The Internship in Ministry and Religious Education is a semester-long opportunity for students to engage in service in a parish, congregation, synagogue or religiously affiliated secondary school, as well as in hospice and hospital pastoral care agencies.
If you wish to pursue a professional career in ministry and religious education, or you intend to pursue an academic career in religious and theological studies, this internship was created for you. The internship is intended to provide valuable practical experience.
If you are interested in this internship and are from a religious tradition not currently included in our list of internship opportunities, we will be happy to expand the program, as needed, to include appropriate opportunities.
Requirements
Scope
The IMRE will span a period roughly equivalent to a semester and include around five actual service hours per week, depending on the specific need of the internship site.
Learning agreement
Before the beginning of the period of internship, you, as a prospective intern, will create a learning agreement specifying your:
- Interests
- Goals
- Expectations
- Agreed work
You will develop this learning agreement in consultation with the Merrimack coordinator and the on-site mentor. Department faculty will have final approval.
The length of the internship and the meeting times will be established by the Merrimack coordinator, in consultation with you and the on-site mentor, and with the approval of department faculty.
Mentoring
You and your mentor will arrange to meet for conversation at least once every other week for the duration of the internship.
Journaling
Interns in ministry and religious education will be required to keep a journal on a regular basis throughout the time of the internship and to regularly share the journal with their internship mentors for periodic assessment, and to hand in the journal to the Merrimack coordinator at the end of the period of internship.
Grading
Your mentor is encouraged to keep in regular contact with the Merrimack coordinator. Your mentor will submit a final report, which will comprise the mentor’s assessment of your involvement during the internship period. The coordinator will then assign a grade for the internship based on the mentor’s final report, a careful reading of the journal written by the intern, and conversations with the mentor and the intern. The final responsibility for the assignment of a grade rests with the departmental coordinator.
Application Procedure
The IMRE is open to students in their junior or senior year who major in religious and theological studies at Merrimack College, and whose cumulative GPA is 2.8 or better, and whose GPA in RTS is 3.0 or better. To pursue an application, you should have completed a sufficient number of courses in the major, usually including one or more courses that support the proposed internship.
Applicants are encouraged to apply in early March of the school year prior to the fall semester internships, and in early September for spring internships. Summer internships may be possible and should be arranged in early March.
Acceptance into the IMRE is based on the application information and your interview with the Merrimack coordinator and the on-site mentor where possible. The chairperson of the Religious and Theological Studies Department and the coordinator of the IMRE program make admission decisions.
