Internships & Volunteering

Tonia Williams, VWPP Fall 2019, Vassar ’21, talks about her internship

Students are encouraged to participate in an internship or field work experience (click here) in addition to their regular academic program. In French these are called stages. 

50%-95% of VWPP students every semester seize the opportunity to intern with the local population. A stage is first and foremost a unique way to participate in an aspect of everyday French and Parisian life; to observe and interact closely with local people by integrating into their daily lives and activities.

Students are able to do internships for credit (0.5 or 1 full credit) and not for credit. Credit-bearing internships include in-class instruction as well as time in the field. Non-credit-bearing internships only occur in the field. These internships are not designed to be pre-professional; rather, one should think of them as a way of accessing another area of French life, specifically the workplace. See below for an overview of the types of internships and the benefits they can bring during your time abroad.

Where do students do their internships?

In an art gallery or foundation, a Parisian museum, a non-profit organization in human rights or the environment, a lab intern, as a teaching assistant in a school, or a volunteer working with newly arrived populations in Paris, for instance. Students also get to experience new Parisian neighbourhoods and venues in their internship placements.

Why do an internship? VWPP students who intern in Paris gain access to local culture they would not otherwise have the opportunity to as a visitor or foreign student; internships offer a way to better understand the local culture. 

Students can also gain work experience in an international city without having to worry about finances: As a student on the Vassar-Wesleyan Program in Paris, your total Parisian living expenses (room and board, local transportation, program excursions and visits, a co-curricular stipend, and an internship) are included in your comprehensive fee. This unique opportunity to take an unpaid internship while having their living expenses subsidized by the VWPP relieves our students from the financial burden an internship in a major city can represent, or taking time out from a summer job to intern. At VWPP we want every student to have the opportunity to undertake an internship in a large metropolitan city. 

Acquire language and global competencies and soft skills: VWPP internships also help students acquire the soft skills needed for their later careers: they gain the language, listening, communication, interpersonal, intercultural, and critical thinking skills employers say they are looking for in your college graduates. Our students intern with adults and children from all walks of life and backgrounds. They gain inside knowledge of a new culture and learn to adapt to the new environment an internship presents. They acquire global competencies that enhance their employability.

You can explore a possible career path: Think you might want to teach someday?  Come back to France or go to another country to work after graduation? Work in an international environment? Explore your field of study in the workplace? Discover the daily life of Parisian schoolchildren and their teachers? Observe how a scientific laboratory undertakes their research? Interact with artists and a gallery in a world-renowned café? All our interns experience a possible career path as they take part in the local populations’ lives going about their work in their internship.

How does it work?

For students interested in the credit-bearing internship, they must speak with their home campus advisors and the VWPP director before leaving for France. Students will be placed in their internship during the orientation period. They will concurrently enrol in an internship workshop and meet regularly with VWPP staff throughout the semester. For 0.5 credit, students typically spend a total of 12h of work in the field; for 1 credit, students usually spend a total of 24 hours in the field. For students interested in non-credit-bearing internships, a list of current opportunities will be provided during the Paris orientation session dedicated to this topic. We encourage students to discuss possibilities with their French professors and major advisors on campus, and follow up on any personal contacts in Paris as well. Further information can be consulted on our French website. Students apply for the non-credit internships by the second week of classes. These internships last for approximately 8-10 weeks, and are undertaken concurrently with the students’ other academic courses. Students spend between 2 and 15 hours per week in the field, and they are encouraged to keep an internship journal and participate in a dedicated meeting on how to maximize their internship experience.