Middlebury Handbook

All Students

Internships are not guaranteed for any participant. They are granted on a competitive basis and subject to the agreement of the School Abroad and the prospective employer. Placements are dependent on availability and the previous experience, qualifications, and language ability of each student.  Interns need to dress appropriately for their work environment, thus those working in offices will need to pack dress clothes.

Students who pursue internships are expected to follow through with their commitment until the end of the semester. Students who fail to do so after the on-site registration period will earn an "F" and will be ineligible to enroll in another course.

Paid internships or practica may not receive credit.

Undergraduate Students

Students may earn up to one class's worth of credit, depending on the school, while attending a School Abroad.  This credit will be assessed as a letter grade. Students from other institutions are eligible to take credit-bearing internships if their home school's policies allow, or if they do not need that credit to transfer.  Not all U.S. institutions grant academic credit for internships. It is the student's responsibility to confirm with their home institution that they are eligible to receive credit for an internship prior to arriving in-country.  Volunteer opportunities are available for students who do not wish to pursue credit-bearing internships, but who do wish to gain work experience abroad. Only students who attend two different Schools Abroad (in two different countries) may, potentially, do two internships for credit during their time at the Middlebury Schools Abroad.

Graduate Students

Graduate students studying for the full year at a School Abroad will be able to receive up to one unit of credit toward their degree in an internship while at the School Abroad.  All graduate students in the Applied Languages (AMA) degree program are required to complete a practicum in their specialization as a requirement of the degree.  The practicum will be evaluated on both the student’s professional performance at the practicum itself and on the academic work completed in relation to the practicum experience.  The supervising faculty member will work in close consultation with the student’s practicum supervisor throughout the semester and consider their feedback when assigning the final grade for the practicum experience.

Given that the practicum is a key component to successful completion of the AMA degree, any student whose practicum performance is evaluated as unsatisfactory by the practicum- and/or faculty supervisor will be deemed to have made unsatisfactory progress in their degree as a whole and will not be permitted to continue in the AMA program.  If their academic work earns a passing grade (defined as a grade of B- or better), they will, however, be given the opportunity to transfer to the MA program in the same language of study, with permission from the program director.  Students should be aware that this transfer may require additional coursework beyond the standard 12 units of credit that comprise an MA or an AMA degree. .  Any additional and/or remaining coursework must be completed within the ten years allotted for degree completion.

As with any other course, a student who receives a final grade of “F” in their practicum will be dismissed from the graduate program all together, without the option of transferring from the AMA to the MA program.

Students participating in an internship, or a practicum are expected to dress appropriately for their work environments; those working in offices will need to pack dress clothes.