AAS Internship Program

The Association for Asian Studies currently seeks two graduate students for internships in publications, digital media, and outreach projects. The internships are paid positions offered throughout the year. Interns are expected to commit to at least one academic term of work. The AAS Internship Program (AASIP) aims to encourage active involvement of University of Michigan graduate students in AAS initiatives.

The Association for Asian Studies (AAS) is a non-profit professional association dedicated to the study of and dissemination of knowledge about Asia. The Association has approximately 6,500 members worldwide, representing all the regions and countries of Asia and all academic disciplines. Founded in 1941, the AAS has transformed from publisher of the Far Eastern Quarterly (1941-1956) to the world’s largest Asian Studies professional organization. Over the years, AAS has expanded to include the broadening disciplinary and geographic interests of its membership. The AAS currently publishes the Journal of Asian Studies (JAS) and three book series, as well as Education About Asia (EAA), a journal dedicated to educational content related to Asia. In addition to annual international and regional conferences, the Association engages in outreach programs such as workshops and provides modest research grants for scholars through its various area councils. The AAS is a member of the American Council of Learned Societies and actively partners with its sister societies in research and informational exchanges.

The AASIP operates within AAS’s vision of scholarship, outreach, and education. The goal of the internship program is to provide opportunities for area-studies graduate students to use their research and writing skills to support educational and digital media initiatives. Interns will apply a foundation of knowledge in area studies to locate, organize, and prepare data for publication on AAS social media and web sites, to write informative posts for the #AsiaNow blog, to digitize and categorize publications for archival purposes, and to prepare Education About Asia (EAA) materials for publication. Interns will report directly to their supervisor for daily tasks and support for overall objectives. Interns may also attend workshops, discussions, participate in group projects, or other tasks as needed. The AAS is seeking interns with initiative, a strong work ethic, and ability to collaborate on several projects.

Interns must be legally authorized to work in the United States.

Qualifications: Graduate Student in International/Area Studies. Graduate students specializing in Asian Studies will be preferred, initially, but we are open to students from other areas of study.

Location: Online, primarily, with occasional work at the Association for Asian Studies Headquarters at 825 Victors Way, Ann Arbor (bus-accessible from the University of Michigan campus), as needed.

Salary: $15/hr (non-exempt), maximum 10 hours a week

Duration: One academic semester. The fall academic semester can be preceded by work beginning during summer session, and spring semester work can extend to summer.

Essential Functions: Duties will include scanning materials; research; writing content for website and social media; assisting with social media and visual web elements; creating spreadsheets; filing and data entry; editing/updating content in WordPress additional marketing and/or communications tasks as assigned.

Essential Skills: The candidates must demonstrate strong writing and editing skills as well as proficiency in Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook, etc.). Experience with social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) is desired. The candidate must demonstrate attention to detail, organization, and time management as well as a strong sense of initiative and reliability. Although not required, familiarity with photo editing and design software, experience working in WordPress, working knowledge of HTML and the ability to organize analytics, reports and bulk data from social media are also desired. Training in the latter skill set will be provided if necessary.

Application Process:

AAS offers year-round (spring, summer, fall, winter) internships. Students must be enrolled at least part-time in an academic institution to be eligible for an internship with AAS. Students must be eligible to work in the United States.

Please submit your resume with cover letter indicating how your experience and skills align with the description of the position. Please include names, titles, and contact information for two references. Do not send reference letters at this time. We will contact referees after receipt of application materials. Send materials as PDF attachments to AAS Executive Director Hilary Finchum-Sung at hvfinchum@asianstudies.org with the subject line “AASIP.”

Review of applications will be carried out on a rolling basis. Interns will not be discriminated upon by basis of race, creed, color, national origin, religion, sex, or gender identity.