Summer Service Internships

When applying for the Susan McAshan Summer Service Internship, be sure to select the appropriate form for either international or the US-based service projects.

Click here for the international application and here for the US-based application.

If you have any questions about the application process, please feel free to contact Moramay Lopez-Alonso, PJHC Director of Undergraduate Studies.

“Injustice prevails worldwide, in some areas more than others. Living and working in Dar es Salaam clearly conveyed that reality. But that reality was not all my internship had to offer. To look at the toddlers, teenagers, and adults at the center and see only impoverishment and grief is to have tunnel vision; that image does not suffice. True, the adversity that has befallen many of them is the tragic result of severe inequality – yet there is also hope and perseverance, the ability to rise after falling. To witness that kind of strength has taught me infinitely about finding opportunity amid despair, and it has hardened within me my own commitment to do so.”
Joyce Chou, Susan McAshan Intern at Watoto Wetu Tanzania (Summer 2012)

Eligibility

The PJHC Summer Service Internships are open to all declared PJHC minors who will have completed HUMA/SOCI 371 (or HUMA/SOCI 280), SOCI/SWGS 394 (or ASIA 329/SOCI 372/SWGS 322), and at least one approved elective by the end of the spring semester before their internships. Students may apply for funding before they have completed SOCI/SWGS 394.

Students who have already fulfilled or partially completed the minor’s service requirement are highly encouraged to apply for the internship. The internship selection committee will consider previous service experience favorably when evaluating applications. It is anticipated that most, if not all, successful applicants will have already partially fulfilled or fulfilled the minor’s requirement. However, students who have previously received funding from the PJHC for a summer service internship are not eligible for an award.

Students may apply for both the international and the US-based tracks or choose to apply to only one of the two tracks.

Award Amount

Awards vary depending on available funds and financial need; previous US-based internships have averaged below $4,000, and previous international internships have averaged below $8,000. All applicants are required to submit a budget.

Award payments may be made in installments, with each payment contingent on satisfactory completion of all requirements to that point. Failure to meet any of the requirements may result in the forfeiture of all or part of the award.

Internship Guidelines

  1. Placements should involve 35-40 hours of work per week. US-based internships must span at least eight weeks, for a total of at least 300 hours. International placements must involve at least six weeks of direct service, for a total of at least 225 hours. International placements must be in the Global South (“developing world”).
  2. Students should devote at least 75 percent of their volunteer time to direct community service. Direct service is defined as work in which volunteers engage personally with those being served, providing labor that fills an identified community need. Examples of direct service include teaching, youth programming, work with the elderly, construction work, medical work that involves direct engagement with patients, hands-on environmental work, and community organizing. Activities such as research, public policy study, office support, clerical work, and event planning may be required by a placement, but are not considered direct service.
  3. Students are expected to devote some time to developing an understanding of how the organization they are working for functions (for example, its structures, funding, and governance) and reflect on the effectiveness of the organization in attaining its goals.
  4. Students are expected to participate in the orientation and closing events.
  5. Participation in the online internship forum and successful completion of HUMA 300 PJHC Service Reflection are required. HUMA 300 is a one-credit course taught in the first half of the fall semester.
  6. The experience should combine a service-learning experience with personal growth; the concept of service learning implies an obligation to contribute to the welfare, development, and fulfillment of other human beings.
  7. We strongly encourage students to seek the challenge of unfamiliar environments and situations for their work.

Organization Guidelines and Requirements

The community service organizations for which candidates work should fulfill the following requirements:

  1. Agencies should afford an opportunity for the student to experience direct involvement with the specific group of people being served. This direct service should comprise 75 percent of the student’s work experience. Research-based projects that do not involve direct contact will not receive credit. School or camp placements must involve student groups considered specifically disadvantaged or challenged in some way.
  2. The organization must serve an under-resourced community. Advocacy agency internships must provide intensive experiences through staff interaction and direct contact with people.
  3. Students should have a clear idea of how they will fit into the work and mission of their community service organization. Students should be specific about the nature of the job they will be performing.
  4. It is preferred that students work for a small, focused agency or, if the prospective placement is within a large organization, that it be in a department with a specific aim or goal.
  5. Agencies should be nonprofit and politically nonpartisan.
  6. The PJHC program supports direct service work in association with religious groups; however, internships may not be used for the purpose of direct proselytizing. The PJHC program does not work with organizations that include evangelizing as central to their work, since our mission is to work with clients in ways that fully respect each client’s existing beliefs.

Internship Sites

Previous interns have volunteered at several organizations in the United States, including:

And internationally with third-party service providers, including:

A list of additional third-party providers used for similar international experiences can be found at the CCL website, here.

Internship Manual

For more details and information about the internship, please view the PJHC manual linked below.

PJHC Internship Manual