Where Few Tread: Development Internships Abroad
Location: Bolivia, Brazil, Jamaica, Ghana, or Tanzania
Dates: Vary
Faculty Leaders: Dr. Eric Hartman, Mr. Brandon Cohen
Academic Credits: Political Science, See Chart Below
Service Opportunities: Depending on the site: working with children at orphanages or community centers, teaching, supporting environmental initiatives or sustainable development, health clinic placement and support opportunities, related research projects, and more
Housing: Homestays or other safe and secure accommodation, depending on the site
Overview
In response to student opportunities for community-based internships abroad, along with community partner interests in reliable, consistent volunteers, Amizade worked with West Virginia University to develop International Field Placement opportunities. The faculty leaders begin coursework online with the students before student field placements begin. When students arrive at the community site, they are greeted by Amizade’s local site coordinator. Throughout the field placement experience, students have ongoing online interaction with the academic instructor as they continue to consider development studies and site-relevant literature in the context of their individual experiences.
Students’ local site experiences are coordinated by Amizade’s on-site local coordinators. Amizade has a 15-year record of safely and securely connecting people across cultures through service. Students may cooperate with Amizade-WVU academic instructors and Amizade local site coordinators to identify placement opportunities that most productively merge student and community interests.
Amizade encourages applications only from students who are confident in their ability to live and work individually for extended periods of time. While Amizade’s local coordinators will support students’ experiences continuously and assiduously, having a peer support group - as is the case for service-learning courses and semesters - provides an additional kind of ongoing support that does not exist during an individual placement.
Academic Courses
Students enroll in two academic courses, both for political science credits through West Virginia University. The first course, Global Service-Learning, is three credits regardless of the length of the field placement. The second course, The Field Placement, is of variable credits depending on the length of the service placement. Each course requires ongoing reading, writing, and reflection from the student during the field placement experience, as well as a final project at the end of the experience. Readings in the global service-learning course consider the themes of community-driven service, intercultural immersion and exchange, development, reflective inquiry, and global citizenship. The Field Placement course revolves more tightly around classic readings in development studies, and is tailored to each particular site and student placement experience.
If you are considering a field placement, it is important to contact Amizade’s program coordinator at servicelearning@amizade.org as soon as possible, to begin the process of matching your interests with community concerns.
The Instructors
Dr. Eric Hartman holds a Ph.D. in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh, where he focused on International Development and earned a graduate certificate from Pitt’s prestigious Center for Latin American Studies. He has cooperated with scores of community organizations on successful locally-designed and driven development projects in dozens of communities on four continents. Hartman has published in academic and popular contexts, received a Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship for study of the Indigenous Andean Language of Quechua, and received the Cabot Dissertation Award for Commitment to a Just Society.
Mr. Brandon Cohen helped found the international nongovernmental organization FORGE (Fostering Opportunities for Refugee Growth and Empowerment), though which he worked on numerous micro-development projects in refugee camps in Zambia and Botswana. He holds an M.A. in International Development from Clark University, where he was selected as a Social Change Fellow. Cohen additionally worked with UNAIDS 2031, through which he acted on behalf of the United Nations to bring together twenty-three of the world’s leading AIDS researchers in Salzburg, Austria. In addition to these intimate experiences with both small-scale and exceptionally large-scale development, Cohen worked as a Development Associate for Tahirih, a mid-size, Washington, D.C.-based gender rights organization that experienced substantial growth and received awards for nonprofit effectiveness during his time there.
Integrated Community Service
Amizade has long-standing relationships with numerous community organizations in each community where Amizade works. You will be placed with the organization of your choice taking into account your experience and the needs of the organizations.
Location and Program Fees
16 Days,
5 POLS Credits |
24 Days, 6 POLS Credits |
49 Days, 9 POLS Credits |
73 Days, 12 POLS Credits |
90 Days, 15 POLS Credits* |
|
| Bolivia | $ 3,450 | $ 4,550 | $ 6,400 | $ 8,100 | $ 9,400 |
| Brazil | $ 3,750 | $ 4,900 | $ 6,850 | $ 8,650 | $ 10,050 |
| Jamaica | $ 3,750 | $ 4,950 | $ 7,250 | $ 9,400 | $ 10,900 |
| Ghana | $ 3,650 | $ 4,750 | $ 6,700 | $ 8,550 | $ 9,850 |
| Tanzania | $ 3,600 | $ 4,700 | $ 6,650 | $ 8,500 | $ 9,800 |
Apply now to ensure your spot (pdf)
Program Tuition Includes:
- Course delivery and instruction accredited through West Virginia University
- Safe and secure housing
- Most meals
- Program-related transportation on site
- Recreational and cultural opportunities
- Comprehensive Travel Insurance
Additional Program Related Expenses:
- Airfare and travel related expenses
- Course textbooks, course packet and materials
- Applicable passport or visa fees
- Supplemental meals
- Personal spending money
