Check back soon for information about GenCen's in-house internship opportunities for 2024-2025.

These are paid positions requiring a commitment of 10-15 hours per week during our office hours of 9:00am-5:00pm, Monday-Friday. Interns must be enrolled at Michigan State University and should be sophomores, juniors, or seniors by the fall semester.
 
A successful GenCen intern will possess the following qualities:

• Ability to work without assistance in Microsoft Office Suite (including Outlook)
• Comfortable with computer navigation and file management
• Ability to work independently with resourceful thinking, balance multiple projects, and take initiative
• Strong interest in gender, women’s issues, and diversity on an international level

The Center for Gender in Global Context (GenCen) internship program helps students find and undertake internships in fields related to women's issues, gender, sexuality, and social justice. Students in WGS or LGBTQ Studies programs may also work with a faculty mentor and earn WS 493 course credit for their internship experience. Past students have completed internships related to social justice, human rights, community development, reproductive health, domestic violence, and/or environmental health and justice, both locally as well as abroad.

Through the GenCen internship program, students will intern with leading organizations working at the local, national, and international level on gender-related issues. Students will work with supervisors from the host organization and from within their department or college during their internship, benefiting from their supervisors' experience and expertise. The internship is designed to help students explore gender-related career fields while gaining valuable hands-on experience at local, national, or international organizations.

GenCen-coordinated internships offer flexible schedules (typically 10 hours/week for Fall and Spring semesters), and students can complete international GenCen internships along with some MSU study abroad programs. Advanced undergraduate and graduate students are encouraged to apply. Most internships are unpaid; however, some offer work-study to eligible students.

GenCen invites undergraduate students wishing to gain research experience and serve the community to enroll in our Community Engaged Research Internship program. The GenCen undergraduate advisor will work with students to match them with local organizations offering opportunities for engaged research involving women, gender, and sexuality issues, as well as set up an academic internship class with this student, WS 493.

Research is community engaged when it involves reciprocal partnerships and addresses the needs of the community. Projects for this internship will be semester bounded, and will contribute to the activities, priorities, and goals of the community organization. Outcomes of the internship may include: published reports, exhibits and multimedia forms of presentation, art installations, clinical and other service procedures, programs and events, policy briefs, court briefings, and legislation. Each internship will involve a student intern, a GenCen faculty supervisor, and a community organization working collaboratively to complete a research-based semester project on gender and/or sexuality that will comprise the student’s grade for the internship class, WS 493.

The final product of the research internship will be pre-defined by the team and based on a rubric tailored to the needs of the project. Upon completion, these assignments may become components of the student’s job portfolio or included in graduate school applications.  Students who are approved for an internship will be eligible for $2,000 in financial assistance provided through the GenCen Community Engaged Research Scholarship Fund.

View the announcement and application [word]. 

"In the beginning of the semester I mostly did work with training the new volunteers of the program. It was a lot of hours, and I was in charge of some of the sessions. Also I would take at least 2 medical advocacy shifts a month. In addition I helped out with planning the Teal Ribbon Award ceremonies. Helping with the new training was really interesting and challenging. The best aspect was being on call for the advocacy shifts."
GenCen Intern, Sexual Assault Crisis Intervention, East Lansing, MI. Spring 2012

"During my internship I took part in all the board meetings of the organization. I was able to voice my opinion during board meetings and my comments were taken seriously, respected, and praised. During the course of my semester interning I was elected to serve on the board and will continue to serve on the board until I move out of the Lansing area. I wrote several articles for our newsletter. I worked directly under another board member (also a previous intern!) as her assistant for our Grant Committee. This involved contacting organizations to advertise our grant program, reading through grant proposals, contacting organizations, etc. I also went to the Equal Pay Day Lobby Training and Event at the Capitol on April 17 as LAHR's representative. I took video and interviewed several people at this event and the video I created served as my internship project. It is now embedded on the LAHR website and is on Youtube. I really enjoyed the projects I worked on because I felt like I was really a part of the organization and like I was making a difference. It also opened my eyes to the different ways the LGBT community is organized and to the different ways I can ultimately be involved in the community in the future. I really like that I can now serve as a member of the board."
GenCen Intern, Lansing Association for Human Rights, Lansing, MI. Spring 2012

"While interning at the Michigan Women's Historical Center & Hall of Fame, most of my duties related to research. I worked on a fundraising calendar, a new project for the center this year, gathering important dates for women throughout history. I also helped lay the groundwork for research on upcoming exhibits pertaining to women in literature and women in politics. In addition to research I also helped with general clerical and office work; preparing mailings, typing, etc. I also volunteered at a charity poker game and also learned the duties of a docent at the center and performed those duties for a few visitors during my workday. The projects I worked on were very interesting. I'm interested in history, especially 20th century, and I found that most of my research regarding women in politics centered around that time frame. While I was interested in working in research I had never done so except for papers required for college courses. After I was shown the specific ways historical research is done I started to get the hang of it but the fact checking was difficult at first. The best aspect of my internship experience was the opportunity to attend the 28th Annual Michigan Women's Hall of Fame Awards Dinner & Induction Ceremony. Such powerful women were in attendance and it was great to see the interactions between them and listen to them speak. The dinner was a nice reminder that the whole point of the organization is to honor women and their contributions—promoting change and advocacy through a familiarity with women's history and the role of the feminist movement throughout time."
GenCen Intern, Michigan Women's Historical Center and Hall of Fame, Lansing, MI. Fall 2011

"My largest project during the summer was World Day at Hunter Park. It was a large multicultural dance and music festival that the ANC hosts for the community. I assisted in the planning process and helped in various ways during the festival. My main duties consisted of assisting community members in a variety of ways that dealt with issues of food security, affordable and energy efficient housing, access to health care, and economic development. Since the ANC is essentially a resource center, I would greet walk-ins and schedule appointments with people to connect them with the resources they need. At the weekly farmers market I would greet community members and serve as the face of the organization. Although some of the projects I worked on were data entry and secretarial work, the collaborative work of all the interns and others with the ANC amounted to very interesting events and projects. Besides office work, I spent a large amount of time canvassing the neighborhood and collected data via face-to-face conversations with community members. The best part of my internship was that I was able to learn so much about the community that I live in by participating with the ANC in community events every week and meeting the people that live there. Besides that, the internship provided me the opportunity to learn about the inner workings of a non-profit community development agency. That experience isn't something that can be learned in the classroom. The Allen Neighborhood Center is an outstanding organization that does great things for Lansing and the Eastside. The people there truly care about what they do and are passionate about helping others."
GenCen Intern, Allen Neighborhood Center, Lansing, MI. Summer 2011