Internships
The Patterson School encourages all our students to seriously consider internships as a means to enhance their exposure to career opportunities, learn valuable skills, increase networking, and further develop their resumes.
In contrast to some of our sister programs at other universities, however, internships are not formally required. We recognize some students have already obtained extensive professional experience before entering our program - with prior internships or regular employment - and understand their time may be spent more valuably elsewhere, such as with further language study, elective coursework or study/travel abroad.
Furthermore, we do not currently offer course credit for internships. The reasoning behind this is two-fold: first, it can enable students to be more flexible in the experiences they seek; second, it saves our students money since they are not required to be registered (and pay tuition) for the summer term. Our view is that the experience is what is most valuable, not academic "credit."
Practice
The overwhelming majority of Patterson School students pursue internships and our program has an exceptional track record of landing highly competitive, prestigious positions. In fact, many of our graduates view their internship experience as one of the highlights of their graduate education; for some it opened the door to life-long employment.
In 2006 and 2007, Patterson School students landed assignments in Washington at the Departments of State, Commerce and the CIA; in Brussels, Amman, Singapore, The Hague and Sydney at U.S. diplomatic missions working on economics, trade promotion and security; in Ottawa at the Canadian Parliament; in India with Global Gain working on child labor; with international organizations such as the United Nations, African Development Bank and Inter-American Development Bank; and dozens more.
Support
Finding and landing the right internship can be a considerable challenge. Accordingly, the discussion about how, why and where begins with the very first day of orientation (there will be a panel with returning students who will recount their experiences over the summer). This is followed by a series of brown bag lunch presentations in the fall, as well as scheduled formal meetings with faculty and staff about how to best apply for, and obtain, positions related to your major concentration. Internships with the State Department and in the intelligence community normally require a security clearance, necessitating very early application deadlines.
Patterson School faculty, staff, and your colleagues stand ready to assist you in this quest. They are able to draw upon both recent and long-term experience and have a good sense of what works in the specific application processes. Thomas McGinty, our Department of Commerce Senior Executive in Residence, will be a key asset for those seeking guidance on economic and trade-related opportunities with either the government or private industry.
The web links below are by no means exhaustive - there are literally thousands of potential opportunities, but they should provide a general sense of the potential range of possibilities and some idea of the expectations regarding applying and participating.
Internships
Africa-America Institute
American Red Cross
Black Sea Trade and Development Bank
British Parliament
Brookings Institution
Center for Strategic and International Studies
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe
Cooperative Monitoring Center
DC Internships
Department of Homeland Security
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Foreign Policy Magazine
Government Accountability Office
House of Representatives
Inter-American Development Bank
International Campaign to Ban Landmines
International Institute of Mediation and Conflict Resolution
Management Sciences for Health
Medecins sans Frontieres/Doctors without Borders
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bosnia and Herzegovina
OXFAM
PeaceBridge International
Pro-Peru Service Corps
Rand Corp Internships
United Nations
US Civil Research and Development Foundation
US Department of Commerce
US Department of Energy
US Department of Labor
US International Trade Commission
US Olympic Committee
US State Dept. Internships--Student Programs
Washington Intern Foundation