High school social work internship and research fellowship
This high school social work internship lets students in Grades 9 to 12 work with families and neighbours on waste and health, with a mentor who supports each stage. You run short household surveys and a small training near home, then study what helps people change their daily habits.
For school students taking IB Psychology, Social and Cultural Anthropology or CBSE Sociology who want to work face to face with their community. Online, with field work near home and a parent or guardian present at every self-guided activity. The fellowship is paid because every student receives time and attention from senior researchers and leaders.
Why sociology and social work matter for sustainability
Some families face more pollution and heat than others. A home beside an open drain or under a thin tin roof is harder to keep clean and cool, and the people living there often have less money to fix it. Sociology studies how income, gender and housing shape these risks. In social work, you earn a community’s trust and help residents act on problems they already understand.
Earth5R’s community work in 150+ Indian cities includes door-to-door household surveys, training on waste segregation and composting, and women’s livelihood work. In informal settlements in Mumbai, women have grown saplings with Earth5R on hot tin roofs to cool their homes. As a fellow you do this kind of work on a small scale near your home and study what it changes.
This work links to the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 10, Reduced inequalities and Goal 11, Sustainable cities and communities.
Available projects in this high school social work internship
Each project fits around school work and takes place near home. Your mentor shapes the final project with you.
Waste habits in your building
With a parent present, survey families in your building or housing colony on how they sort their waste and what stops them, then find the most common reasons.
Teach and follow up
Run a short waste segregation training for younger students or building staff, then check back after a few weeks to record which habits changed and which stayed the same.
The people who handle our waste
With a guardian present, interview your building’s housekeeping or security staff about their daily work with waste, and suggest changes residents could make to help them.
Summer heat at home
Ask family members and neighbours how summer heat affects their sleep, health and routines, and compare answers from homes with different roofs, fans or shade.
What you do in the field
- Learn about consent and research ethics before any interview
- Design a short survey or interview guide with your mentor
- Run surveys with a parent or guardian present
- Help lead a small training on waste segregation
- Group interview answers into common themes
- Present your findings in a research conversation
Skills you build
On a high school social work internship, you collect your own data near home with a parent or guardian, using the Earth5R app and data forms. Earth5R checks the data on its platform before it goes into your project report.
How a high school social work internship fits your school programme
For IB, IGCSE, CBSE and ICSE students. Your school decides what counts towards its own requirements.
IB CAS
Running a segregation training for building staff or younger students, then following up, can form a CAS project with a service element. Your CAS coordinator decides.
Extended Essay and IA
Survey and interview data on waste habits can support an Extended Essay in Social and Cultural Anthropology or Psychology. Your supervisor approves the topic and checks the ethics.
MYP, IGCSE and CBSE projects
A community survey and training fits the MYP Personal Project, IGCSE Global Perspectives research and CBSE Sociology project work, if your school agrees.
University applications
Mentored work with families and a written analysis give you real examples to describe in a personal statement for sociology or social work.
How the high school social work internship works
Every student moves through four phases. Your mentor checks each phase before you move on, and sessions pause during board exams.
Observe and Map
Go into the field near home, with a parent or guardian, and collect primary data for your project in Sociology and Social Work.
Frame and Design
Find the root cause in your data and frame a problem worth solving, with your mentor.
Model
Build a working model, analysis or design for your solution, and test it.
Build and Deploy
Put your solution to work, measure the result and publish a verified record on earth5r.org.
Along the way you take part in research conversations with professors at MIT, Oxford, Cambridge, LSE and other universities, and ask your own questions. See how FIELDWORK works.
Where this can take you
University courses this leads to
- BA in Sociology
- Bachelor of Social Work (BSW)
- BA in Social Policy
- BA in Anthropology
- BA in Social Welfare
Careers in this field
- Social worker
- Community development officer
- Field researcher in the social sciences
- CSR programme manager
- Youth worker or counsellor
Universities to aim for in Sociology and Social Work
Sociology and social work admissions tutors look for students who have spent time with a community and can reflect on what they saw and heard. A high school social work internship with FIELDWORK gives you survey data and a written analysis from your own field work, reviewed by your mentor. Students use a high school social work internship to build a record of real work for applications to universities like these.
University of California, Berkeley
USA · Bachelor of Arts in Social Welfare, Berkeley Social Welfare
Berkeley’s Bachelor of Arts in Social Welfare is a liberal arts major in the College of Letters and Science. Students learn the history of social work, how the welfare state and social services work, and basic practice methods. The major prepares them for careers that promote the public good.
USA · Social Work (BS), Silver School of Social Work
NYU Silver’s Bachelor of Science in Social Work prepares students for general practice with individuals and communities. Courses cover social welfare policy, research, human behaviour in the social environment and diversity. Final-year students complete supervised practicum placements, and the programme stresses social and economic justice.
