Learn by Doing
In the Master in Migration Studies program, you learn by doing, not just by listening. Hands-on experiences plus classroom learning help prepare you to succeed.
Internship, fellowship, and volunteer opportunities enable you to apply your academic learning to professional workplaces in the field of migration studies.
MIMS students complete a 100 hour internship requirement, paid or volunteer with NGOs, government agencies, and organizations. For students already working in the field, your professional work may also count for this requirement. The program features regional field trips and immersion experiences, including the option of a semester of study abroad at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Puebla, Mexico.
Study Migration Abroad
You may study at the Universidad Iberoamericana in Puebla Mexico (classes are conducted in Spanish) during the fall semester of your second year. While in Mexico, you may intern with migrant serving organizations or do research with faculty studying them. Other short-term immersion courses and opportunities our students have taken advantage of include the opportunity to study in Spain, Morocco, Italy, Indonesia, Southeast Asia, and Central America. The global network of Jesuit universities and humanitarian organizations provides other opportunities for service and study.
Are You Required To Go to Mexico?
No. While we encourage students to take advantage of this opportunity, and also host students from the Iberoamerica at USF, this program is entirely elective.
Are There Additional Costs for Studying in Mexico?
The only additional costs in Mexico are airfare and housing. The cost of living (housing, food, etc.) will be much less in Mexico than in San Francisco. You pay USF tuition for the courses you take at the Iberoamericana, which are in turn counted as MIMS elective credits.
Uplift the Farm Worker Community in Half Moon Bay
Visit Ayudando Latinos a Soñar, a nonprofit in Half Moon Bay that provides basic needs including fresh food and financial support for families, health care for farmworkers and their children, and counseling for farmworkers who are struggling with their mental health.
I joined forces with local community volunteers to assist them in planning and distributing essential supplies to the visiting farm workers at Watsonville’s Centre for Farm Workers. It was humbling to see so many faces of the people whose labor fills our grocery store shelves, waiting patiently for their turn to receive the bare necessities.”
Deepesh Das Shrestha MA ’24
Immerse Yourself in a New Culture
Open your eyes to a world without borders. Whether it’s for studies, field work, internships, or immersions, venture abroad for as long as one week to an academic year to listen, learn, work, meet people, and make a difference.
Migration Studies students engaged in seminars, cultural activities, and met with grassroots organizations during a summer immersion course.
Internship, Fellowship, and Volunteer Placements
Besides interning at the Immigration and Deportation Defense Clinic and Immigration Policy Clinic on campus, students have also secured a range of internship, fellowship, and volunteer opportunities at the following organizations in the Bay Area, elsewhere in the United States, and abroad:
- Immigration Fellows @ FWD.us
- Innovation Fellows @ UNHCR
- African Advocacy Network (San Francisco)
- Refugee & Immigrant Transitions (San Francisco)
- The LGBT Asylum Project (San Francisco)
- International Rescue Committee (Oakland and San Jose)
- Oakland Catholic Worker (Oakland)
- Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity (Oakland)
- Family Alliance for Counseling Tools & Resolution (San Jose)
- Center for Domestic Peace (San Rafael)
- Black Alliance for Just Immigration (California, New York, Georgia, Arizona)
- Human Rights First (Los Angeles, New York, Washington DC)
- Center for American Progress (Washington DC)
- Migration Policy Institute (Washington DC)
- National Institute of Statistics and Geography of Mexico (Mexico)
- Deported Veterans Support House (Mexico)
- Dråpen i Havet (Europe)
- United Nations Information Center Tokyo (Japan)