Internships and Experiential Learning Opportunities
Summer 2023. One of a collection of colorful wall murals in Palenque, Colombia. Photo taken during an RLL student linguistic research program.
RLL majors and minors are strongly encouraged to seek out opportunities for experiential learning.
Experiential learning consists of outside-the-classroom activities, such as internships, research projects, study abroad programs and service learning courses.
Looking for examples?
- Students accompanied assistant professor Fabiola Henri on a month-long trip to Guadeloupe as part of an NSF IRES grant. The program was designed to provide students with an international research experience and an opportunity to learn about the local cultures investigated. The students' research examined the structure of Guadeloupean Creole including varieties spoken across the archilpelago.
- Prof. Laura Chiesa's ITA 422 students conduct research with UB Anderson Gallery curator Liz Park, contributing research reports to an Exhibition Guide for Dawit L. Petros: Spazio Disponibile , a Fall 2020 installation.
- Spanish PhD candiates serve as translators, traveling to Puerto Rico with the UB School of Law's Puerto Rico Recovery Assistance Legal Clinic.
Still not sure what you'd like to do? That's okay! You can contact us for more information about opportunities within RLL and beyond.
RLL 496 - Tutoring Language and Narrative in Immigrant Communities
RLL 496 is designed as an experiential learning course for (primarily) majors and minors in Romance Languages and Literatures. Its aim is to provide them with some basic principles of TESOL, and then pair each student with an individual in the WNY refugee community for tutoring in English and for the preparation of a narrative about their lives. The goals of the course are for RLL students to expand their own cultural awareness, expand their awareness of English and of language itself, learn some rudiments of TESOL which they may wish to explore further with a Fulbright year or TESOL certification, recognize the value of their own training in language and literature, and become acquainted with the strengths and needs of local immigrant communities. Pre-Requisites: Permission of instructor, plus at least two 300-level courses in FR, SPA, ITA, or GER
FR/ITA/SPA 498 - Undergraduate Practicum or Internship
In this for-credit course, undergraduate students have the opportunity to assist in local bilingual classrooms, such as those at the Herman Badillo Community School and the Frank A. Sedita Community School. Chat with an RLL faculty advisor to learn what other alternatives are available.
Experiential Learning in the College of Arts and Sciences
The College of Arts and Sciences is committed to ensuring experiential learning is accessible to all students and actively encourages them to pursue opportunities beyond the classroom. Many of our RLL students have gained invaluable experience through internships, service learning, or study abroad programs that have challenged, inspired, and transformed them.
Explore the College of Arts and Sciences Experiential Learning portal and connect with an experiential learning expert to start planning your next adventure today!
Support Experiential Learning
If you are interested in providing financial support for experiential learning opportunities for RLL students, please see Ways to Support RLL. Thank you for your support!
Brandon Reilly participated in a SUNY Potsdam Global Experiences Exercise Science Internship.