ASIAN AMERICAN STUDIES INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Email: Joe Nguyen at jovnguyen@ucdavis.edu with questions

Internships are an opportunity to explore and experience possible career options, apply your knowledge of Asian American Studies to the world beyond the classroom, and work with community and cultural partners on Asian American issues. Internships are not jobs, they are learning experiences.

ASA internship flyer

Learning objectives of the ASA internship program:

  • To give students the opportunity to put classroom learning into practice and to connect them with the API community surrounding UC Davis and beyond.
  • To learn valuable educational and gain practical experience including deepening skills and developing new skills.
  • To aid the student in exploring potential career opportunities in the fields of education, government service, health, community advocacy, journalism, arts and culture, business, public policy, law, agriculture, and social services as well as assist students in clarifying personal, professional, and educational goals.
  • To create and establish networks, and learn how to get used to unfamiliar situations and meeting new people.

ASA Internship Requirements:

4 units: 2-unit course (that will take place in the fall and winter) and 2 units to complete the internship (minimum: 60hrs). 

Internship Course, ASA 192
  • The course will give time for students to explore internship options, revise their resume, practice interviewing, meet guest speakers and attend career workshops.  
  • During the duration of the course, the faculty member will facilitate connections and assist in finding a suitable match between the student and the organization.
  • Prior to taking the course and getting credit for the internship, the student must complete 84 units
Internship

The student must do an external internship, which means that the internship site must be an established organization, institution, or agency that is not located on the main UC Davis campus. 

We are open to having you find and secure an internship not listed here but you must meet the Faculty Adviser and Student Affairs Officer for approval of this internship by showing how it has some relevance to the field of Asian American studies and/or demonstrate how you will apply what you have learned in your ASA courses to the internship. 

The student is required to take ASA 192 prior to doing the internship. 

The student needs to work a minimum of 60 service hours (these can be completed over the course of the entire academic year and with approval, over the summer.) If the ICC is involved or approved, one can receive a transcript notation contingent that the internship hours are formally logged in.

  • The internship should be guided, supervised, and evaluated by professionals. 
  • The student must submit a detailed contract that outlines the scope of work that the internship will cover: an agreement signed by the student along with the field supervisor and the ASA Faculty Internship Adviser. Having clear and thoughtful mutually agreed upon learning objectives is key in providing structure and purpose in an internship. Ideally, try to avoid including a list of tasks. It is highly recommended that the student come up with a specific project that they can work on over the course of the internship based on the internship site’s needs.
  • The student must LOG in all internship hours.
  • After taking the 2-unit course, the student must check in with the Faculty Internship Adviser (the instructor of record) twice over the course of the internships. Ideally, the meetings will be a collective convening and if not, one-on-one short consultations and check ins.  
    • The student must meet the Faculty Advisor at the midway-point of the internship and before the conclusion of the internship. In the second meeting, the student will be required to do a brief presentation of the internship and any projects completed during the course of the internship. The student will also turn in a short 2-3 page reflection essay about the internship experience and how this experience relates Asian American Studies.  The Faculty advisor will give you guidelines on how to write this paper.
    • After the internship is completed, the student is required to submit the Internship Time Log and the Field Supervisor Evaluation Form, both of which must be signed by the Field Supervisor. 

It is highly recommended that students who plan on doing an internship adhere to the following timeframe:

  • Fall quarter: Sign up and take ASA 192.
  • Contracts should be signed before the internship takes place.
  • Internship can commence in winter or summer or the following fall.
  • If there is need for money for transportation, the students must turn in a budget and one page request one to three months prior to the start of the internship.    

It is highly recommended that organizations who plan to work with ASA students understand their needs and expectations:

  • Students need clear and concrete expectations and deliverables, regular check-ins, hands on training and guidance, opportunities to meet people, and learn what these people do and how they meet the mission or objectives of the organization/business.
  • UC Davis is on the quarter system and so it works best for the internship to align with the 10-week quarter.