Internships give students the opportunity to work and conduct studies in community agencies, government bureaus, or anthropological field schools. Acting under the supervision of their academic adviser, students fulfill the departmental requirements and earn course credit as they apply concepts and research skills learned in the classroom to specific outside settings. In special circumstances, and working with a faculty member, students may conduct an ethnographic project to fulfill the internship requirements.
Internships are most appropriate for juniors who have completed several upper-division courses in their major and who have developed sufficient foundations in theory and concepts that they can relate to specific field assignments. Ordinarily, students fulfill the internship requirements in their junior year, and lower-division students are not eligible for an Internship.
While all anthropology majors must complete an internship experience, the screening and approval of the student's chosen internship are done by the student's academic adviser of record. When approving a proposed course of action, advisers take into account both the type of internship sought and the student's qualities such as maturity, responsibility, dependability, and seriousness. Students must also have a B- (2.7) grade point average or higher in courses in their major.
Internship Requirements:
- The internship is completed prior to your enrollment in ANTH 198, which is only offered in the fall (students must have their internship approved by the adviser by May 1 to enroll in ANTH 198 that following September. Advisers will not approve internships over the summer);
- A minimum of 10 hours of work per week in an internship setting that is off-campus, including field schools, for a total of 100 contact hours;
- Maintaining a systematic journal of activities and experiences (that is, fieldnotes) that are due to your adviser at the end of your internship;
- Enrollment in ANTH 198, Fall Quarter.
Internship Forms:
Students should meet with their advisers during their first or second year for more information on the suggested timelines to start looking for an internship or anthropological field school, the possible types of internships or field schools, the possibilities of ethnographic research projects, and the program's objectives and requirements.
Throughout the internship, you must keep track of your hours by using the Time Sheet Form and keep detailed fieldnotes of your experience, where you connect your work back to anthropology through thoughtful, considerate analysis (see the following Fieldnote Examples).
As your internship comes to an end, your site supervisor will complete the following Evaluation Form.
Locating an Internship or Field School:
In addition to the various Anthropological Field Schools offered through the department and other universities, students might locate internship opportunities by searching through the following sites (this is by no means an exhaustive list):
- The Institute for Global Communications
- A San Francisco Bay Area Progressive Directory
- Feminist Majority Blog
- Idealist.org