Immersion Internship in Educational Equity
Exploring Questions of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion within Higher Education
Note: This internship opportunity is for Vassar students who will have completed at least one full year of academic coursework by Summer 2021. If you are an incoming first-year interested in applying to participate in Summer Immersion, please do so at this link.
The Summer Immersion Internship in Educational Equity is a three-week long summer program that provides current Vassar students the opportunity to explore questions and challenges related to equity in higher education across disciplines and fields. The internship will run from July 5th – July 23rd. Interns will be working within Summer Immersion, an intensive academic and social experience designed to welcome and introduce incoming first-year students to Vassar, especially those from historically underrepresented backgrounds.
The Summer Immersion Internship is an exploration of pedagogical philosophies and practices–from analytic to restorative–as much as it is an introduction to inclusive leadership and programmatic skills in higher education institutions.
Interns will come to understand what it means to be practicing scholars, researchers, and mentors in an educational environment, with a particular focus on inclusive community building.
Faculty Partnership: interns will be assigned a faculty member as a mentor to grant them first hand experience and opportunity to explore careers in academia. Interns will gain insight into the pedagogical practices of a particular field and be encouraged to attend the faculty’s Summer Immersion course offerings.
Peer Mentorship: interns will have the opportunity to apply themselves as mentors for a group of first-year Immersion participants. Interns will explore and begin to understand the impact that incoming students’ lived experience may have on their educational outcomes. Throughout this process, interns will apply their own experiences to support the acclimation to and understanding of the collegiate environment.
Qualitative Research: interns will engage in exercises that expose them to research projects and assessment of pedagogical practices. Interns will collaborate with the faculty director to craft research questions that address topics of interest related to diversity, equity, and inclusion within higher education.
Immersion Interns will receive a stipend of $ 900.00 to support their ability to pursue an exploration of the above topics. The experience will take place virtually in 2021.
