Internships in Ecuador
Build Your Resume in Ecuador
Adelante’s internship program operates in Quito and Ambato, Ecuador, for candidates looking to improve their Spanish while gaining professional experience in Latin America. Placements are available across fields including Medical, Architecture, Veterinary, Equine Veterinary, Women’s Issues and Human Rights, Marketing, Working with Street Children, and Teaching English.
When you arrive, we’ll pick you up at the airport and take you directly to your housing. From there, you’ll spend your first two weeks in Spanish language lessons before your internship placement begins.
Every Ecuador program includes housing, a guaranteed internship placement, one-on-one language lessons, airport pickup, and in-country support.
Program Pricing
What You'll Gain from an Internship in Ecuador
- Real professional experience. Placements are with small to mid-sized, locally owned companies and organizations across a range of fields, so you’re doing genuine work, not shadowing.
- Language growth with a safety net. One-on-one Spanish classes at the start of the program mean you’re not thrown into a Spanish-speaking workplace on day one.
- A country built for exploring. From the Galápagos Islands to the Amazon and Andean volcanic craters, Ecuador’s geography puts extraordinary weekend trips within reach.
- A support system without hand-holding. You’ll have an on-site director and co-director for ongoing support, while still living and working with the independence the experience is built around.
Every Adelante Program Includes
AFFORDABLE PROGRAMS
Both our Internship Abroad and Study Abroad Programs are among the most affordable you’ll find. Explore a new country and gain meaningful internship experience that makes a difference, without being limited by your budget.
CENTRALIZED ACCOMMODATIONS
Enjoy your own private room in a shared city-center apartment, conveniently located near your placement, local life, and weekend adventures.
GUARANTEED, CONTRACTED INTERNSHIP PLACEMENT
You’ll receive a signed contract from your host organization before you arrive. We have placed 100% of our candidates in one of their requested fields and stand behind that with a guarantee.
CUSTOMIZED PROGRAM BUILDING
Your Adelante director builds your placement around your background, interests, Spanish proficiency level, and areas of interest. No cookie-cutter placements.
GUIDED REFLECTION EXERCISES
We help you identify and articulate the skills you’ve built abroad, an essential step in translating impactful international work into language that resonates on your resume, in interviews, and on graduate school applications.
ACADEMIC CREDIT SUPPORT
Nearly every Adelante intern who needed academic credit has received it. We provide full documentation and can work with your home institution to meet their requirements.
Location & Program Information
About Ecuador
Quito, Ecuador’s capital, sits high in the Andes Mountains, blending colonial history, dramatic natural landscapes, and a dynamic professional environment. From UNESCO World Heritage sites in the city center to the Amazon rainforest and the Galápagos Islands, interns in Quito and Ambato get both cultural immersion and international work experience.
Eligibility
Applicants must be at least 18 years old. Spanish skills are helpful, and a low-intermediate level is required for many programs, though placements exist for complete beginners in some sectors, such as Teaching English.
Housing
You’ll have your own room with a host family in Quito or Ambato. The homestay option provides genuine cultural immersion, and includes laundry services and two meals per day. A refundable housing deposit is required during your first week in-country, returned as long as the housing is left in the same condition as when you arrived.
Housing is in sought-after neighborhoods, in Quito’s La Gasca and La Mariscal districts, and Ambato’s Mira Flores barrio, near public transit and shopping. Wi-Fi is available, but less reliable than in the U.S.; inexpensive cyber cafes are widely available as a backup.
Life in Ecuador
Outside your internship, Ecuador offers an extraordinary range of experiences: the Galápagos Islands, a growing surf scene around Montañita, hiking volcanic craters, and access to the Amazon. Weekends open up trips that would be a once-in-a-lifetime excursion almost anywhere else in the world.
Visa Information
Visa requirements depend on your nationality, so confirm specifics with your local Ecuadorian consulate or embassy well ahead of your program start.
