Earn academic credit while gaining real-world skills with local non-profits and international organizations.
Internship Benefits
We encourage both graduate and undergraduate students to complete a three-unit internship during your studies. An internship will help get you out into the community, build your resume, and develop your research interests.
In the past, Latin American Studies students have worked with local filmmakers on climate-change documentaries, managed hotlines for missing migrants, and worked at the Mexican Consulate.
Applying for Internship Credit
Requirements for internship credit:
- We grant graduate and undergraduate LAS credit for internships served in governmental and non-governmental agencies and other institutions.
- Internships must be approved by the program director/associate and CLAS Assistant Director, Colin Deeds.
- You are expected to perform 45 hours of acceptable work for each unit of academic credit.
- Grades given for internship courses are as follows: S/P, C, D, and E. Grades are assigned by CLAS Assistant Director, Colin Deeds, or another CLAS faculty member based on performance evaluation of each intern submitted by his or her supervisor.
- Internships should include diversity of assignments that draw upon the skills you have been acquiring at the University of Arizona. Menial and repetitive tasks should not comprise the bulk of your assignments.
- At the end of the internship experience, you'll be asked to complete a simple evaluation form.
- You'll also submit a brief reflective essay narrative report (2-3 pages) highlighting the contributions the internship experience has provided for your academic and career goals.
After you've identified an internship opportunity, you should:
- Meet with CLAS Assistant Director, Colin Deeds (colind@arizona.edu)
- Complete the Internship Form
Download form:
Local Opportunities
Many people interested in human rights, immigration law, and migrant issues are attracted to Tucson. There is a diverse community of organizations looking for volunteers, interns, and employees. We maintain close relationships with many nonprofits in the area.
American Friends Service Committee
American Friends Service Committee often has opportunities for full-time program interns. Some weekends and evening meetings required. Interns work in collaboration with committee volunteers and AFSC Area Program Director and Coordinator to implement a variety of programs and learn the basics of community organizing for social change. The current program emphases are: criminal justice reform, developing local responses to the injustices of global economy; conducting conflict resolution workshops with prison inmates and community members; opposing military recruitment in public schools; and advocating for a humane and fair immigration policy.
Arizona State Senate
The Arizona Legislature provides many internship opportunities for qualified applicants, including our Legislative Internship, Senate Broadcast Internship and the Legal Internship.
BorderLinks
The BorderLinks Binational Intern Program provides the opportunity for individuals from the United States, Canada and México to live and work together at the Casa de la Misericordia for one year. In the past the work has primarily been to develop activities and programs for neighborhood children and adults at the Casa de la Misericordia, the site of much of BorderLinks' work in Nogales, Sonora. Binational interns needed from September – July.
Humane Borders
Humane Borders, motivated by faith, works to create a just and humane border environment. Members respond with humanitarian assistance to those who are risking their lives and safety crossing the United States border with Mexico.
National Law Center for Inter-American Free Trade
The National Law Center for Inter-American Free Trade is a 501(c)(3) non-profit research and educational institution affiliated with the James E. Rogers College of Law at the University of Arizona. The Center is dedicated to developing the legal infrastructure to build trade capacity and promote economic development in the Americas.
Sonoran Institute
The Sonoran Institute works with communities to conserve and restore important natural landscapes in Western North America, including the wildlife and cultural values of these lands.
University Research Parks
The University Research Parks administer a variety of programs that focus on economic development issues that are important to Arizona. In addition, the Office of Economic Development is currently working on a number of projects designed to help local, national and international communities tackle tough economic development issues.
U.S. Department of State Global Internships & Careers
Whatever your background or major, you can discover a world of opportunities as a student intern with the U.S. Department of State. Whether in Washington D.C., or overseas, you'll have one of the most rewarding experiences you can have as a student or recent graduate – working closely with Foreign Service Officers addressing global issues as they help transform societies into stronger democracies and full partners in the international community.
Opportunities Abroad or Outside Arizona
Inter-American Dialogue
The Inter-American Dialogue offers full and part-time volunteer internships in the fall, spring and summer semesters for students interested in the dynamics of inter-American relations. The Dialogue is a forum for sustained exchange among leaders of the Western Hemisphere and an independent, nonpartisan center for policy analysis on economic and political relations in the Americas.
NACLA
The North American Congress on Latin America is an independent non-profit organization founded in 1966. NACLA provides policy makers, analysts, academics, organizers, journalists and religious and community groups with information on U.S.-Latin American relations and on a range of political, social and economic issues in the Americas.
RAICES in Texas
The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services provides free and low-cost education to underserved immigrant families, children, and refugees in Central and South Texas. Many of these families are fleeing violence from their home countries in Central America.
The Guatemala Project
St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church is Tucson-based, but the work they do is carried out in Guatemala. They seek Spanish-speaking volunteers to travel to rural Mayan communities – from “isolated mountain settlements to the Pacific coast plain” – over the summer to work with health promoters. Volunteer live with Mayan community members, and receive in-country training before visiting the rural communities.
Volunteers interested in joining small teams to visit rural Maya of the CPR-Sierra for 2.5 to 8 weeks are invited to contact the coordinator, Ila Abernathy at 520-623-3063 or ilaa@mindspring.com. Teams typically are active from early June through mid-August. Visit their website for application information and deadlines (typically in March each year). This is a great opportunity for students interested in public health, medical school, or development.
The Inter-American Foundation
The Inter-American Foundation is an independent agency of the United States government that provides grants to nongovernmental and community-based organizations in Latin America and the Caribbean for innovative, sustainable and participatory self-help programs.
The World Bank
The goal of the World Bank internship program is to offer successful candidates an opportunity to improve their skills as well as the experience of working in an international environment. Interns generally find the experience to be rewarding and interesting.
UNICEF
UNICEF offers an internship program to qualified students at both their headquarters and country offices for a period of 6 to 16 weeks. UNICEF is the driving force that helps build a world where the rights of every child are realized. They have the global authority to influence decision-makers, and the variety of partners at grassroots level to turn the most innovative ideas into reality.
Washington Office on Latin America
The Washington Office on Latin America's interns are exposed to the dynamics of U.S. foreign policy-making at close range, focusing on the effects of U.S. policies on human rights, democratization and economic development in Latin America.
Contact Us
For more information or questions, contact Assistant Director Colin Deeds at colind@arizona.edu or 520-626-7242.