USA · Undergraduate programmes, School of Social Work
Michigan’s School of Social Work offers a Community Action and Social Change major and minor for undergraduates. Students learn to lead change through advocacy, research and community engagement. Linked pathways let sociology and community action students move on to the school’s MSW.
London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE)
UK · Department of Sociology
LSE’s Department of Sociology teaches undergraduate and postgraduate sociology. Its research areas include social inequalities, urban sociology, economic sociology, and politics and human rights. The department is also home to LSE Human Rights, a hub for human rights research across subjects.
UK · Social Work, School of Social and Political Science
Social Work at Edinburgh, part of the School of Social and Political Science, offers a BSc for undergraduates along with postgraduate degrees. Teaching is rooted in practice, with placements through local and international partners. Its work centres on social justice and support for people facing disadvantage.
Canada · Bachelor of Social Work (BSW), School of Social Work
McGill’s three-year Bachelor of Social Work is offered by the School of Social Work in the Faculty of Arts. Students study social work history, theory, research and practice, and learn to work with individuals, families and groups. They also study how social policy is made and how to work towards reform.
The University of Hong Kong (HKU)
Hong Kong · Department of Social Work and Social Administration (SWSA)
HKU’s Department of Social Work and Social Administration teaches the Bachelor of Social Work and a Bachelor of Social Sciences. Undergraduate study combines coursework with field experience. Research students in the department study social work practice, social policy and lived experience.
National University of Singapore (NUS)
Singapore · Department of Social Work, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
The NUS Department of Social Work, in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, teaches undergraduate social work degrees along with master’s and PhD study. It publishes the Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work and Development and works with the Social Service Research Centre.
Australia · Bachelor of Social Work (Honours), Faculty of Arts, Design & Architecture
UNSW’s four-year Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) covers human development, social policy, community development, mental health and Indigenous services. Students complete two supervised placements, in city or rural Australia or with partners overseas. The degree ends with an honours thesis or an advanced professional portfolio.
This list is for guidance. These universities offer undergraduate study in Sociology and Social Work. Earth5R has no admissions arrangement with them, and admission decisions rest with each university. Students get help researching universities, scholarships and applications, depending on the programme.
What your fellowship fee pays for
An internship fellowship at Earth5R is time and attention from senior researchers and leaders. Each part below takes staff time and resources that we set aside for every fellow.
Live mentoring with experts
One-to-one mentoring in most fellowships, with regular check-ins on your project.
Dialogues with global researchers
Academics from international universities and renowned scientists, who answer your questions and discuss your work.
Support in the field
Guidance while you collect data and work on your project in the field.
References for your next step
References when you apply for jobs, higher studies and research programmes.
Your work, hosted for life
Your work and data stay on Earth5R’s website and servers for life, where universities and employers can check them.
Time from senior people
Each fellow receives time and attention from senior researchers and leaders, set aside for them.
Fee details available on request.
Choose your fellowship
The Multi-Year Fellowship can run from Grade 9 to Grade 12, with more scope each year.
The fee pays for live mentoring, dialogues with global researchers, support in the field, references and lifelong hosting of your work. Fee details available on request.
High school social work internship: common questions
Who will my child meet in a high school social work internship?
Mostly family, neighbours, classmates and the staff of your building or school. A parent or guardian is present for every survey of people outside the family, and the mentor reviews the questions before any interview starts.
How do students protect the people they survey?
Before the first interview you learn how to explain the project and ask for consent. You record only the answers the project needs, keep people’s names out of your report, and share drafts with your mentor first.
Do I need to study sociology at school to join?
No. You can join from any subject group, including psychology, geography, economics or the sciences. Your mentor gives you short readings on community research, and you learn the methods step by step as the project moves through each phase.
Is the high school social work internship paid?
Yes. FIELDWORK is a paid, mentored programme. The fee pays for live mentoring, dialogues with global researchers, support in the field, references and lifelong hosting of your work. Fee details are available on request.
Can my child do this high school social work internship online?
Yes. Mentoring sessions run online, and field work takes place near where you live.
Is a parent or guardian present during field work?
Yes. A parent or guardian is present at every self-guided field activity. Online sessions are for students.
Does FIELDWORK pause during board exams?
Yes. Sessions pause during board exams, so the fellowship fits around school work.
What do students get at the end?
A certificate, a letter of recommendation, a project report and a verified profile on earth5r.org, where universities can check the work.
Related subjects for school students
Already at university? See the Sociology and Social Work internship fellowship for university students.
Apply for a FIELDWORK fellowship in Sociology and Social Work
This high school social work internship is for students in Grades 9 to 12. Work on a live Earth5R project with a mentor, take part in research conversations with global researchers, and build a verified record of your work. Fee details available on request.
