

INT 399 (Internship in International Studies) may be taken by students only with approval of the International Studies Program Director. The Director will also determine whether or how the INT 399 course will be counted toward the student’s chosen theme and area.  To take INT399 a student must negotiate a learning contract with an academic supervisor, and provide the program with a report on the internship.

Internships may also be taken under the EXP 396 course offered through Experiential Education and Career Services. EXP 396 also requires an approved learning contract.

In addition, some education abroad programs offer internships. For example, the College of Arts & Sciences has an internship program in Cape Town, South Africa, each summer. To search for internships abroad, go to the University of Kentucky Education Abroad’s Search site: https://abroad.ad.uky.edu/index and under “Program Type” click “Intern Abroad” to see UK approved internship programs around the world. 

Students interested in setting up an internship in the Lexington-Bluegrass region should contact the UK Career Center for assistance in finding, applying for, and participating in internships. Students may also contact organizations or businesses directly, but at present there are no formal agreements between the International Studies Program at the University of Kentucky and internship providers. 

Internship Opportunities

Below are internship opportunities that are relevant to International Studies majors.  Please note that the inclusion of these internships does not imply endorsement. This list is intended to serve as a starting point for International Studies students.

Here are some of the questions you should ask while researching internships.

 

US GOVERNMENT AND FOREIGN POLICY

U.S. Department of State Pathways Internships  http://careers.state.gov/intern/pathways
U.S. Department of State Student Internship Program http://careers.state.gov/intern/student-internships
U.S. Department of State Virtual Student Foreign Service http://www.state.gov/vsfs/ 
Council of American Ambassadors Fellowship http://www.americanambassadors.org/leadership-development/international-affairs-fellowship
Central Intelligence Agency https://www.cia.gov/careers/student-opportunities
Defense Intelligence Agency http://www.dia.mil/Careers/Students.aspx
Department of Homeland Security https://www.dhs.gov/homeland-security-careers/students
USAID https://www.usaid.gov/work-usaid/careers/student-internships
Commission on Security and cooperation in Europe http://www.csce.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Home.Internships
Charles B. Rangel International Affairs program http://www.rangelprogram.org/?contentid=0
US Embassy Internships in Germany http://export.gov/germany/Internship/
Pamela Harriman Fellowship Program - US Embassies Paris and London https://careers.state.gov/intern/other-programs
US Mission to the European Union http://useu.usmission.gov/internships4.html
NATO http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natolive/71157.htm
American Foreign Service Association  http://www.afsa.org/internships-afsa
Association for Diplomatic Studies and Training http://adst.org/about-adst/interns/
American Foreign Policy Council  http://www.afpc.org/about_us/opportunity/1
Council on Foreign Relations  http://www.cfr.org/about/career_opportunities/apply.html
Council on Hemispheric Affairs  http://www.coha.org/internships/about-internships/
National Council on U.S-Arab Relations  http://ncusar.org/programs/16-NCUSAR-Summer-Intern-Program-Brochure.pdf
Organization of American States  http://www.oas.org/en/saf/dhr/internships/indexEN.asp
Inter-American Dialogue http://www.thedialogue.org/careers/
Latin America Working Group http://www.lawg.org/about/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21&Itemid=50
National Democratic Institute http://www.lawg.org/about/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=21&Itemid=50
American Enterprise Institute  http://www.aei.org/about/internships/
Atlantic Council http://www.atlanticcouncil.org/careers/employment-internships
Institute for Policy Studies http://www.ips-dc.org/jobs-and-internships/
Center for Immigration Studies  http://www.cis.org/articles/2001/internship.html
Center for International Policy  http://www.ciponline.org/get-involved/jobs-and-internships
Center for Strategic and International Studies  https://csiscareers.silkroad.com/
The National Security Archive  http://nsarchive.gwu.edu/nsa/archive/intern.html
Middle East Institute  http://www.mideasti.org/internships
Washington Office on Latin America  http://www.wola.org/internships_and_employment
Women’s Foreign Policy Group  http://www.wfpg.org/applications

GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT

United Nations https://careers.un.org/lbw/home.aspx?viewtype=ip
UNICEF http://www.unicef.org/about/employ/index_internship.html
CARE https://chc.tbe.taleo.net/chc02/ats/careers/jobSearch.jsp?org=CAREUSA&cws=51&org=CAREUSA
Oxfam America http://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/inside-oxfam-america/careers/available-positions/
Carter Center http://www.cartercenter.org/involved/internship/programs.html
Amnesty International https://careers.aiusa.org/vacancy/find/results/
Human Rights Watch  https://www.hrw.org/about/internships
International Center for Transnational Justice http://www.ictj.org/careers
Refugees International http://www.refugeesinternational.org/join-our-team/?rq=internship
IOM (International Organization for Migration) http://www.iom.int/internships-iom
Society for International Development (Washington) http://www.sidw.org/intern-at-sid-washington-
Fund for Peace http://global.fundforpeace.org/internships
International Foundation for Electoral System  http://recruiting.ifes.org/Careers/careers.aspx
International Labour Organization  http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/pers/vacancy/intern.htm
Cross-Cultural Solutions https://www.crossculturalsolutions.org/international-internships/
Institute for Philanthropy and Human Development (Internships in India) http://ihdindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Brochure%20READ%20ONLINE.pdf
Broadcasting Board of Governors http://www.bbg.gov/careers/bbg-intern-and-student-programs/
American Friends Service Committee http://www.afsc.org/internships
American Jewish World Service https://ajws.org/search/intern
Uganda Village Project http://www.ugandavillageproject.org/get-involved/summer-internships/

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

US Chamber of Commerce https://www.uschamber.com/about-us/careers/internship-opportunities
Energy Industries Team: International Trade Administration http://www.ita.doc.gov/td/energy/interns.htm
Delegation of the European Union to US http://www.euintheus.org/what-you-can-do/work-with-us-internships/
Korea Economic Institute of America  http://www.keia.org/page/internship-opportunities
U.S Russia Business Council  https://www.usrbc.org/L3/aboutus/employment/