Internships

A student poses in front of the White House on the way to his intership in Washington D.C.

Abroad at AU students have the unique opportunity to participate in unpaid, non-credit internships at businesses, NGOs, government agencies and multilateral institutions in the Washington DC area. However, the scope of the Abroad at AU program is primarily academic, and internships are not a requied component of the program.

After your arrival at American University, you will be able to utilize the support of AU’s award winning Career Center, for help with internship announcements, resume and cover letter writing, and other career guides. Over 80% of all AU's undergraduate students participate in an internship before they graduate.

Featured Internships

Ayumi Kimura

University of Tokyo, Japan
Abroad at AU Student: Fall 2005-Spring 2006
Ayumi was an intern for the International Labor Rights Fund, an advocacy organization located in Washington , DC , dedicated to achieving just and humane treatment for workers worldwide.At ILRF, Ayumi helped run a campaign against forced child labor in Liberia and built relationships with Japanese media outlets and NGOs.

Gabriel Heller Sahlgren

Stockholm University, Sweden
Abroad at AU Student: Fall 2006-Spring 2007
A very ambitious student, Gabriel held three internships during his stay in the U.S. He interned on Capitol Hill in the office of Congressman Ron Paul (Texas), who is seeking the Republican nomintation for president. Gabriel also completed two fellowships with the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Through his internships, Gabriel gained a unique understanding of trade issues in the policy arena and in the media.

Mario Alberto Esparza Perez

Tecnologico de Monterrey-Campus Monterrey, Mexico
Abroad at AU Student: Fall 2008
Mario interned as a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank, an organization which works with local government, companies and civil society in 26 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean to create programs that address major development challenges. In his role at the Bank, Mario gained first-hand experience in efficient and responsible financial reporting procedures through working with the credit risks classification system and preparing transactions. He also gained greater understanding as to how private corporations work and how they contribute to the economic development of international countries.

Qiong Wu

Beijing Foreign Studies University, China
Abroad at AU Student: Fall 2008-Spring 2009
During the academic year, Qiong interned for the Chinese Service TV team at Voice of America, a multimedia international broadcasting service funded by the U.S. Government . Her internship gave her a wide range of practical experiences for a future career in broadcasting including translating, writing, video editing and field shooting. Qiong's biggest projects included narrating the Mandarin version of Cultural Odyssey , a TV program about American culture for a Chinese audience and editing the VOA's news podcast Daily Download . The highlight of her internship was being involved in the live radio broadcast of the 2008 presidential election and working on the Mall downtown during President Obama's inauguration.

Mira-Sophie Potten

Johannes-Gutenberg University, Germany
Abroad at AU Student: Fall 2008-Spring 2009
Mira interned at CINE, a non-profit organization that awards professional, independent and student filmmakers for outstanding achievements. The organization also holds workshops and events for filmmakers. Her internship had a marketing focus and she assisted in event planning, in addition to general administrative and organizational tasks. As CINE is a small organization, Mira was encouraged to bring in her own ideas and put them to practice. Through her internship she experienced the process of organizing an annual awards Gala. On top of learning a lot she thought it was a fun experience because she occasionally got to meet board members who work for high ranking TV and broadcasting companies such as Discovery, PBS and CNN who came to the office for film screenings and other events.