Internships Overview

Internships allow advanced students to enrich their study abroad experience through work experience, research, and reflection. They enable students with strong language skills, motivation and sense of initiative to use their French to prepare for their future professional lives. 

Internships may take several forms, depending on the individual student’s qualifications and expectations. For some, it may be helping in various school settings in preparation for a career in education. For others, it may be helping build a website, working in a public library, or shadowing a surgeon for a future professional career. For others still, it may involve work in the theatre or in various organizations.

Procedures

Custom tailored internships are offered each semester to a small, select number of highly qualified and motivated students with excellent French language skills.  They are highly competitive.

1. Interested students need to contact Dr. Sylvie Rockmore, Center Director, as early as possible, sending a resume and a letter of motivation, preferably in French.

2. Upon acceptance to Le Centre d’Avignon, Dr. Rockmore will work directly with individual students to begin the process. At this point, it is recommended that the students check with the home institution to ensure that credit will eventually be approved, should the internship materialize.

3. No internship is guaranteed and none can be considered definitive until the student has arrived and a personal interview has taken place. It may then take a week or two before the actual internship starts or the intended site may not prove appropriate to the candidate.

Expectations

An internship is considered an independent study course and students will earn 1-3 credits, depending on the number of hours devoted to the internship.

Students are expected to:

• work at their internship site at least 1 half-day per week throughout the session
• submit weekly journal entries
• attend a weekly one hour meeting with other interns and the Director of Internships
• write a 10-15 page final paper enlarging their own experience and perspective into a more general research into the topic
• present their results orally to the Center
• perform all of the above duties in French

Examples of Previous Internships

• Drama: one student interned at the Opéra-Théâtre d’Avignon.
• Education: students have interned at Lycée professionnel and experienced a school in a ZEP (zone d’éducation prioritaire).
• Library Science: one student of Japanese descent worked at public library updating the Japanese catalogue and resources.
• Management: one student worked in a bakery.
• Pre-Med: a Bio/French major shadowed an orthopaedic surgeon, including during operations.
• Psychology: a Psychology major shadowed a psychologist at a private clinic for alcoholic patients.
• Retail and Consumer Science: a student worked with the Union patronale, helping set in place a mentoring system.

Fall 2008 internship placement is now full.  Some examples of internships for the fall semester include the following:  food bank, museum, high school.