Beyond the Classroom

“My internship was invaluable in providing context and background for my thesis; I learned an extraordinary amount about San Francisco housing politics, more than I could have learned in the classroom.” URBANST 201 Student, Winter 2007.

Powerful Complements

“My dual experience of academic coursework and internship work showed me that there are different ways of communicating ideas. There is a scholarly way which can be done through rigorous research and analysis, and there is another way which is based on passion and life experience. Most of all I learned that these two forms of communication are complementary and powerful.”

URBANST 201 Student, Winter 2007

Urban Studies Internships

Urban Studies majors who declare in academic year 2007-2008 and later are required to complete an internship as part of their course of study. This ‘real world’ complement to academic studies allows students to gain practical experience with the theories and issues they encounter in their classes. The internship is also an opportunity to explore potential career paths, gain contacts in the professional world, and can help prepare students for summer fellowship experiences, honors thesis research, or senior project work.

The Urban Studies Internship Guide provides more details on internship criteria and how to get credit for internships.

Capstone Seminar Internships

Students are strongly encouraged to complete their internship while enrolled in Urban Studies 201B, the seminar that meets in spring quarter to support students as they carry out their internships. Students choose their internship site in winter quarter based on their areas of personal and research interest, and many will draw on aspects of their research proposals in selecting and carrying out their internships.

The sequence of the proposal seminar in winter followed by internship in spring enables students to build an internship experience that reflects their personal and research interests. Your internship can also help you reflect on your research questions and methods, provide you with contacts in the field, and help you obtain funding for specialized research grants, such as a faculty-student fellowship for community-based research.

Students choose their internship site based on their area of interest. You should meet with the Internships Coordinator early in the winter quarter of your junior year to begin setting up a placement suited to your individual interests and goals. Past internship sites have included:

A small community development organization working with the Pacific Islander community in San Francisco.
An education and training program for youth within or at-risk of entering the juvenile justice system.
The environmental planning department of a local city government.
A network for direct community organizing around issues of neighborhood safety in San Francisco.
An urban design non-profit that solicits public participation in order to design sustainable neighborhood plans that meet residents’ specific needs.

Capstone Seminar Internship Timeline

During winter quarter, the Internship Coordinator will assist students with finding placements based on student interests and internship goals. Students who wish to establish their own internship may do so, but should communicate with the Internship Coordinator throughout the process. Every student in URBANST 201B must have an internship site selected and approved by the end of winter quarter.

Other Academic-Year Internships

For students completing internships outside of URBANST 201, communication with the Urban Studies Internship Coordinator is required and internship criteria apply. Students must complete the basic Placement Objectives Agreement.

With prior approval, students may complete their internship under the auspices of one of the following:

Stanford in Washington: SIW includes a substantive internship in a wide range of governmental and non-governmental organizations.
Stanford Overseas ProgramsStudents who are enrolled in or completed an overseas program may have access to overseas internship opportunities in their country of study.
The Archaeology Program sponsors an internship through ANTHRO 112, Public Archaeology: Market Street Chinatown Archaeology Project. This is an especially appropriate internship option for students in the Cities in Comparative and Historical Perspective Concentration. Contact Prof. Barbara Voss for more information.

Students may also propose an internship independent of Stanford programs. See Online Resources for links to organizations and government agencies. Students who are interested in setting up their own internship should contact the Internships Coordinator and complete the basic Placement Objectives Agreement.

Summer Internship and Fellowship Opportunities

Whether you are planning your first internship, you want to continue a project you began as an intern during the year, or you want to try working in a different organization - summer is a great time to work as an intern. Summer internships usually allow for more substantive work since students are able to work more hours, and there are often opportunities to secure funding for a summer internship.

Urban Studies Program Summer Fellowship

The Urban Studies Fellowship provides undergraduates with the opportunity to complement their academic studies with a full-time, paid, internship experience. For majors this experience fulfills the capstone requirement in the major. Learn more.

Haas Center Fellowships

The Haas Center for Public Service offers summer fellowships that fund students’ work in a variety of public service endeavors. Many, though not all, Haas fellowships can translate into internship experiences that meet the Urban Studies internship criteria. The following is a list of fellowships commonly pursued by Urban Studies students, though we recommend students explore the full list of fellowship offerings.

Urban Summer and Daher Memorial Fellowship: Fellows have the opportunity to spend a summer working at an organization addressing urban issues.
Public Interest Law Fellowship: Fellows have the opportunity to spend a summer working fulltime in the field of public interest law.
Philanthropy Fellowship: The Philanthropy fellowships provide fulltime, nine-week placements in various Bay Area foundations.
Education and Youth Development Fellowship: Fellows spend the summer doing direct service as staff of Haas Center programs for local youth. Fellows work with either East Palo Alto Stanford Academy (EPASA) or the Upward Bound Program.
Stanford In Government: SIG provides students with meaningful exposure to the public policy process by placing them in government and nonprofit agencies in the Bay Area, Sacramento, Washington D.C., and internationally.

Keep in mind that applications for Haas Center fellowships are due in early February. Please allow enough time to arrange a placement, solicit letters of recommendation, and write your proposal.

Online Resources

The following online databases are good places to look for organizations, government agencies, and companies that work on urban issues. Some include search functions specifically for internships, fellowships, and jobs.

American Planning Association: Jobs and Careers: APA provides job listings as a service to its members and to the public. Even if you are not looking specifically for a job, this is a good source of ideas and information about planning agencies and firms that may have internship positions as well.
Bay Area Progressive Database: An index to about 1200 organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area that are related to progressive activism, plus links to related web sites elsewhere.
Government Job Search: A government job database with listings for state, local and federal jobs. This is also a good resource for ideas and information about agencies and firms that may have internship positions.
Haas Center for Public Service External Fellowships Database: A searchable database that contains fellowships and other established service programs. With few exceptions, opportunities included in the database are public service opportunities, are designed as summer or one-two year programs, and offer compensation.
Idealist.org: A searchable database of over 61,000 nonprofit and community organizations in 165 countries, which you can search or browse by name, location, or mission. Idealist.org is known as the best nonprofit career center on the web, with hundreds of job and internship listings.

Contacts

Michael Kahan, Assoc. Director, Urban Studies

Email: mkahan@stanford.edu

Phone: 650-724-7575

Stanford University - Department of Sociology

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