IFSA Summer Internships in Rome

Enhance your learning and develop marketable skills with an eight-week Summer Internship in Rome.

International Internship Seminar
All internships include participation in the International Internship Seminar, which covers 15 hours of online asynchronous Canvas modules to provide structured opportunities to reflect on the practical experience of the internship, learn more about your host country’s business culture, and further develop the professional skills needed for a successful transition from undergraduate coursework into a career or graduate school. Plus, you will engage with an online global cohort of IFSA internship participants, gaining exposure to business cultures around the world. Seminar is taught in English. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

OPTIONAL CLASSES
You may enroll in one additional class. You may also elect to take the Essential Italian class. Not all classes may be offered in a given term. Click on each link below for a detailed class syllabus.

Essential Italian
If you’ve never studied Italian before, you can take this optional, introductory class in Italian language and culture. By introducing key words and phrases and venturing out into the city to practice them, you’ll gain essential skills to communicate effectively and navigate in a new culture. (1 U.S. semester credit hour)

Forced Migration, Refugees, and Change
More than 60 million people are displaced by war, violence, and environmental destruction today. This class analyzes the ways that governments, NGOs, citizens, and researchers seek to solve problems associated with forced migration. Using ethnographic approaches, students will investigate the sociological and political forces behind the current increase of refugees and forced migrants currently impacting Europe. This class aims to provide a theoretical and empirical understanding of the phenomenon that can be employed as a guide for action. Offered during the first four weeks of the program. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

Sustainable Tourism
In the past few decades, the global tourism industry has been increasingly criticized for its disruptive impact on local communities and the environment, while a growing trend of sustainable tourism has begun promoting more responsible, eco-friendly approaches that can help preserve nature, customs, and lifestyles. This class explores how local cultures can better absorb short- and long-term tourism, the benefits of eco-tourism on natural habitats and landscapes. Through a series of field visits and meetings with experts, students will learn how a more sustainable approach to tourism can help make tourist destinations better places to live in and to visit. Offered during the final four weeks of the program. (3 U.S. semester credit hours)

INTERNSHIPS
IFSA internships include real-world work experience, along with developing intercultural skills and experiences that are key to personal, academic, and professional success. Expect to devote a total of 120 hours working with your host organization, with supervision from your seminar instructor, coordinated by on-site IFSA team members. In addition, interns complete the International Internship Seminar for 3 U.S. semester credit hours. Internships are not remunerated.

Students have interned at galleries and museums, business incubators, development agencies, religiously affiliated non-profits, marketing firms, and human rights advocacy groups in Rome.

Your goals are carefully considered, tailoring the placement process to ensure the best possible fit. Keep in mind that final placements depend on your skills, prior experience, and availability. Although every effort is made to match your placement with your preferred field or area of business, it can’t be guaranteed. Most internships are conducted in English. If you have had at least four semesters of Italian language instruction, you can ask your IFSA Enrollment Counselor about opportunities to conduct your placement in Italian.

Application. After you submit your application, resume, and IFSA Internship Interest Form, an IFSA Enrollment Counselor and an on-site IFSA Team member will work with you to identify your professional strengths, review your goals, and refine your internship interests to establish a match. From there, you’ll have an interview with your potential internship host. You will be provided with tips and resources to prepare for your interview.

Sample Placements. The following are examples of internships IFSA students have recently completed. Placement options vary from term to term.

Organization: This is a is a day center for refugees and asylum seekers. It offers services ranging from basic supplies, to legal and social counseling, employment support, language and skills courses, for nearly 150 people every day.
Subject Areas: Social Studies, Education, Communications, Political Science
Potential Projects: Interns will help with front desk operations, office management, intercultural mediation, as well as with promotional initiatives and event planning.

Organization: This Rome-based, independent, English-language, online magazine covers everything Italy-related, offering news and opinion about politics, economy, culture, and sports.
Subject Areas: Communications, Journalism, Marketing
Potential Projects: You will help with content creation for the magazine and promotion.

Organization: This English-language event and lifestyle magazine is targeted to tourists and expats visiting or living in Rome. It includes a daily listing of the latest and most diverse cultural and lifestyle events in and around Rome.
Subject Areas: Communications, Journalism, Marketing
Potential Projects: You will help with content creation for the magazine and promotion. You can also be involved in the creation of a new Florence branch of the magazine.

Organization: This is an historic Rome-based association, one of the first in Italy, that offers support to the LGBTQ+ community and organizes cultural events and initiatives, including the big annual Pride event.
Subject Areas: Communications, Cultural Studies, Gender Studies, Politics
Potential Projects: You will help with the organization of cultural events and contribute to the social media presence of the association.

Organization: This is a small private museum in the very heart of the historic center, focused on interactive reproductions of inventions and machines designed by Leonardo da Vinci.
Subject Areas: Communications, Museum Studies, Art History, Marketing
Potential Projects: Interns will help with front desk operations, English-led tours, as well as with promotional initiatives and social media campaigns.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

Eligibility

• You must be at least 18 years of age. Students under 18 may be accepted on a case-by-case basis.
• You must be currently attending or recently graduated from a U.S. or Canadian community college, technical college, two-year college, four-year college, or four-year university.
• You must have completed at least one (1) full-time semester of study at your home institution before the beginning of the term.

Recommendation Letter
Not required. An internship site may request a reference letter before placement is finalized.

TRANSCRIPT
Upon completion of your program, IFSA will send an official Butler University transcript to your home university with your coursework converted to the U.S. semester credit hour system. You will also have access to an unofficial transcript in your IFSA Student Portal. The transcript reflects classes taken, credits attempted, and grades earned during your term abroad. This service is included in your study abroad program at no additional cost. See our Transcripts page for more information.