MSI graduate internships offer qualified applicants a bridge to a highly rewarding, highly specialized field. Internships are tailored to each intern’s specific skills and interests, and generally include a professional assignment at a host agency and a supplementary coursework phase.

The professional portion consists of a three- to four-month domestic agency assignment that provides on-the-job training. Interns are involved in activities such as documenting lessons learned; supporting studies of critical issues or regions; participating in upper-level working groups and strategy sessions; coordinating meetings and special events; and other activities that will involve them in in-depth discussions of family planning and reproductive health from the program, policy, and client perspectives. Graduate interns are supported during this phase with a professional stipend, health insurance, and necessary relocation and travel expenses.

The supplementary training phase may include a variety of activities, depending on the specific intern’s background and situation. It might include the Population Fellows Programs Summer Certificate Course, distance learning arrangements, or supplemental coursework at the U-M or another institution with appropriate offerings.

Because these internships are so individualized, the best way to get a sense of what they might entail is to read about previous graduate interns in the MSI Newsletters on our publications page. No matter what its specific components, however, the graduate internship’s aim remains the same: to help MSI graduates prepare for the prestigious two-year overseas Population or Population-Environment Fellowships -- considered the premier way for promising professionals to launch a career in the field.

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