ACHS and WII are pleased to announce that all inducted student members of the ACHS societies will be awarded a $500 merit-based scholarship for the ACHS/WII Washington Internship Program.
Colleges and universities have several choices among internship programs in Washington, DC, and each program has its virtues. In designing the WII programs we have made every effort to provide a quality internship program that would meet accreditation standards and provide powerful learning experiences for students. There are several reasons for WII’s success.
üIndividualized, personal attention
Because of our small size, we interact with all students personally and individually throughout their time in Washington. Simply put, we know every student and keep in close touch with them before, during, and after their participation in the program. We are the only internship program in Washington where the key administrators also teach the students every semester. WII is the only program that offers an Experiential Education seminar that complements the internship.
ü Economical package of services
Our personalized internship placement, housing, student activities, and academic creditworthy classes are not only unmatched in Washington, but are also provided at a very economical cost. This, plus our need-based and merit-based scholarships, ensures that every student can have a substantive internship experience in Washington.
ü Substantive opportunities for all majors
WII’s students intern four days per week, full-time, thereby gaining greater professional experience than in other programs. Four days a week allows students to be given substantive assignments and to be fully integrated into the professional environment. There are programs that only allow students to work two days a week and thus the professional experience is diminished.
The “Capital Experience” internship program welcomes all majors and allows students the widest latitude in choosing the internship that best fits their interests. For example, communications majors have interned with media outlets; economics majors have interned with think tanks; pre-law students have interned in the legal system. An elective class complements their internship and makes Washington, DC their classroom.
Our distinctive "Embassy and Diplomatic Scholars" internship program gives students an opportunity no one else can match: interning and doing substantive work at a host of international organizations, including foreign embassies, Amnesty International and the State Department, while taking a “practical” International Relations course from a retired U.S. diplomat with extensive academic experience.
Two years ago, in cooperation with the Association of American Colleges and Universities (AAC&U), we started the “Faculty Fellows Internship Program” which enables faculty to broaden their professional, disciplinary, and personal horizons. Participants investigate applied areas of knowledge, develop skills, and explore the systems and policies of their host organizations or agencies.
ü Strong international focus
Globalization has underlined the importance of student understanding of other cultures as well as their own. Each semester a solid proportion of our student body is international students, who live and study together with their U.S. American counterparts, enhancing the growth of each.
I have enclosed our materials for your review. I would like to send the announcement of the ACHS/WII scholarship and the WII materials to your on-campus chapters so that the staff and faculty will make the students aware of this excellent opportunity. If you would like to distribute the WII materials, I will send you the number of viewbooks and/or packets you need. Or, you may send me your chapter addresses and WII will send out the materials (Excel files are preferred). Please contact me at: Mary@wiidc.org or 202-833-8580, if you have any questions. I look forward to hearing from you and working with your students.
Sincerely,
Mary Ryan, WII Executive Director
Link to WII: www.wiidc.org