Internships

IGERT-IDG students will complete a three-month international research internship. The primary goals of this internship are to understand the exigencies of research in international contexts; build intercultural competence in dealing with mentors and colleagues at the host institution; develop international professional networks; and gain a fine-grained, concrete understanding of international contexts – particularly in developing countries – that will ground and inform later research. Although we also want students to enhance research skills and further their own research and writing projects, these are secondary goals; the purpose of international experience will not be served if the student spends all his or her time in front of a computer.

For the international research internship, students may participate in a research project underway at the host institution or in a collaborative research project involving Columbia and the host institution, or they may carry out a small-scale research project of their own design. Whichever model they choose, they will have both a Columbia faculty mentor and a mentor at the host institution.