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Social Services
Overview
For a full list of career fields available in all our locations, click here .
Check out the Internship Company Examples below but know that these are just examples of common employers and not the only possibilities. Students are matched by our Global Partner with an employer based on their interests/experiences and the employer’s hiring needs.
Build Your Own Internship - Location of Your Choice
Not seeing an internship for you below? If you have a very specific internship placement in mind or are looking through our program list and not seeing your location of choice, you still have options! You can “ Build Your Own Internship ,” where you research and secure your own internship while working with the GEO office to receive relevant academic credit. Students are responsible for finding this internship, housing, and travel arrangements independently, which is what differs from the existing internship placement programs that GEO offers. All students will be charged in-state tuition for this program and receive a guaranteed $250-$1000 scholarship.
Atenas, Costa Rica with World Endeavors
Social Work Internship in Costa Rica — Atenas or Alajuela, Costa Rica
This residential elder care home gives interns hands-on exposure to how staff support residents physically, emotionally, and mentally through daily care and activities.
Tasks and responsibilities may include:
- Observing and learning from experienced staff to understand daily routines and care practices in a residential setting
- Assisting with recreational activities to support residents' social engagement and emotional wellbeing
- Participating in therapy sessions to gain insight into various physical, cognitive, and emotional support approaches
- Interacting with residents to build relationships and better understand their individual backgrounds and needs
- Developing awareness of elder care practices and the diverse physical, psychological, and social challenges faced by older adults
Bangkok, Thailand with World Endeavors
Social Services Internship Protecting Labor Rights and Migrant Communities in Bangkok, Thailand - Bangkok, Thailand
Support a Thai nonprofit organization working to protect labor rights and support migrant communities, addressing human trafficking, child protection, and health and welfare for migrant workers. This placement suits students interested in social services, NGO/nonprofit, or international relations.
Tasks and responsibilities may include:
- Promoting the organization's website and social media through your network
- Assisting with editing, rewriting, and analyzing news and articles
- Helping publicize ongoing anti-trafficking initiatives
- Participating in day camps and organizing activities for children
- Supporting reporting, fundraising, and administrative tasks
Buenos Aires with Road2Argentina
Social Inclusion Internship with Detrás de Todo:
Detrás de Todo works in Villa 31, one of the biggest slums in the city of Buenos Aires, to promote the social inclusion of disadvantaged children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly. They organize educational projects, cultural workshops, recreational and sports activities, and work ventures.
Education and Health Internship with an NGO:
Pilares is an NGO that works with families living in the Villa (slum) 21-24 in the South of the city of Buenos Aires seeking to promote their development through five pillars: education, health, work, housing and pensions. They want a society without barriers that provide opportunities for the sustainable development of people. They run a mother-Child Center and different educational and health programs for kids of all ages.
Cape Town, South Africa with World Endeavors
Human Rights Internship at Centers for Women and Children — Cape Town, South Africa
Provide administrative aid to centers for women and children offering safe shelter, legal advocacy, counseling, and skills training. This placement suits students interested in social services, NGO/nonprofit, or psychology.
Tasks and responsibilities may include:
- Supporting administrative tasks for shelter and safety programs
- Assisting with coordination for legal advocacy services
- Supporting counseling and rehabilitation program logistics
- Contributing to skills training program coordination
- Gaining exposure to human rights and social services work
Human Rights Internship with Refugee and Migration Services — Cape Town, South Africa
Support nonprofit legal clinics, aid organizations, and policy groups assisting asylum seekers. This placement suits students interested in NGO/nonprofit, law/legal, or international relations.
Tasks and responsibilities may include:
- Supporting nonprofit legal clinics serving asylum seekers
- Assisting with aid organization coordination
- Contributing to policy research related to refugee and migration issues
- Supporting administrative tasks tied to case management
- Gaining exposure to legal and humanitarian work in migration services
Human Rights Internship with Community Rehabilitation Programs — Cape Town, South Africa
Work with groups providing skills training, accessibility initiatives, adaptive technologies, awareness campaigns, and policy changes to support community rehabilitation. This placement suits students interested in social services, NGO/nonprofit, or public health/medicine.
