Language and Literature Internships

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Internship Overview

The Department of Modern Languages and Literatures offer internships both in the U.S. (Fairfield and New York areas) and abroad. Internships in Modern Languages are designed to provide students with professional development opportunities within the public, private and non-profit sectors. All organizations include various international dimensions. As a major in modern languages and literatures, you'll utilize your learned foreign language in meaningful work such as research, teaching, translating, assisting non-English speakers, and more.

Several of our internships support community projects related to social justice initiatives. You may propose an internship that fits your needs and interest.

Internship Objectives

  • Provide practical experience through a variety of management/supervisory learning opportunities
  • Apply learned concepts and language skills in a professional setting
  • Gain understanding of struggles for social justice within specific cultural and economic contexts
  • Provide opportunities for reflection and social engagement
  • Engage with government, non-profit and private sector entities on behalf of the Department of Modern languages and the University.

Internship Requirements

  • Be a junior or senior
  • Have at least a 2.8 overall Quality Point Average
  • Have the Internship Application Form (Independent Study Form) approved by the faculty advisor and by the Chair of the Department

Modern Languages and Literatures Internship Panel

Types Of Internships

  • Fairfield College Preparatory School
  • Hamden Public Schools
  • North Haven High School
  • Staples High School

France

Italy

Nicaragua

Associazione Culturale Linguistica Educational
ACLE is an educational company that provides young Italian students with fun, enriching, hands-on opportunities to learn the English language at our summer-time camps. We are recruiting dependable, enthusiastic native English speakers to tutor in camps throughout Italy starting October 2013 for summer 2014. Our City Camps and Summer Camps are located all over Italy and in the past have included locations in Rome, Milan, Sicily, Bologna, the Dolomites, Pisa, Siena, and Naples, to name but a few. For this job, you need to be a native English speaker and love working with children.

Fisher International
Fisher International is a consulting and information services firm. From sales management to marketing effectiveness, competitive analysis to best practice sharing, and operations optimization to supply chain improvement, Fisher people worldwide are dedicated to turning imaginative ideas into leading products and services that help you overcome some of your toughest challenges. Summer internships are available in Fisher’s Research Department for multi-lingual applicants.

Inter-American Development Bank Summer Internship Program
Every year, the Inter-American Development Bank hires, through the Summer and Winter Internship Program, around 100 university students for a period of two to three months (during school break). The purpose of the Program is to provide an opportunity for university students to learn about the operations of the IDB, and to acquire work experience at the professional level through on-the-job training during their summer vacation before returning to their studies. All internships take place at the Inter-American Development Bank’s headquarters in Washington DC, USA.

Internship in Building Community
The Internship in Building Community (IBC) affords undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to work in a dynamic multicultural program devoted to developing the interpersonal and leadership skills needed to build communities. You will have a chance to learn valuable skills to prepare for a career in teaching, social work, business, politics, and other fields that call for effective and empathetic communicators; work with bright, highly motivated peers and high school students; spend your summer in New York City; receive a salary of $2,000 and free room and board. The Internship in Building Community runs from June 8 to August 2, 2014.

Museo del Barrio
Each spring, summer, and fall El Museo del Barrio offers Internship opportunities to promising undergraduate and graduate students, recent graduates and career changers who are considering careers in the arts, education, non-profits and museum profession. Through administrative and project-based Internships, Interns have opportunities to research, conceptualize, coordinate, execute, and/or evaluate programs and initiatives.

Pessoa Grant for Advanced Language in Portuguese
The Pessoa Grant, named for Portuguese poet and writer Fernando Pessoa, supports undergraduates who continue their study of the Portuguese language during the summer break. The grant is designed to fund the entire cost of intensive coursework in Portuguese undertaken in Portugal. This funding gives undergraduates with interest in Portugal an opportunity to gain advanced-level proficiency in Portuguese, especially those students whose schedules might not otherwise accommodate upper-level language coursework.

VoluntarItaly
Gli Oratori delle Diocesi Lombarde (www.odielle.it) in collaborazione con la Dante Alighieri Society-Michigan Chapter, promuove per l’estate 2017 un’opportunità di volontariato rivolta a studenti universitari americani, tra i 18 e i 25 anni, nati negli Stati Uniti o ivi residenti da almeno 10 anni, bilingui o di madrelingua inglese con conoscenza intermedia/avanzata della lingua italiana, i quali siano disposti, nel periodo 12 giugno – 2 luglio 2017, a recarsi in Lombardia (Italia), nelle Diocesi che ne faranno richiesta attraverso gli uffici di pastorale giovanile. Il progetto intende da un lato offrire ai volontari dagli Stati Uniti l’opportunità di un’esperienza linguistica e culturale in Italia e, dall’altro, ai bambini/ragazzi italiani (6-14 anni) quella di un contatto con la lingua e la cultura americane. Ai giovani volontari statunitensi, accolti in un numero massimo di 50, verrà richiesto, per un periodo di tre settimane, di collaborare con la gestione delle attività educative e ricreative proposte dagli Oratori Parrocchiali (CRE-GREST), in un contesto di lavoro in cui l’italiano è la lingua di comunicazione primaria con i ragazzi e gli operatori volontari. Le attività sono diversificate, quali ad esempio gioco, sport, arte, gite (bicicletta, piscina, montagna…). 

Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)
WOLA’s Sally Yudelman Internship Program seeks to give interns hands-on experience and broad exposure to human rights advocacy and the foreign policy-making process. Every semester WOLA’s new interns are paired with staff mentors and absorbed into the work of the organization. They collaborate on a mix of research, analytical, and administrative work, and they are invited to get involved in the day-to-day activities of their teams. WOLA selects seven interns per session (spring, summer, and fall), and each intern is assigned to a different program—communications or one of many policy areas. Interns also get involved in the behind-the-scenes work of running a non-profit organization, including helping with technology, the media, finance, and event planning.

Additional internships are available through the Career Center.

Visit the Career Center

For more information about our internship program, please contact Dr. Sara E. Diaz, Department of Modern Languages and Literatures.

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