Field Study & Internship

IFE challenged me academically, allowed me to completely immerse myself in French culture, and helped me solidify my career plans through my internship.

Margaret (Margarita). Biochemistry, French

IFE students during their internships: Aid organiozation for refugees / Research center for comparative literature

IFE students during their internships: Aid organization for refugees / Research center for comparative literature

The internship at IFE is a 3-month long engagement in a professional, host-language context. Student-interns commit to four working days per week, or approximately 350 hours of involvement.

Placements are arranged with student input and aimed to fulfill students’ objectives for their semester abroad.

IFE’s goal for each student is to derive the maximum profit and learning from the tremendous opportunity of an inter-cultural internship.

• Each student intern researches and writes a paper exploring a specific topic linked to their work with the host organization, with the help of an advisor. Writing is a vital part of good experiential education.​
• Thorough preparation is also essential. The first five to six weeks of an IFE Field Study and Internship program are devoted to an integrated pre-internship training program, made up of coursework, site visits, discussion sections and intercultural workshops. Stduents begin the internship confident in their language skills, with a basic knowledge of their host culture and society.
• IFE program cohorts are small in all sites, since individual followup, guidance and assistance constitute the other essential element in IFE student success.

Student outcomes of an IFE Field Study and Internship semester

• Greatly improved language skills

• Provable intercultural knowledge and skills

• A completed international undergraduate research project

• Comparative knowledge in a student’s chosen area

• After the experience: a start of a professional network; a basis for an honors thesis; a way to stand out in interviews; a toolkit full of transferable skills.

 

Summing up, why IFE Field Study and Internship?

The most effective means for some students to (truly) internationalize their undergraduate education .