Summer Internship Program
Yale’s Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics offers a unique 2-month-long summer internship program for American and international undergraduate and graduate students from varying disciplines who are interested in learning more about bioethics. Interns attend a series of morning lectures surveying the field of bioethics; attend intensive 4-week seminars on special topics such as care for the dying, bioethics and law, bioethics and media, literature, technology and ethics, public health ethics, and feminist approaches to bioethics; attend a bioethics film/discussion series; participate in field trips to bioethics-related institutions; present an original paper at a final in-house “mini-conference;” and participate in the life and work of the Bioethics Center. Interns are in residence on the Yale campus, and can sometimes find part-time work on the Yale campus or in the area.
Lectures and seminars will be presented mostly by scholars from Yale, though there are often also a few speakers from other universities and institutions. (See the list of lecturers and seminars below.) Lecture attendance is compulsory and required reading assignments will be distributed weekly. A series of seminars will be offered to stimulate discussion and a deeper consideration of ethical issues. Students can usually sign up for their choice of two seminars each month.
“Bioethics Field Trips” generally include visits to The Hastings Center (a major independent bioethics think-tank in Garrison, NY); the Hospice in Branford, CT; and the Monsanto Corporation’s Research Center in Mystic, CT.
Research “Mini-Conference.” One goal of the summer internship program is to provide interns with the opportunity to research, write, and present a paper on a selected topic in bioethics. Interns will be expected to write a paper on a bioethics topic of their choice to be handed in at the end of the Program. Additionally, they will be required to present the paper at the annual end-of-program “Mini-Conference.”
Evaluation of Work Product. Students will receive feedback on their final projects and will be asked to evaluate the internship at its conclusion.
To Apply: Each candidate must submit a current transcript; a 1- to 2-page letter of intent discussing the candidate’s interest in bioethics; a letter of recommendation from a professor or mentor; and a cv or resume. Applications for the Summer 2010 internship are no longer being accepted, but you may apply for 2011. Candidates for whom English is not the first language may need to speak with representatives of the selection committee by telephone in order to demonstrate competence in spoken English. For inquiries and to submit the completed documents via e-mail, please contact Carol Pollard.
Selection of Participants: Qualified students will have demonstrated an interest in the area of bioethics, either by having taken courses or written papers in the area, or by having seriously engaged with bioethical issues through work or extracurricular activities. Yale reads “bioethics” broadly to include medical, biological and environmental ethics. Candidates may be undergraduates or graduate students in any field, from law to religion, from forestry to medicine, from philosophy to political science, from literature to anthropology, so long as they can make the case for the contribution of their field to bioethical debate. The selection committee will choose candidates on the basis of their established interest in the field, evidence of their academic ability, evidence of their capacity to contribute to the internship’s group experience; and relevant intellectual and work experience.
Fees: For the summer of 2010, the program fee is $500; this is exclusive of transportation and housing costs, which interns must fund themselves. The fee must be paid by check or cash; we cannot accept credit cards. The 2011 fee has not yet been determined. The Bioethics Center can facilitate access to relatively inexpensive on-campus dormitory-style housing. For 2010, the rate is $125/week and must be paid to the housing office, not the Bioethics Center. In general, the use of this housing is only possible during the period of the internship; specific dates will be conveyed to participants each year.
The Summer Internship Program began in 2003 as a response to many requests from Yale’s undergraduate students for more educational opportunities in the field of bioethics. The original program involved students in the intellectual life of the Bioethics Center, and gave them opportunities to join in the work of the Center by assisting in editing Center publications and in planning the Center’s study groups’ activities for the following academic year. In subsequent years the internship has taken on an increasingly academic cast, building in more lectures and intensive seminars; and has grown to include interns from universities all around America and the world.
Transportation around and off campus:
a) Yale has a free shuttle that goes around campus. You can see the locations of the shuttles in real time. Visit http://www.yale.edu/transportationoptions/shuttle/ to learn about this lovely service.
b) New Haven also has a fine city bus system. Click here to see the various routes that go to and from New Haven. The normal local fare is $1.25, but multi-ride passes or unlimited number-of-days passes are also available (click the fares tab on the above website for details).
c) Parking can be challenging in New Haven, particularly to those unused to city parking signs (such as the author of this website, who thought "NO STANDING" meant you shouldn't stand there). If you are considering bringing a car to campus, please visit this website for more information.
