Internship Opportunities
Religions for Peace
The Ansari Institute partners with Religions for Peace on a student internship program. Notre Dame undergraduate and graduate students have the opportunity to apply to intern with Religions for Peace for a semester or the summer and receive financial support from the institute. Religions for Peace (RfP) is a global interfaith peacebuilding coalition based in New York City that has been advancing peace for the past 50 years. RfP has six strategic priorities:
- Promote peaceful, just and inclusive societies
- Advance gender equality
- Nurture a sustainable environment
- Champion freedom of thought, conscience and religion
- Strengthen interreligious education
- Foster multi-religious collaboration and global partnerships
A variety of internship opportunities are available. For more information on open positions, please visit the careers page on the RfP website and scroll down to the internships section. In general, RfP will hire both undergraduate and graduate students, but all students must be interested in one RfP’s six strategic priorities. Prior experience in religious peacebuilding, interreligious work, and international studies is a plus. Successful applicants have usually been majoring or minoring in one of the following fields: Peace Studies, International Development Studies, Political Science, Theology, Global Affairs, or Communications.
The experience
Students will ideally intern full-time during the summer. At a minimum, students should be able to offer no less of a commitment than 20 hours a week. Due to course load and university requirements, the commitment may be significantly reduced during academic semesters. Students interested in semester-long internship opportunities can conduct those virtually, and those interested in the summer internship program will have the option to intern in person in New York City.
Financial support and selection process
The Ansari Institute offers modest financial support. Remote internships come with an award of $1000 for undergraduates and $1500 for graduate students. An additional $1000 is awarded for in-person internships during the summer. Actual expenses for living in NYC may exceed the amount of the award, so students should plan to have additional sources of support if they plan to spend a summer in NYC.
Note: International students must be willing to apply for a CPT permit in order to qualify for the internship. Check with our office for details.
Up to one intern will be appointed for each term (summer, fall and winter).
Interns are typically appointed three times a year in the summer, fall, and winter. The Fall 2023 internship position has been filled..
If you have additional questions, please contact the Institute via email at ansari@nd.edu.
TO APPLY DIRECTLY WITH RELIGIONS FOR PEACE:
Please send a cover letter, resume, list of references, and a writing sample (no more than 1000 words) to, khernandez@rfp.org.
Please indicate that you want to be considered for the Ansari Institute internship.
Because we receive a high volume of applications, only candidates who are invited to interview will be contacted. Thank you for your kind understanding.
Fall 2023 Intern
Muhammed Saad Kamil is from Pakistan and is a Masters of Global Affairs student at the Keough School of Global Affairs. Saad has worked as a consultant in the health, public finance, and education sectors of Pakistan. He aims to utilize this internship experience to learn more about the role of religious and interfaith harmony in making public programs more effective. Coming from a country where religion stands as a monolith of society's structure, his goal is to be able to craft interventions targeted towards positive public sector outcomes whilst keeping the nuance of religion in play.
His experiences in Pakistan have bolstered the notion that human development is based on the ideology of joint societal upheaval for the greater good. And for that it is important to be inclusive, just and equal. Consequently, uphold standards of equity especially in the realm of religion, race, gender and culture. He is excited to explore these themes further whilst working with Religions for Peace, and triangulate his experience with his past work and his degree at Notre Dame.
Spring 2023 Intern
Kelly Shinnick is a senior at the University of Notre Dame majoring in Sociology and Psychology with a minor in Science, Technology, and Values. During her time at Notre Dame, Kelly has worked as an intern for Indiana Legal, a nonprofit providing free civil legal assistance to low income residents of Indiana, as well as a mentor for a child within the foster care system through the St. Joseph Department of Child Services. She has also had the opportunity to work with Forge Evolution, a restorative justice-based nonprofit organization, in addition to working as a research assistant for the Notre Dame Chicago Congregations Project, which strives to analyze the effects of religious congregations on local communities. She is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Religions for Peace to assist in their mission of striving towards sustainable, international peace.
