Internships
For GWS credit internship (GWS 399R) approval contact Professor Anna-Lisa Halling, GWS internship coordinator (Spanish & Portuguese Department) at anna-lisa_halling@byu.edu.
To set up your internship after it is approved by Professor Hallings, make an appointment with Lesa Snyder (lesa_snyder@byu.edu) in the Kennedy Center Advisement Center. She will help you get it on your academic schedule.
For WS 399R forms and documents click here
Funding Sources
Funding can come from a variety of sources. Your major department or college might have funding available for internships. Additionally, majors in the College of Family, Home and Social Sciences can apply for competitive internship scholarship on a rolling basis. College of Family, Home and Social Sciences funding information found here.
Grants for Humanities Majors and Women's Studies Minors
The Women’s Studies program awards a limited number of grants to majors from the College of Humanities who are Women’s Studies minors of up to $2,000 for international travel, $1,000 for national travel and $500 for local travel. These grants are designed to help with internships that deal with women’s lives and/or needs.Please have all material in by 28 February for Spring/Summer and 1 May for Fall.
Click here for a copy of the Women's Studies Internship Application
On-campus Internship Opportunities
Women’s History Month
March of each year is National Women’s History Month. March also sees the celebration of International Women’s Day (8 March) and the anniversary of the founding of the Relief Society of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (17 March). WHM interns help to plan and coordinate Women’s History Month events on campus. They work with volunteers, faculty, and various organizations on and off campus. Interns typically register for 2 or 3 credit hours in fall semester and then 1 or 2 credits in winter semester. Interested students should apply by June 1 to participate in the next year’s Women’s History Month. As part of Women’s History Month, we have an ongoing project to collect the stories of contemporary women’s lives. Visit http://historybehaved.wordpress.com/ for more details. For more information contact Dr. Rebecca DeSchweinitz, rld@byu.edu.
Women’s Studies Conference
During fall semester each year Women’s Studies sponsors an academic conference. Interns help the Women’s Studies executive committee gather paper proposals, arrange for venues, organize conference sessions, and help with logistics during the conference. Interns can register for credits in spring and summer term (typically 1-2 credits) and then an additional 2-3 credits in fall semester. Interested students should apply by April 15 to participate in that fall’s conference. For more information contact the Women's Studies Program Office Assistant at globalwomensstudies@byu.edu.
International Development Program
The international development minor provides ways for students to improve their theoretical and practical skills within their major by applying their schooling to real-world settings and applications. Each of the minor's six, approach-based internships focuses on different perspectives and approaches to achieving development goals. Limited, well-developed individual internships are also allowable, though we strongly encourage participation in an established program.
- Nutrition and Small-Scale AgricultureLilongwe, Malawi
- Government Agencies and MinistriesAmman, Jordan
- Indigenous Small-Scale NGOsChiang Mai, Thailand
- Public Health and Human Rights NGOsPhnom Penh, Cambodia
- University Extension for Rural DevelopmentVaranasi, India
- Project Evaluation and Assessment Team (PEAT)Multiple global locations
Various field studies, study abroad, and internship programs are also available outside of the minor, which have relevant development initiatives and may count toward minor credit. Go to International Study Programs to learn more and apply. (Please check with Ralph Brown ralph_brown@byu.edu on other programs that may count toward the minor.)
Off-Campus Internship Opportunities
There are numerous off-campus internship possibilities for Women’s Studies minors. Students can choose to tailor an internship already administered through their major department to fit their Women’s Studies project or design their own internship experience. Internships can form a core part of the Women’s Studies Capstone experience (WS 492). Students are encouraged to discuss internship opportunities with a Women’s Studies affiliated faculty member as early as possible.
Running Start
"The Running Start/Wal-Mart Star Fellowship program brings 14 college women to Washington, DC each year to learn about politics first-hand. Our Fellows are placed in the offices of female Members of Congress on Capitol Hill where they hone their policy and political skills. Each Friday, the Fellows take part in a seminar conducted by Running Start, which rounds out their internship experience by giving them the skills and contacts they need to become political leaders. The seminars also give our Fellows a better understanding of what their boss had to do to win their seat in Congress. The Fellows emerge from their semester in DC with a deeper understanding of the need for more women to run for office, and confidence in their own abilities to lead, whether at their schools or on the national stage."
Running Start is currently accepting applications for its exciting political internship program for young women, the Running Start/Walmart Star Fellowship Program. Our selected Fellows intern on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, and participate in political seminars where they learn the nuts and bolts of politics and the importance of running for elected office.
We need your help to spread the word to female college juniors, seniors and recent graduates about this exciting full scholarship program. Please feel free to pass along the attached flyer to students in your department and any other interested young women! Please visit http://www.runningstartonline.org/programs/star-fellowship for more details.
Mormon Women’s Project
The Mormon Women Project is an online digital library of interviews with Latter-day Saint women from around the world. Interns could help in the gathering and editing of interviews and preparing them for publication on the website. For more information visit https://www.mormonwomen.com/.
Specific skills and responsibilities would include the following:
- Design and maintain our web site (http://mormonwomenshistory.org)
- Maintain a list of upcoming conferences and calls for papers that would be of interest to our members
- Research and compile a list of journals that would be of interest to our members
- Develop other content for the web site, possibly including reading lists, book reviews, updates of new work, profiles of scholars, and so forth
- Help raise our visibility online through cross-posting and social media
This would be a collaborative effort, and your ideas would be welcome.
For additional information, visit their website
Public Health Internships (http://healthscience.byu.edu/StudentOpportunities/Internships.aspx)
The Health Science Department at BYU has a well-established internship program with domestic and international opportunities. If you are a Health Science department major and Women’s Studies minor, you might consider an internship that builds skills in both areas. In addition to consulting with the Health Science internship advisor, consult with a WS affiliated faculty to craft an internship applicable to both fields.
Washington Seminar (https://washingtonseminar.byu.edu/pages/default.aspx)
The Political Science department administers the Washington Seminar. The program offers internship opportunities with numerous federal agencies, archives, museums, and businesses in the Washington area. Women’s Studies majors are strongly encouraged to apply for Washington Seminar internships.
Utah State Legislature (http://le.utah.gov/lrgc/internprogram.htm)
Interns must apply through the Political Science department and work during the general sessions (winter semester).