Over the years, graduate students with a wide range of interests have found this program to provide a gateway to a challenging international career. Working with a U.N. agency, or another international organization, is not only an impressive addition to the curriculum, it helps build valuable professional skills. It can generate the practical knowledge required to construct an international career, and establish networks that last a lifetime. The internship can also become the foundation for the graduate thesis or exit project. Some of the most important U.N. agencies in the world have their head offices in Rome. They are chiefly concerned with food security and agricultural development, but within this framework students can explore many professional interests, including international law, development economics, land management, migration, and gender studies.
The principal U.N. agencies in Rome accepting student placements include the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Food Program (WFP), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM), the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT), and Biodiversity International (formerly IPGRI). Other international organizations, such as the intergovernmental International Development law Organization (IDLO), also accept suitable interns.
As an important European capital, Rome also offers exciting opportunities for students with an interest in city and regional planning. These internships, however, require a working knowledge of Italian.
Recent Internships and Possible Placements
We have compiled a list of past internships and student comments of participants in the Cornell in Rome program and possible placements next semester.
The Internship Experience
If their work schedule allows for it, graduate students may join undergraduates on Cornell faculty-led field excursions to various parts of the country. These excursions bring the student into contact with the nation’s great historical and artistic wealth, as well as important issues in Italian society and public administration.
While graduate students spend about 30 hours per week at the internship host, their home base in Rome is Cornell’s Palazzo Lazzaroni, a 17th-century building located in the historic center. Housing may be available through the program, or alternatively, graduate students can secure independent housing.
Application Information
Applications for spring 2014 participants should be submitted by October 1, 2013. Earlier submissions are recommended. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling admission basis. Typically up to 5 students are accepted. The application must include a completed internship placement form, an undergraduate and/or graduate transcript, and an updated curriculum vitae. The materials should be submitted to Cornell in Rome at mjf24@cornell.edu and gos2@cornell.edu. Non-AAP students must also submit two recent faculty recommendations. Exact placement opportunities will be reviewed with Rome faculty as soon as this material is submitted; once the candidate has been placed, the internship option cannot be changed. Confirmation of placement will be communicated by the fourth Thursday in November.
Further information may be obtained from the program office at 149 E. Sibley Hall, by calling (607) 255-6807 or romeprogram@cornell.edu.