Housing alternatives:
The Bioethics Center cannot make housing arrangements for you other than the dormitory. However, you will have the opportunity to coordinate with your fellow interns if you wish to sublet apartments together. We suggest the Yale classifieds and craigslist as valuable resources.
For foreign students:
We will send you paperwork to begin the process of obtaining a visa. However, you may wish to learn about the process ahead of time. The Yale Office of International Students & Scholars has lots of helpful information. Students who are coming to our program will find this page of their website particularly helpful regarding the visa and the SEVIS fee, and this page helpful regarding health insurance coverage. You can also email us if you still have questions.
Yvonne Abbey
Medicine & Surgery
Keele University School of Medicine, UK
Erin Adams
Neuroscience & Behavior
Columbia University
Sarah Axelrath
Gender, Sexuality, & Feminist Studies
Oberlin College
Shawna Benston
Masters in Classics, 2009
University of St. Andrews, Scotland
Florent-Alain Bikini-Musini
Master’s Degree Candidate in Ethics
University of Strasbourg, France
Carolyn Braza
Philosophy
Cornell University
The Rev. Ann Broomell
Chaplain-Resident
Yale-New Haven Hospital, 2009-2010
Sharon Chan
LLB Degree Candidate
London School of Economics & Political Science, UK
Lesley Chuang
Intellectual Property Law & Health Law
University of Connecticut School of Law
Aviva Dworkin
Biology
Union College
Bryan Evans
Master's Degree Candidate in Religious Studies
John Carroll University
Laura Leigh French
Biology
Houghton College
Agnieszka Glazewska
Medicine & Surgery
Keele University School of Medicine, UK
Madeline Goldberg
Psychology & Philosophy
Colgate University
Gabriela Gorny
Biotechnology
Jagiellonian University, Poland
Agata Grudzien
Health Sciences - Public Health
Jagiellonian University School of Medicine, Poland
Sophia House
Economics
New York University
Kimberly Johnson
Doctoral candidate in Social Science
Syracuse University
William Kowalsky
Philosophy
Harvard University
Theodora Kwok Hui Xuan
Master’s Degree Candidate in Bioethics
Monash University, Australia
Piotrek Lesniak
Biotechnology
Jagiellonian University, Poland
Alma Massaro
Philosophy & Bioethics
University of Genoa, Italy
Cameron McCulloch
Undeclared Major
Yale University
Edgar Melgar
Comparative Literature
Yale University
Remy Miller
Psychology
Transylvania University
Spencer Montalvo
Philosophy & Political Science
Vanderbilt University
Dominika Ostrowska
Biotechnology
Jagiellonian University, Poland
Marissa Palmor
Human Biology
Brown University
Mallory Parker
Philosophy
Purdue University
Anna Price
Medicine & Surgery
Keele University School of Medicine, UK
Sei Young Pyo
Political Science
Yale University
Ruth Retassie
Philosophy & Natural Science
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Elise Roumeas
Political Theory
Sciences Po Paris, France
Yukie Saburi
Journalist
Kyodo News, Japan
Viktoria Safarian
Philosophy
Transylvania University
Lauren Taylor
Global Health
Yale School of Public Health, 2009
Vlad Titerlea
Master’s Degree Candidate in Ethics
University of Strasbourg, France
Alexandra Ulkus
Biobehavioral Health
Pennsylvania State University
Arpitha Upendra
Law
Indian Law Society Law College, Pune, India
Kimberly Van Wormer
Law
Mississippi College School of Law
and
Master of Science in Bioethics Candidate
Union Graduate College - Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
Elizabeth Watts
Lawyer in Training
Hempsons Law Firm
Allison Whelan
Philosophy, Politics, and Law
State University of New York, Binghamton
Nicolai Wohns
Medicine
Pennsylvania State University School of Medicine
Nichole Wyndham
Psychology
Middlebury College
Bo-Shan Xiang
Philosophy & Biology
Wake Forest University
Dalia Yacob
Medicine & Surgery
Keele University School of Medicine