Tasks and responsibilities may include:
- Supporting skills training and accessibility initiatives
- Assisting with adaptive technology projects
- Contributing to awareness campaigns
- Supporting policy change research and advocacy
- Gaining exposure to community rehabilitation work
Social Development Services Internship — Cape Town, South Africa
Assist organizations pioneering self-sustaining economic models that create jobs, build local skills, and expand opportunities. This placement suits students interested in social services, social entrepreneurship, or NGO/nonprofit.
Tasks and responsibilities may include:
- Supporting organizations developing self-sustaining economic models
- Assisting with job creation and local skills-building initiatives
- Contributing to program coordination or outreach efforts
- Gaining exposure to community-based economic development
- Supporting administrative or research tasks tied to social development programs
Social Work Internships — Cape Town, South Africa
Bring compassion and skill to uplift Cape Town's most vulnerable communities, with placements available across child and family social work, healthcare social work, community development, and social justice. These placements suit students interested in social services, psychology, or NGO/nonprofit, with a strong sense of humility, empathy, and a genuine desire to help others.
Tasks and responsibilities may include:
- Gaining skills in counseling, child development, and family dynamics (child and family track)
- Providing psychosocial support to patients and families in hospitals, clinics, or hospices (healthcare social work track)
- Learning grassroots organizing methods and public policy issues affecting communities (community development track)
- Developing counseling, mediation, and activism skills promoting diversity and inclusion (social justice track)
- Supporting placements such as orphanages, HIV/AIDS clinics, women's health clinics, or township welfare projects
Dublin, Ireland with World Endeavors
Pediatric Hippotherapy Internship
Join a wonderful organization providing therapy services for children and young adults with sight loss, autism, and other disabilities. Clients involved in the Equine Assisted Therapy program care for horses and engage in therapy-based activities to enhance their physical, emotional, social, cognitive, behavioral, and educational skills. Interns work closely with the clients, their care teams, and the horses, assisting with:
- Sensory preparation - helping clients prepare the horses for riding sessions
- Horseback riding sessions - guiding clients through therapeutic activities and exercises on horseback
- Grooming - assisting clients as they care for the horses following the riding sessions
London, UK with Anglo Educational Services
Social Services Internship with a Mental Health Charity:
A social services internship with a mental health charity providing recovery services to adults. The interns can expect to get involved with workshops for their patients, assisting patients with daily activities, and providing emotional and social support to patients throughout their stay/field trips.
Social Service Internship with a Charity and Community Centre:
A social services internship with a charity and community center with a long history of supporting people across the community. The interns can expect to get involved with weekly training sessions, having their own clients meet with and support, as well as assisting with workshops and walk-ins.
Prague, Czech Republic with World Endeavors
Social Work Internship with Nonprofit or Government Organization:
Social Work interns will work with nonprofit or government organizations, aiding individual clients and assisting with community outreach initiatives and public health and safety programs.
Placements are available at private health centers and at elderly care facilities.
Rabat, Morocco with World Endeavors
Social Work Internship with Nonprofit or Government Organization:
Social Work interns work with nonprofit or government organizations, aiding individual clients and assisting with community outreach initiatives and public health and safety programs.
NGO for Migrant and Refugee Services
Share your time and talents with an NGO that works to address the challenges faced by migrants, refugees, and disadvantaged youth. To protect diversity and promote the value of all cultures, this organization provides opportunities for dialogue between the many different people inhabiting Morocco together. They work to promote integration of underprivileged Moroccans, Sub-Saharan migrants, and refugees within Moroccan society, as well as to promote and facilitate migrants' voluntary return to their home countries. The organization has a reception center for sub-Saharan migrants, Syrians and other migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers, where they offer psychological, pedagogical, and social assistance and support. They also strive to provide protection and assistance to the most vulnerable people, including unaccompanied children, people with disabilities and women at risk.
Youth Development Internship
Youth Development interns assist experienced educators with projects such as creating and implementing workshops, coaching sports teams, coordinating youth plays, and planning family night activities.