Program Logistics

2022 Program Dates

Spring/Summer: May 2nd-July 29th (Internships begin week of May 9th & end week of July 25th)

Fall: August 26th - December 9th (Internships begin week of September 5th & end week of December 5th)

Program Structure

Spring/Summer: 

• In May & June, students intern part-time (16 hrs/week) and take a full course load
• Students intern full-time (32 hrs/week) in July with no classes
• In July, one day/week must be left open for cohort days, in which we help our students expand their knowledge of the city by working with/learning from community partners outside of their internships. These days are typically Fridays, though we are considering moving them to Wednesdays for the summer of 2022 due to community partner requests. If you are interested in hosting our students for a cohort day in July, please let us know!

Fall: 

• Students intern 16 hrs/week for the entirety of the semester, completing 200 hours of interning total while taking a full course load
• Students participate in visits to ~3 of the community partner sites as part of their internship reflection seminar

Internship Agreement & Processes

• Every student and internship supervisor are required to sign an internship agreement at the start of the semester. Check out a sample of the agreement here. 
• Semester in Detroit does not keep timesheets for our students unless internship attendance becomes an issue. It is up to community partners to determine whether they would like for students to record their hours. 

Student Learning

• The Fall and Spring curriculums are fairly similar, with the only difference being the opportunity to take both elective classes as well as the Detroiters Speak minicourse in the fall. 
• The two courses every student must take are a Detroit History class, taught by Stephen Ward or Baba Jamon Jordan; and an Internship Reflection Seminar, taught by Craig Regester and Rion Berger. The main focus of the Reflection Seminar is centered around theories of change - helping students to understand their organization's theory of change and develop their own personal theory throughout the semester. Site visits to some internships are generally included in this course. 
• Note: All Semester in Detroit classes are open to community partners! Course syllabi will be shared at the beginning of each semester. If you are interested in attending a class session, please contact the respective professor to let them know you will be attending.