UMKC
Women’s & Gender Studies Internship Program
WGS 484 (1-4 credit hours)
Program Description
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UMKC Women's Center
- Girl Scouts of Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri
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MOCSA
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Planned Parenthood
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Rose Brooks Center
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Women’s Employment
Network
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Women’s Foundation
of Greater Kansas City
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Internships must be
planned and established prior to the beginning of the semester
during which you will earn WGS 484 credit. You should begin
planning at least two months in advance. However, the actual
internship experience takes place during the semester when you
are registered for the course.
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Internships must be
clearly differentiated from Independent Study projects. That is,
internships are not usually research-based, although an agency
may ask you to do research for them during your work there as
part of your learning experience.
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Internships must be
new, agency-based, participatory learning experiences. That is,
an existing job cannot be used as an internship.
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An internship
requires a written agreement between you and your supervisor in
the agency about what your duties will be, how the agency
expects to provide you with a positive and diverse learning
experience, how the experience will relate to Women’s & Gender
Studies, and how your performance will be evaluated. All this
information must be recorded on your Internship Application
form.
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Women’s & Gender
Studies Internships may not be concurrently used for additional
credit under a different course number in a different
department.
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Prerequisite: WGS
201, Introduction to Women’s & Gender Studies or permission of
the Internship Coordinator.
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Students will
receive credits based on the number of hours they work:
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4 hours of work
per week = one credit hour
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7 hours of work
per week = two credit hours
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10 hours of work
per week = three credit hours.
- 12 hours of work per week = four credit hours
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4 hours of work
per week = one credit hour
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Students will meet
regularly (3-4 times) with the Women’s & Gender Studies
Internship Coordinator and other students enrolled in WSG 484.
These meetings are designed to provide a forum in which all of
the internship students for a given semester may collectively
discuss and present the academic issues relevant to their
internship. The times and location of the meetings will be
determined at the beginning of the semester.
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Students are
responsible for completing the assigned readings for the
Internship meetings.
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Students are
required to keep a journal of their intern experience. The
journal will be due in three installments (due dates will be
determined at the beginning of each semester).
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Students will write
a descriptive paper (5-7 pages) about their internship
activities and experience. This paper is due on the Friday
before finals week unless otherwise noted.
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A student’s course
grade is based 50% on performance at the site, and 50% on
academic work.
Upon completion of their internship,
students should:
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be able to explain
how feminist theory informs practice, and vice versa;
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be able to analyze
work places and policies as they relate to issues of gender,
race, class, and sexuality;
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have developed
skills and strategies for communicating with supervisors and
colleagues;
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have developed
skills and strategies for reflecting on individual
responsibilities and ethics in a workplace situation;
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have gained work
experience from which to draw when making future career and/or
educational choices.
It is the responsibility of the student to identify
an agency and set up the internship. Most students select an internship from the
many possibilities available from the Internship Coordinator. If they prefer,
students may develop placements through their own contacts. In some cases, the
coordinator and student may be able to develop a new placement specifically for
that student’s needs.
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Call the contact
person and arrange to discuss internship possibilities with
them.
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Bring a resume that details your skills, abilities, interests, and
goals. (If you need help with your resume, you can contact UMKC
Career Services).
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You are also
encouraged to “do your homework” and find out more about the
agency before the meeting. This is a good practice for any job
search.
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When you meet with the contact
person, find out about the kind of work they are offering, what
the hours will be, and any special training they might offer.
You need to know who your on-site mentor/supervisor will be, and
make arrangements with her/him for regular meetings. You need to
be sure that your mentor/supervisor receives the following
forms, available from the Internship
Coordinator:
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Contract: This
needs to be completed by the student and
mentor/supervisor and returned to the Internship
Coordinator.
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Agency Guidelines;
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Evaluation form: Your
supervisor must return this to the Internship
Coordinator by the last day of finals for you to
receive a grade.
Dr. Brenda Bethman
Director, UMKC Women’s Center / Director, Women’s & Gender Studies
Program
105 Haag Hall
Phone: 816.235.1643
E-Mail:
bethmanb@umkc.edu