Conference Papers
 |
| Viewing or listening to the presentation of this paper requires the RealPlayer version G2 or newer (http://www.real.com). |  |
The Embassy and Diplomatic Scholars Internship Program in Washington,
DC. A Unique Approach to Active Learning in Diplomatic and
International Studies.
Eugene D, Schmiel
Director for Academic Programs
Institute for Experiential Learning
http://www.ielnet.org
Prepared for delivery at the 1999 annual Meeting of the American Political
Science Association, Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel and Atlanta Hilton and
Towers, September 2-5, 1999. Copyright by the American Political Science
Association.
General Description
The “Embassy and Diplomatic Scholars” internship program in Washington,
DC, is an innovative approach to fulfilling the objectives of practical and
experiential learning for today’s international-oriented university
students. The program is conducted by the Institute for Experiential
Learning (IEL), a nonprofit educational organization which conducts
academic-based internship programs in cooperation with colleges and
universities in the U.S. and abroad.
The “Embassy and Diplomatic Scholars” program has two primary elements.
In the internship element, students gain practical experience in diplomatic
practice, international relations, or international business by working in
foreign embassies, foreign policy agencies, think tanks, or international
businesses. In the academic element, students take an upper-level
international relations course which focuses on the foreign policy process
and gives them the opportunity to meet informally with foreign policy makers
from many nations. Students also take an experiential learning course which
ties these elements together while bringing a focus to the experience and
its role in each student’s professional, personal, and career development.
Students can earn up to 15 hours of credit for the program through formal or
ad hoc arrangements between IEL and the students’ institutions. Students
from over 200 colleges and universities have participated in IEL internship
programs in the 1990’s.
Background: Active Learning in International Studies
University students who desire to succeed as leaders in the new
millennium’s “globalized” societies will need to be prepared for
significant international challenges. This is especially true for those
majoring in fields with an international focus, where linking the theory and
practice of politics, international relations, and/or international business
requires both knowledge about and experience in -- and with -- other
cultures, peoples, languages, and societies. Political Science majors
seeking careers in diplomacy, international relations, international
business or banking, etc. must have, in addition to a solid academic
curriculum, exposure to international issues and a globalized background and
perspective to succeed.
Recognizing this need, many institutions of higher learning have instituted
and implemented programs such as internships, service learning, and the
other forms of experiential/active learning as a significant component of
their curricula. Most educators now believe that the transition from campus
to career, with all that implies, can be eased and enhanced through a
successful experience of this nature, especially internships. A growing
percentage of schools now require some practical training, internship, or
active learning experience for graduation.
Traditionally, in schools and departments of international affairs, foreign
service, and diplomacy, “active learning” has meant using the case
method, simulations, debates, and small group discussions. These methods,
and especially simulations, have proven eminently successful in bringing
home to students the complexities of international politics and diplomacy as
well as the importance of language usage, cross-cultural communication, and
understanding of the motivations of differing actors and nations.
Paralleling that approach, during the author’s career as a Foreign Service
Officer in the Department of State, he used simulations during his two year
assignment (1980-82) as Coordinator for the “A- 100” course, the
seven-week orientation program for new Foreign Service Officers. He created
and implemented a three-day long simulation during which the new officers
assumed the roles of officials within the U.S. embassy in the mythical
nation of Anthuria, which was undergoing a variety of crises and was
expecting a visit from the Vice President. The simulation brought together
everything the students had learned and challenged them to put that
knowledge to practical use. It remains today an integral part of training
for new Foreign Service Officers, and each new group of officers has noted,
after being on the job for a year or two, that the simulation enhanced their
assimilation to the diplomatic culture and work ethic. They also underlined
that “Embassy Anthuria” was realistic enough that they had had similar
experiences during their subsequent work in embassies overseas.
Embassy and Diplomatic Scholars Internship Program:
A Unique Approach to Active Learning
The “Embassy and Diplomatic Scholars” internship program in
Washington, DC, provides undergraduate and graduate students of all majors
with an extraordinary opportunity to take a major step forward toward
leadership roles in the international-oriented society of the new
millennium. The program was created by the Institute for Experiential
Learning (IEL) in 1998. It draws upon:
A) the author’s experiences in the U.S. Foreign Service; B) the active
learning model he created in a simulation at the Foreign Service Institute;
and C) the successful internship model implemented by IEL since 1990. It is
an innovative approach to fulfilling the objectives of practical, active,
and experiential learning for today’s international-oriented students.
