Special Opportunities

Experiential learning is an important component of the Urban Studies major. Students are required to participate in at least one internship and are encouraged to further explore urban issues through additional internships or through community service.

The Urban Studies internship requirement may be satisfied in several ways: by participating in an internship experience; by enrolling in an off-campus urban studies program; or by planning an alternative opportunity in consultation with your major advisor.

Internships
A wide range of internship possibilities are available throughout the Twin Cities Metro area. Internships may be developed by the individual student to fit specific interests, they may be arranged through a contact made by your advisor or another professor on campus, or, they may by acquired through postings in the Internship Office.

No matter how the internship is arranged, all internship contracts must be made through the Internship Office. The internship office staff are invaluable resources and advisors for any student contemplating an internship. This office is the first stop you should make in planning an internship.

Internships encompass many areas in Urban Studies and can be tailor-made to fit special interests or incorporate learning from minor programs. Recent Urban Studies internships include Neighborhood Planning for Community Revitalization, the Neighborhood Development Center, the East Side Neighborhood Development Corporation, Minnesota Department of Planning and Economic Development, Minnesota Alliance for Progressive Action, and the Summit University Planning Council.

Internships are an integral part of the Urban Studies Program. Student may get help from Macalester's Internship Program in finding and arranging internships. Typical internships might include positions at the Minnesota Legislature, urban planning departments and other community agencies.

Students have interned at:

Rebecca Hossain ’05 (France), Literacy Council– VISTA.

Beatrice Trickett ’04 (Fairfax, Va.) student organizer, Coalition for the Homeless

Erik Morales ’04 (Commerce, Calif.), research assistant, CLUES

Christina Danico ’04 (St. Paul, Minn.), research intern, The Urban Coalition

Sarah Crangle ’04 (Piedmont, Calif.), research assistant, Institute on Race and Poverty

Amanda Smith ’04 (West Allis, Wis.), urban arts intern, Juxta Position Arts

Action Research
Action Research is a powerful form of teaching and learning in which students and faculty work together in small groups or as a whole class to do research that has been requested by a non-profit, government or neighborhood organization. The East Side of St. Paul is the sources of an ongoing collaboration that has engaged faculty and students of economics, statistics, geography and education. Pride of Place, a research monograph on the East side, was published in February 1999.

The Associated Colleges of the Midwest offers an Urban Studies Program in Chicago. Students spend a semester in Chicago taking classes, working in an internship placement and developing an independent study project. This is a unique opportunity to gain first-hand experience of the reality of urban life and to develop the confidence and competence to work for change.

The Higher Education Consortium for Urban Affairs (HECUA) is based in the Twin Cities metro area and sponsors a number of study abroad opportunities in urban studies. HECUA offers urban studies programs in the Twin Cities, Scandinavia and Latin America. Students participate in an internship program, meet for a semester and engage in field experiences.