Eligibility:
Continuing Harvard College students in good academic standing with Spanish language capacity to enable them to work successfully in Spanish (typically a minimum of intermediate Spanish, Spanish 30 or higher). Students need to be prepared to work in Spanish upon arrival. Applicants from all concentrations are welcome. NOTE: There is ONE common application for all countries that host the Summer Internship Program. The application can be found on each country page.

Program Description:
The DRCLAS Summer Internship Program (SIP) facilitates the summer placement of Harvard College students in internship sites in: Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay.  These internship experiences immerse Harvard students in the local culture, context, and language of the country while providing them with the opportunity to work and actively contribute to a project defined by a local organization.  Harvard College students work and live for 8 weeks in the capital city of their choice.  Over the last six years, more than 300 Harvard College students have successfully participated in this program.

Student volunteers have the opportunity to work with public- and private-sector organizations depending on their area of interest. Current internship sites include non-profit, public, international, and private sector entities.  All the coordination and initial mentor contact is done from the DRCLAS offices before the student is in-country. Once a student has successfully gone through the selection process (including the online application, in-person interview in the DRCLAS office in Cambridge, etc.) he/she will receive an acceptance letter to the program as well as an internship placement based on the student´s expressed preferences, language ability and skill set.

The programs in Argentina, Chile, Peru, and Uruguay have a full-time residential student program coordinator. Once in the region, students participate in an intensive week-long orientation program that helps them to better understand the culture. In Bolivia, there is more limited DRCLAS support (defined below) and requires a student comfortable with a more independent experience. Additionally, student participants receive full support from DRCLAS staff members in Cambridge and in the region to ensure they have a successful experience abroad.

Interns will not receive any stipend or compensation for their work. If you are seeking financial support for your international activities, search the Harvard Funding Sources database. The Office of Career Services Summer Internship, Service, Volunteer and Research Assistantships Grant may be relevant (deadline: February 10, 2012). For students with high financial need, DRCLAS may be able to subsidize the costs of the DRCLAS program.  All students requesting financial aid from the DRCLAS need to complete the Student Consent to the Release of Information form when applying.

Housing:
To enhance the cultural and linguistic experience, Harvard students live with local host families in each capital city. At the host family home or apartment, students will typically receive room and board, two meals a day, and laundry privileges. A housing coordinator is available to make the appropriate matches that include opportunities to express preferences (such as smoking/non-smoking, pets/no-pets, children/no-children). Typically, these are families who have experience hosting international students.

Visas:
Students will enter the country with a tourist visa. Please check with your local consulate/embassy for information on different citizenships.

Watch a video about the SIP Program experience.