ILR Course Requirement

Students who intern in Geneva, Switzerland, Washington, D.C. and New York City are required to take the ILR course which is offered in conjunction with the internship program in each location. The course meets once a week; interns will receive a letter shortly before the term begins giving the time and place of the first class meeting. The course serves two purposes: in addition to providing instruction relating to aspects of the field, it provides interns with an opportunity to share their internship experiences and to learn from each other. The professors teaching the courses are also available for discussion about internship work and associated problems.

The Internship Job Site and Your Performance

The major portion of the intern's time will be spent at the internship site carrying out projects assigned by the site supervisor. Interns are expected to work to the standards of the sponsoring organization, recognizing that their behavior reflects not only on themselves but on the ILR School as well, and that less than satisfactory performance could result both in that internship being discontinued and in an unsatisfactory grade for the 8 credit work component of the internship.

Interns will be formally evaluated twice during the semester, and these evaluations will be forwarded to your ILR faculty supervisor.  Your faculty supervisor will use these evaluations as a significant factor in your final grade for the semester.

Required Independent Study Project

Each intern is also responsible for the completion of a 4-credit independent study project related to the internship assignment. The nature of the project is determined by the intern and his/her faculty supervisor. The specifics of the project must be set forth in the "Internship Project Plan" form (

), which is to be signed by both the intern and the faculty supervisor. Since it is often not possible to work out a detailed plan in advance, submission of the formal plan may be delayed until the fourth week of the internship if necessary. Care should be taken in completing this form since it is a written record of the agreement detailing the academic work to be done and the basis upon which it is to be evaluated.

Stay in Touch!

As previously explained, it is the responsibility of each intern to initiate and maintain necessary communication with his/her faculty supervisor throughout the term of the internship.