The goal of the program is to place students in working environments that will build their base of practical experience. Students will have the opportunity to select internships relating to their focus in a particular subdiscipline of anthropology.
The SRI Foundation will manage the internship program for the University of New Mexico (UNM) Department of Anthropology. With the assistance of students and faculty, the Foundation will identify potential internship sponsors, oversee the internship experience, ensure that the student dedicates the required time, counsel students, provide information to the faculty sponsor that can be used to generate a grade for the course, and act as a liaison between the agencies and organizations sponsoring the internship and the students placed in these organizations.
The Department of Anthropology will assure that credit requirements are fulfilled under the University guidelines. Although the students and the organizations or agencies sponsoring the internships will work directly with the SRI Foundation’s Internship Coordinator, professors within the Department will evaluate the educational validity of specific work environments as they relate to the students’ chosen objectives and career goals.
Students will be responsible for writing an internship contract, tracking time spent on internship tasks, reading the materials listed on the required reading list, performing the tasks and duties assigned to them by the sponsoring agency or organization, and completing a midterm and final project relating to the internship and their career goals. All students will keep a journal of their experiences. Student interns will meet with the Internship Coordinator once a month, or more often as needed.
Program Requirements
The term of the internships will correspond to the UNM calendar. An internship will last one semester and will be worth three credit-hours. To fulfill the time commitments and contact hours, students will be need to average 10 hours per week over the course of the 16-week term. (Approximately 54 contact hours per credit-hour.) Internships will be classified as independent study credit and sponsored by a faculty member within the Department.
The SRI Foundation will work closely with internship sponsors, making sure that the sponsors provide a positive, structured learning experience for students. The learning experience will focus on general job skills related to day-to-day tasks, as well as insights into the overall mission of the agency or organization and how these relate to the objectives of anthropology.
The “pay” for the intern is the college credit and the on-the-job training and experience, but interns may also receive financial compensation for their contributions. Students may receive an honorarium or a stipend for their work from the sponsoring institution, if funding is available.
Upon completion of the internship, the internship sponsor will provide the student with an evaluation of his or her work based upon the goals and objectives listed in the student’s internship contract. The sponsor will also provide a letter of recommendation for the student.
The student will write a narrative evaluation of his or her own performance, again based on the goals and objectives listed in the student’s contract. Students will also evaluate the agency or institution sponsoring the internship in terms of the potential for future internships for other students.