- Academic Credit
- Eligibility and Selection
- Internship Requirements
- Recent Examples of Student Internships
Anthropology Internship Coordinators: Dr. Haley Duschinski , Dr. Nancy Tatarek , Dr. Diane Ciekawy
The Anthropology Internship (ANTH 4910) provides opportunities for students to work intensively on a particular project under the supervision of the sponsoring organization to explore new ways of applying their anthropological expertise in response to contemporary issues and problems confronting people in local settings throughout the world.
Possible Internship Opportunities Include:
- Community Health Assessment
- Primate Protection
- Archaeological Survey Evaluation
- Refugee Education
- Oral History Collection
- Social Service Provision
- Rural Development
- Cultural Resource Management
- Environmental Conservation
- Forensic Investigation
- Museum Interpretation
- Cultural Rights Advocacy
- Human Rights Activism
Student interns design their own learning experience by selecting a sponsoring organization that matches their interests and needs. These public-service oriented internships effectively prepare students for their future careers by training them to work as part of collaborative teams, develop their people skills and political savvy, and think through issues of anthropological responsibility and ethics.
Anthropology internships may focus on any of the three fields represented by departmental faculty: archaeology, biological anthropology, and cultural anthropology. The internship experience will vary according to the interests of students and the needs of the sponsoring organization. All internships are designed to meet community needs in a relevant and meaningful way, enhance student learning in the discipline, and prepare students for active civic participation in local and/or global settings.
Many regional, national, and international organizations offer formal and informal internship opportunities in a range of fields relevant to anthropology. Students who are interested in the internship program should review a variety of organizations that specialize in areas of interest.
The Anthropology Internship Coordinator maintains a database of resources to help students identify appropriate internship opportunities. Students are also encouraged to discuss their options with other faculty members in the department and across campus.
Eligibility and Selection
Prospective interns must be Anthropology majors with an overall GPA of at least 2.5 and an Anthropology GPA of at least 2.5, with 20 hours of Anthropology coursework. The Anthropology Internship Coordinator will make all decisions regarding final eligibility. The work supervisor at the sponsoring organization must validate the internship offer prior to registration for the course.
Academic Credit
Interns will consult with their faculty sponsors to establish the number of credit hours earned through the internship. One credit hour can be earned for every 10 hours of work performed, up to a maximum of four credit hours.
Evaluation
The faculty sponsor will determine the student's final grade on the basis of the student's reports, journals, and final paper, as well as the supervisor's evaluation of student performance. The final grade will be a letter grade, A through F.
Internship Requirements
Interns will determine a schedule for the submission of work through consultation with the faculty sponsor.
Work:Interns are expected to meet the expectations of the sponsoring organization by providing service that is meaningful and relevant to the sponsoring organization. Interns should not be placed in compromising or dangerous situations.
Progress Reports:The intern will submit two progress reports to the faculty sponsor at specified times throughout the internship period.
Journal Entries:The intern will consult with the faculty sponsor to establish the content and frequency of journal entries. These journals will be submitted to the faculty sponsor at the end of the internship.
Final Paper or Project Report:The intern will submit a 10-15 page written paper or report to the faculty sponsor at the end of the internship. The content of this assignment will be established through consultation with the faculty sponsor.
Recent Examples of Anthropology Internships
Anthropology majors participate in the Field School in Ohio Archaeology every other summer, gaining intensive hands-on training in archaeological field excavation and laboratory analysis.
Dozens of students take advantage of a spring break study abroad opportunity with ANTH 4620: Human Rights, Law & Justice in Northern Ireland, learning about post-conflict transition, contested memories, and "dealing with the past" through visits to universities, law institutes, justice centers, and key historic sites.
Local Internships
Leana Hoogenboom, and Jessica Markowitz had internships working "behind the scenes" with the curatorial staff of the Athens Historical Society and Museum to develop professional skills in collection storage and maintenance, cataloging systems, public education, and exhibition design.
Elizabeth Cychoszheld an internship at the Athens County Historical Society & Museum in fall 2012. She took over from other Anthropology interns the managing of a collection of roughly 3000 prehistoric Native American artifacts, and she learned from local archaeology professionals how to interpret these artifacts. She also worked on miscellaneous smaller projects and helped install an exhibit. After the internship, she continued to volunteer at the museum, acting as the media coordinator for the historical society and has working on developing an archaeology exhibit.
Internships Abroad and in the United States
Jenna Crippsspent seven weeks studying intensive advanced Kiswahili in Arusha, Tanzania, through the Fulbright Hays Group Project Abroad program.
Galen Miller-Atkinsgained experience in field techniques learned about current research by participating in the 2013 Dmanisi Paleoanthropology Field School in Georgia, an annual five-week program at the 1.8 million-year-old archeological site. Carly McMakin gained five weeks of hands-on experience in archaeological field techniques as well as survey and lab work including cataloging, photography, documentation, and conservation of artifacts at an Etruscan site in Tuscany, Italy. Megan Norris participated in an archaeological dig at Tel Hazor in Northern Israel. The dig included sites dating back to the Middle Bronze and Early-Late Iron Age periods. The location is that of a Canaanite Palace.
Nicole Wackerlyspent part of her 2013 summer in the rainforests of Costa Rica acquiring field techniques and experience by studying Mantled Howler Monkeys (Alouatta palliata) during her field course at La Suerte Biological Field Station. Interested in pursuing primatology as a career, she was able to observe three species of New World monkey (Cebus capucinus, Aloutta palliata, and Ateles geoffroyi). She collected data on the variation in suspensory foraging by adult males and adult females, the results of which she presented at the Midwest Primate Interest Group 2013 meeting.