A key part of the Institute’s mission is to provide you with immersive, hands-on learning as part of your studies.
Unlike other classroom-based graduate programs, these immersive experiences allow you to apply practical skills in your field of study before you graduate. Not only do you gain professional experience, but you are exposed to relevant networking opportunities that often lead to jobs after graduation.
Below are some of the options available, with more emerging as the Institute’s professional partnerships grow and change.
Institute students can apply for up to $4,000 in Experiential Learning Funding (ELF) to cover costs for eligible unpaid or minimally paid opportunities including virtual internships, volunteer opportunities, and start-ups.
Separate from ELF, there is a Professional Development Fund (PDF) for conferences and professional licenses/certificates.
The Experiential Learning Team can provide design support for students, faculty, and staff interested in developing credit and non-credit applied learning activities in the US or abroad.
Read our 2023-2024 Impact Report to see what past students have done through Middlebury Institute programs. Get ideas for your next research project or internship.
Learn from the experiences of other students through our experiential learning blog.
Faculty lead onsite courses for students and alumni on pressing global issues every January and March.
Students can complete internships or study abroad as part of their degree program or between semesters.
Students can participate in internships and research with Institute Centers and Initiatives, work on a team competition, complete simulation classes, and develop initiatives and start-ups.
From Monterey to the global stage, Middlebury Institute students are putting their skills to work this spring. Through applied research and practicum courses, our students are collaborating with organizations making a tangible difference worldwide while finishing their degrees.
Where Classrooms Meet the World — January Global Courses Across Three Continents
Each January, Middlebury Institute (MIIS) students step beyond Monterey’s classrooms into immersive global courses that translate theory into lived experience. Supported by the Davis Collaborative in Conflict Transformation and MIIS Experiential Learning Funds, the 2026 Winter Term brought nearly forty students to South Africa, Czechia/Austria, and Bhutan — three distinct contexts united by a shared pedagogical model: experiential learning grounded in partnership, practice, and reflection.
| by Julia Tucker
Almost 50 Middlebury Institute students are practicum this semester spending their time and gaining invaluable skills in locations all over the globe from Alaska to Kenya.
Director of Experiential Learning
Julia Tucker
Graduate Assistant
