IDEV Internships

Many students create their own internships as a result of tips and job announcements from IDEV faculty and staff, and from the SAIS Career Services office. In addition, the IDEV Listserv advertises job and internship opportunities, many originating from IDEV’s vast development network and dedicated alumni.

IDEV also collaborates with institutions to offer students formal program internships as well as other SAIS programs, including the African Studies and Asian Studies programs, to send students on research or development-related internships.

Closer to home, Washington, DC is rich in opportunities for internships with development organizations that formulate policy and review fieldwork case studies. Whether working with the World Bank, the National Democratic Institute, Conservation International, Bread for the World, the Center for Development and Population Activities, or another organization while studying at SAIS, internships enable students to put their academic skills to practical use. 

Arranging internships is facilitated by the fact that Washington, D.C. is the hub of international development in the United States.'

Community Outreach
The various clubs and groups formed by IDEV students provide selected opportunities for students to work on community development programs in the Washington DC area, in collaboration with local institutions.

Other Opportunities
IDEV students often attend talks, panel discussions, and seminars held in Washington, D.C. by such groups as the Society For International Development, the Center For Global Development, the Carnegie Endowment For International Peace, the Peterson Institute For International Economics, and the Brookings Institution, all of which are within two blocks of SAIS.

Courses Offered
Some IDEV courses are offered in alternate years so as to give students a wide selection of courses during their two years at SAIS. Students spending only two or three semesters at SAIS/Washington must plan carefully to be able to take alternate-year IDEV courses. Students may consult the course section of the IDEV web site to see which courses are offered in a give year.

Summer Internships
For IDEV students only, the program offers internships with a range of partner insitutions, through the Summer Internship Program. Placements are pre-arranged and grant funding is available for each internship. For Summer 2011, there will be approximatley 20 internships offered, and the rules and procedures for application are outlined in a separate document. Please contact Cinnamon Dornsife cdornsife@jhu.edu for additional information. NOTE: ONLY IDEV STUDENTS ARE ELIGIBLE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM.

Morgan Bushey
Nikki Duncan
The Fomunyoh Foundation (TFF)
Bamenda, Cameroon
Ferris Fund This summer I interned with another SAIS-IDEV student (Nikki Duncan) at The Fomunyoh Foundation (TFF), an organization that promotes democratization and human rights in Cameroon.  During the nine-week internship, we drafted an organizational chart and structure for TFF, designed a national scholarship program for Cameroonian students and taught capacity building workshops to local NGOs.  We also visited more than 15 women’s organizations, agricultural federations, orphanages and common initiative groups to assess how TFF can best aid those already working at a grassroots level to improve the standard of living in Cameroon.  This summer allowed me to experience first-hand the many day-to-day challenges of development work in Africa.  It gave me the opportunity to observe and contribute to the work of the men, women and children in villages.

Aviva Kutnick

Colin McKee
ASrIA
Hong Kong, China
Socially Responsible Fund
I spent the summer interning for the Association for Sustainable and Responsible Investment in Asia (ASrIA), a not for profit dedicated to promoting corporate responsibility and sustainable investment in the Asia Pacific region.  Members include investment institutions as well as other organizations with interests in sustainable finance.  The aim of my internship was to write a report on the investment climate in Asia’s water sector based on a review of the region’s publicly-traded water utilities and wastewater treatment companies.  The report assessed the state of water pollution and scarcity, demand scenarios across sectors, and specific technologies and business models that demonstrate investment potential.   The experience provided unique insight into an investment area where business and sustainability goals converge to provide inexpensive and clean water solutions for human development and economic growth.

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Last Revised: 8/19/09