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Internships

Academics / Departments & Programs / Global Development Studies / Student Experience / Internships

Work with World Renew in a Cross-Cultural Development Environment

Gain valuable skills working in a cross-cultural development environment by working with World Renew for a semester (4 months). In the semester internship program, you'll earn 12 hours of academic credit while preparing for a career in development work and nurturing a commitment to life-long service.

Three-credit, 12-week summer internships are also possible. One advantage of the summer internship is that the tuition costs are calculated for 3 credits instead of 12. One disadvantage is that no financial aid is available.

Application Requirements

To apply for GDS 359, you must be working toward a major or minor in global development studies. At the time of the internship, you should have:

  • Junior or senior status
  • Completed SOC-253, GDS-201, or SPHO-205, and GDS-355 or STHO-212
  • Completed a semester program in a developing country
  • Appropriate language skills
  • A GPA of 2.7 or higher

Internship Responsibilities

As an intern, you will be supervised and mentored by World Renew staff and perhaps by development workers from World Renew's partner organizations. Placements may include work in community development, micro-enterprise and business development, literacy and adult education, organizational capacity building, data gathering, basic health needs, disaster preparedness and response, refugee assistance and resettlement, local church-based development, and peace and reconciliation work.

Internship Location

You will work with World Renew to find a placement in one of the 30 countries around the world. Calvin students have been placed in Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Romania and Zambia.

Costs

You will pay a full semester of tuition plus a program fee to cover all program costs for your internship. The cost of the summer internships are the tuition for one summer course plus a program fee.

What's covered:
  • Round-trip travel
  • Visa costs
  • Room and board
  • On-site visits from faculty mentors (for semester program)
  • General liability insurance
What's not covered:
  • Medical insurance
  • Passport fees
  • Personal expenses

Internship orientation

Prior to departure, you will participate in an orientation program, approximately one week in length, organized by World Renew.

Learn more

Contact Professor Roland Hoksbergen to learn more about how this global development internship can fit into your program of study.

Tracy Kuperus's staff picture
Tracy Kuperus

Professor, GDS Program Director
Full profile

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