Fall 2022 and Spring 2023 Intern
Mariama S. Dampha is a public health professional who recently worked for The Gambia’s Ministry of Health in West Africa. Driven by her strong desire to improve health conditions in the developing world, she has interned at the Medical Research Council Unit, The Gambia at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, served as a public health officer at Bafrow Medical Centre, and as a gender consultant for the Health Star Association in The Gambia.
Mariama graduated cum laude from the University of The Gambia with a bachelor of science in public and environmental health. At the Keough School, she is pursuing her master of global affairs while specializing in global health. She plans to research connections between life-threatening health issues and health policies in the developing world. As a master of global affairs student, Mariama is the recipient of a Riberas Orjales Family Fellowship.
Summer 2021 Intern
Tinaishe Maramba is a master of global affairs student. He graduated with honors from the University of Zimbabwe with a degree in political science. Before coming to the Keough School, he worked for the International Organization for Migration, a UN-related organization, as a project field assistant, working with returnees affected by economic challenges related to the global pandemic. Previously, he worked with National AIDS Council Zimbabwe as a district youth facilitator. He also has served as a junior member of parliament in the city of Murewa, advocating for children’s rights policy.
Tinaishe was awarded the US government’s global UGRAD scholarship to study in the United States and is a graduate of the YALI Regional Leadership Center in Southern Africa, a US Department of State initiative to train the next generation of young African leaders. He is the recipient of a Kroc Institute Fellowship.
Spring 2021 Intern
Oneile Gorata Baitlotli is a University of Notre Dame senior from Molepolole, Botswana, who is passionate about finding sustainable solutions for access to quality education in Southern Africa. Her major in political science, as well as minors in international development and peace studies, have enabled her to deepen her knowledge on the subject.
Baitlotli interned for Afrika Tikkun in South Africa in the summer of her sophomore year and worked with The Rusalia Foundation in Kenya after her junior year. Both organizations are committed to improving access to education in underprivileged communities. She was attracted to peace studies because of her interest in peace-centered development that recognizes and prioritizes human dignity.
Interfaith Action
Interfaith Action (SW Michigan Peace & Justice Collaborative) is a coalition of over forty faith communities committed to justice and peace in local, national, and international contexts. Our current efforts revolve around three areas: Common Life, Common Home, and Common Good. In particular, our common efforts include advancing policies around the issues of migration, environmentalism, gun violence, inclusion, equity, and human rights.
Interfaith Action provides a wide array of opportunities for applied interfaith experiences yielding both knowledge and skill development. Internship possibilities include inter-religious programming, research, inter-religious spiritual development, social justice advocacy, facilitative work with small groups, independent projects of applied theology and public theology, etc.
An Interfaith Action intern can tailor the internship experience based on their passions, the learning goals of Ansari, and the strategic and annual plans of Interfaith Action. Interested applicants will have a preliminary conversation with Interfaith Action to discuss the variety of experiences available (social justice issue areas, communications, operations, etc.). Based on this information, the interested applicant will propose an area of focus, and work with Interfaith Action to develop a position description.
We are not taking applications at the present time.
2022-2023 Intern
Mia Moran was a junior studying Political Science and Global Affairs with a Gender Studies minor, originally from Tokyo, Japan. Her internship with Interfaith Action enabled her to work on Native American, immigration, and poverty issues.
Mia is also a senator in Student Government, associate news editor for Scholastic, Notre Dame's monthly student news magazine, and skates for the Notre Dame Figure Skating Club.
From Doubt to Hope: Rediscovering the Healing Power of Interfaith Action. Reflections from Mia post internship.
Peace Catalyst Postgraduate International Internship in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Peace Catalyst International is seeking full-time interns to join a small, dynamic team in Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina (BiH) and work directly with senior staff on programs, development, outreach, and communications strategies.
This internship is ideal for graduating seniors or recent graduates interested in gaining hands-on peacebuilding experience while working for a small nonprofit, obtaining one-on-one mentoring, and connecting with local peacebuilding organizations in an international, post-conflict setting.
Internships are offered for one-year periods, beginning in late August or early September. Interns are considered entry-level staff, and in addition to their work responsibilities and language learning, they will also receive orientation to BiH history and culture as well as peacebuilding training and mentoring from PCI BiH senior staff.