Northern Illinois University
Center for Nonprofit and NGO Studies
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Earn nonprofit experience before you graduate! To gain real-world knowledge of nonprofit and non-governmental organizations, we encourage you to participate in at least one nonprofit internship while studying at NIU. Through an internship, you'll get hands-on career experience with a nonprofit organization while you earn course credit. Nonprofit and NGO Studies students have participated in exciting internships directly related to their course of study, and several of them have gone on to secure employment with that same organization.

Students have options for securing internships.  One option is to work with the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences internship coordinator to secure an internship spot and earn credit for NNGO 490 (Nonprofit and NGO Studies Internship). 

Another option is to participate in the internship program which is offered in collaboration between the DeKalb County Nonprofit Partnership, the Center for Nonprofit and NGO Studies and Career Services at Northern Illinois University, supported by the Douglas C. and Lynn M. Roberts Family Foundation. Interns in this program receive an honorarium of $575 and enroll in NNGO 490 Nonprofit and NGO Studies Internship.

Set up an appointment with our academic advisor, Stephanie, to discuss fitting an internship into your course schedule by emailing skummerer@niu.edu.

Internships Make A Difference

Read how our students have been quietly making a big difference in the lives of people across DeKalb County by working paid internships with area nonprofits.