The Internship Component
In the “Embassy and Diplomatic Scholars” internship program,
conducted during each Fall and Spring academic semester, qualified
applicants (students must have a 3.0 GPA and have some international
experience; fluency in at least one language and/or foreign travel is
recommended but not required), are chosen by a special selection committee
of Ambassadors, diplomatic practitioners, and international businesspeople.
They spend a semester in Washington, the nation’s most international city,
as an intern in foreign embassies, UN offices, think tanks, development
nonprofits, or U.S. foreign policy agencies. In the program so far, students
have interned in the Department of State; several embassies, including
Canada, Ecuador, Estonia, Korea, and Mexico; and many other agencies,
including the American Foreign Service Association, Brookings Institution,
and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
IEL assures successful applicants that they will have the opportunity to
practice the full gamut of international-oriented professional experiences,
including the skills of diplomacy, international relations and/or trade,
foreign languages, and cross-cultural communication, throughout the
semester. Thus, and in order to make the experience as substantive as
possible, and to avoid the students being treated as clerks or
supernumeraries, IEL requires a commitment from the embassies and other
agencies that the students act as entry-level professionals. That is, IEL
requires that the students be given substantive responsibilities, while
noting that it is expected that they will also be required to do normal
office work, from answering phones to sending faxes. IEL staff keep in touch
with the agencies throughout the semester to ensure that this commitment is
fulfilled.
The success of this approach reflects the students’ experiences, e.g. in
embassies they have:
done research, written and edited press releases, and composed reports on
congressional hearings and legislation;
promoted trade and foreign investment; and
prepared for cultural events and high-level visits.
In the Department of State students have:
researched emergent international issues;
written reports for senior officials; and
followed the development of international-related legislation in the
Congress and helped prepare official testimony.
Some specific examples of student responsibilities included:
preparing trade visits for the Ambassador of Mexico;
arranging investment opportunities in World Bank-funded projects for New
Zealand investors;
analyzing and making recommendations about NATO expansion strategy for the
Ambassadors of Estonia and Latvia;
preparing briefing papers for State Department meetings with senior Japanese
Foreign Ministry officials;
preparing for the visits of the presidents of several European nations
during the 50th anniversary summit of NATO in April 1999;
analyzing the nuclear politics of India and Pakistan for a major think tank;
and
lobbying Congress on foreign relations and foreign aid budgets.
The Academic Component
The IEL internship model stresses that all programs are academic- based
and that students should be able to earn a full semester’s credit for the
experience. Thus, students take classes one day per week and intern
full-time four days per week. During the class day, students take a course
in “International Relations, Policy and Practice” created specifically
for this program. It involves extensive training in diplomatic practice,
including writing and communications. In addition, students visit foreign
policy agencies and international organizations, including the World Bank/IMF,
Department of State, Department of Defense, National Security Council,
Congress, and the CIA, for off-the-record briefings by senior officials
concerning current policy and careers in government and international
affairs. The program also includes international-related social events where
students network with senior government officials from many nations,
international businessmen, and leaders of the international financial
institutions. During the Fall semester 1998, the Estonian Ambassador hosted
a reception at his embassy in honor of the Embassy and Diplomatic Scholars,
and this semester Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs Marc
Grossman will speak to the students at a lunch at the State Department.
Finally, also on the class day, the program includes an Experiential
Learning Seminar which puts the internship experience in the context of the
student’s discipline and the liberal arts skills. This course includes a
considerable degree of work on professional development and
instruction/advice regarding networking in international-oriented career
fields. The students are aware that the latter fields are centered in
Washington and that making contacts during their internship semester will be
a key step in their career and professional development. As part of the
curriculum, students prepare a Learning Portfolio of their activities and
learning, which is used both as evidence of academic achievement and as a
means of assisting in career development.
Administrative Information:
The program is for U.S. students and legal residents, but international
students can be placed (and have been placed) in embassies through IEL’s
other internship program, “The Capital Experience.”
The application deadlines are late November for the Spring semester and
early June for the Fall semester, but early applications are encouraged.
Applications and additional information, e.g. re credits, housing, etc. are
available on the IEL web- site,<http://www.ielnet.org> IEL will send
applications to interested students and faculty. Scholarships funded by
leading foreign policy organizations are available, including some that pay
full tuition.
{ Top of Page }
Copyright on these papers is held by their authors or by the professional society which sponsored their original presentation.
Teaching Politics is published by William J. Ball (ball@tcnj.edu)
