This course allows up to three credits for internships that involve the extensive use of Spanish, either abroad or within the US. Some of the internships may be offered in established study-abroad programs, others will be offered by companies or non-profit organizations.

Our department offers a community service course (SPANISH 448), but we do not have the means to organize individual internships. Therefore, students will have to take the initiative to locate, arrange, and propose the internships. We highly recommend the non-profit organization, Amigos de las Americas, a well-established volunteer program that places students in public-health projects throughout Latin America. In addition, students may find helpful links that could lead to internships on our department website.

Before the internship, you must arrange the following:

• Find a sponsoring faculty member who will advise you, suggest readings, and evaluate the written work that you will submit during and/or after you complete the internship.
• Submit a letter from the director or supervisor of the internship program. This letter must:
  • describe the service work you will perform
  • confirm that you will primarily use Spanish in that service work
  • specify how many working hours are involved (a minimum of 100 contact hours is required for a three-credit course, or 33 hours per credit if enrolled for less than 3 credits)
• Submit a proposal that includes a reading list and written assignments. The proposal should include:
  • An introductory paragraph that describes the work site and the services you will perform. Also, you should indicate how the work relates to your academic interests and specialization (concentrations/minor) and to your future career plans.
  • A brief list of readings related to your service work (for example, 2-3 books, or 5-10 articles, or an appropriate mix of books and articles). You may choose readings yourself or ask your faculty sponsor for suggestions. We recognize that in an internship, most of your time is taken up by service work; the required minimum amount of related readings will help you to reflect critically and thoughtfully on your experiences.
  • A description of your writing assignments, which may consist either of several short papers or a final project, but must total 10 to 20 pages. You may write, for example, a narrative summary of your experiences, including critical reflections that also draw from the readings. Or you may write a research paper based on your experiences and the readings.

After completing the internship, you will submit to your faculty sponsor the remaining written assignments along with a second letter from your supervisor in the internship program. This letter should describe the work you performed and reconfirm that it met the requirements of 100 contact hours of primary Spanish usage (or 33 hours per credit).

Enrollment: You may enroll in this course, SPANISH 428, either during the term in which you are working as an intern (in which case you would submit the written work at the end of that term) or in the term after you return from the internship and submit your work then. In either case, you must make arrangements in our department before you begin the internship by finding a faculty sponsor and submitting a proposal for his/her approval. If you are already abroad when you find an opportunity for an internship, you may through e-mail seek a faculty sponsor and send a proposal to him/her before you begin work. In such a case, you should first contact professors with whom you have had class. If none is available to serve as a sponsor, review the complete list of faculty on the Romance Languages website. When you are ready to enroll for the credits, your faculty sponsor will notify our Student Services Representative, who will enter an electronic permission to allow you to enroll in the course.