The Internship Experience at Bard College Berlin

BCB internship student in Anna Schuleit Haber's studio

Internship Locations

Bard College Berlin’s internship program has enabled our students to gain valuable experience in a variety of domains, making full use of the city’s diverse set of cultural, creative, social, and technological opportunities. In order for students to get the most out of their internships, our Career Development team works closely with interested students to determine the best possible fit, then manually selects a handful of options from our continuously growing and evolving pool of potential hosts, tailored to each individual student’s needs. Here are some examples of great past hosts, organized by their general fields:

NGO/Human Rights/Activism: Back On Track Syria, Berghof Foundation, Büro zur Umsetzung von Gleichbehandlung (BUG), Feminist Food Club, Alfred Landecker Foundation, Gender CC: Women for Climate Justice, Give Something Back to Berlin, Humanity in Action, Little Sun, Institut für Europäische Politik, Migration Hub, Transgender Europe, Water Integrity Network

Education: Girls Gearing Up, Kiron, Linden Global Youth and Education Services

Art Galleries/Exhibitions: Aperto, Circle1, Callie's Residency, Efremidis Gallery, Errant Sound, FRAMED, Hamburger Bahnhof, Kraupa Tuskany Zeidler, Panke Gallery, Reiter, SomoSArts, Tanya Leighton Gallery

Visual Arts: Antje Majewski, Heba Amin, Nina Cannell, Rachel de Joode, Semra Sevin, Sharon Paz, Thomas Leo Chapman IV, Ulrike Mohr, Ulu Braun,

Theater/Dance: Jeremy Wade, Madeline Stillwell, Rimini Protokoll, Tatwerk

Event Space: Betahaus, Urban Spree

Publishing/Journalism/Literature: Associated Reporters Abroad, Cabinet, Calvert Journal, International Literature Festival, Miss Read - The Berlin Art Book Fair, Spike Art Magazine, The Reader Berlin, The Curved House, The Travel Almanac

Film/Radio: Berlin Feminist Film Week, Interfilm Festival, Cashmere Radio

Urban Planning/Architecture: AEDES Architecture Forum, MOD Institute for Urbanism, Poligonal

Startups: Daybreak Butters, Ze.fi

Student testimonials

We curate our pool of host placements to ensure that our internship program provides the best possible experiences for our students. Read what they have to say:

Aziza Izamova working in the library of the Hamburger Bahnhof

Hamburger Bahnhof

"I decided to do an internship in general because I wanted to see what people with art historical education do every day and whether working in a museum is an option I’d like to consider for myself. I applied to the Hamburger Bahnhof because I was familiar with the work of curators there, as one of my professors in Spring 2020 is a curator at the museum. I had multiple tasks but one of the main ones was researching specific works and artists at the libraries of HBF and Neue Nationalgalerie. I found it fascinating to be able to peek into archives and go through some really old books that would usually be exhibited under a glass case. After graduating BCB I will be going straight into a PhD program at Harvard University, hence the internship offered me valuable insights into working in the museum world before continuing on with academia."

— Aziza Izamova, Spring 2021

Humanity in Action

"Intending to work in the field of social justice upon graduating, I was looking for an internship that would give me an insight into the NGO and human rights world. Interning with Humanity in Action gave me just that, and much more. The organization's leadership programs unite over 2000 fellows committed to social justice. The fellows implement action projects in their local communities to address issues of racism, misogyny, sustainability, etc. As an intern, my tasks included website content creation for the action projects, data processing, updating the website with the most recent information and email communication with the fellows regarding their work. Due to the multifaceted involvement with the work of Humanity in Action, I was able to advance my writing and communication skills, and learn about individuals who make inspiring changes in their local environments. I was warmly welcomed in the team and invited to workshops to develop my skills in SEO and Wordpress. During my months at the organization, I always felt I was involved in truly valuable work that is having a real-life impact on communities around the globe. Overall, I gained valuable connections, was inspired by the fellows, and learned about how an NGO works from the inside. Due to my positive experience, now I am confident that I want to tie my future with the NGO and social justice work."

— Lizi Tabliashvili, Spring 2021

Human Rights Matter

"Bard College Berlin gave me the wonderful opportunity to intern with Human Rights Matter directly under the cofounder, Farangis Zikriyaeva. She and I worked as a team on a short-term but intensive collaborative project with another human rights organization to produce an online learning course on the application of human rights of forcibly conscripted military personnel, who face violations of these rights from within the military.

I worked remotely due to the constraints of the pandemic, and only had contact with my mentor, as we were the only two on the project team, but I always felt valued and always had an open line of communication. She took my comments and suggestions seriously, and we worked together to implement many of my ideas, which greatly increased my self-confidence and provided me with invaluable, hands-on cross-disciplinary experience. I learned international human rights law, the role of the court system in defining the law so as to apply it, what sort of impact this case law has on the further application of the law, and more, all without a legal background of my own. Thanks to BCB and HRM, I not only had the opportunity to learn a wide array of skills, but also helped to build the foundations for further growth of a fledgling human rights cause and thereby make a material impact for the better, and for that I will always be grateful."

—Roman Steindler, Fall 2020