Academic Credit
Many students participating in Ecuador internships receive academic credit, arranged through their home university. Adelante provides the documentation needed to support credit approval, but the students are responsible for confirming with their university how the hours transfer.
Is This Program Right For You?
Ecuador tends to be a strong fit if you can answer yes to most of these:
How the Application Process Works
1. Apply Online
Fill out our simple online application. There is no fee to apply, and it takes only a few minutes to get started.
2. Get on the Calendar
Eligible candidates receive a link to schedule a free, first assessment interview by phone or Google Meet.
3. Interview
We’ll learn about your background, areas of interest, Spanish level, and goals so we can start building the right placement for you.
4. Interview Results
In real time or within 1–2 business days, you will receive your interview results by email. Successful candidates receive an acceptance letter with clear next steps.
5. Confirmation
Confirm your spot within one week of acceptance with a $325 confirmation fee. This means there is no tire-kicking, and you are committed to going abroad. A second interview and full placement details follow soon after.
6. Pre-Departure
Once confirmed, you will receive a comprehensive Pre-Departure Information Packet with everything you need to prepare for your time abroad, including visa guidance if required, along with cultural prep.
The Internship Experience
Ecuador Intern Abroad FAQs
What is the process after I apply?
Once you apply online for free, we will send you a link to our calendar to schedule an initial phone or video call assessment interview. The first interview is hosted by our Program Director and is focused on determining if you are a good fit for the program. It’s also your change to find out what the program offers, and confirm it aligns with what you are wanting to do.
Once both parties have mutually assessed positively, then we send out a Letter of Acceptance and a setup date for a second, longer Google Meet interview. Prior to this second meeting, you will be emailed a link to confirm your spot in the program via a $350 confirmation fee.
Before the second interview, we will also require two references. Once it’s completed, the next step will be for us to send your file to our team in your program city abroad.
They then begin presenting your file to our participating companies abroad, in your desired sector. Once the best company for your specific program parameters chooses your file, we then contract you, with them, for your international internship. There are lots of other little details in between, and then no later than about 30 days prior to your program start date everything will be finalized. All our candidates will know both where they are living and where they are interning long before they arrive abroad.
Is housing included in the price of the program?
Yes – You will have your own room with a host, local family in Quito or Ambato. The homestay option provides you with true cultural immersion and includes laundry services and two meals per day. A refundable housing deposit is required during your first week in country. This deposit will be returned to you as long as the housing is in the same condition as when you arrived. The family houses and apartments are in sought after, working neighborhoods – in Quito (La Gasca and La Mariscal Disricts) and in Ambato (Mira Flores barrio) – near public transit, grocery stores and shopping. All housing has Wi-Fi, but this is not nearly as common as it is here and the infrastructure makes it spotty often – cyber or “net cafes” are everywhere and for the price of a cup of coffee you can access wifi for hours, too, if needed.
What Spanish language classes are included?
In this program only, we are able to offer one–on–one classes, for a much quicker language acquisition while abroad. Usually the costs for this are prohibitive, but we have negotiated a great rate with a group of dedicated Spanish language “maestras” for our program. For the first two weeks, you are enrolled in an Intensive Spanish Language course for about 4 hours per day, 5 days per week (approximately 40 hours). This course – your one-on-one classes, take place at our HQ language center, which is also your home base while in our program. Your level is determined by a placement test.
How much should I budget for living expenses per month, other than what is included in the program fee?
For Quito, we suggest budgeting approximately $60 USD per week, and this covers normal expenses like snacks, bus money, some going out and one or two nearby excursions a month. Remember most meals are included! This budget goes up when you start going out at night more and when you begin to travel further abroad on weekends(which we do encourage!)
Is there an Adelante contact in Ecuador?
Yes – We have an on-site, 24/7 Adelante Director and Co-Director for this program: Patricia Fernandez and Hakan Karlsson. Both help coordinate your airport pick-up, housing, internship placement, and once you arrive, will be available for whatever else you may require during your time abroad. On your first Sunday in Quito, plan on a good Orientation Session with Patricia! You will then be meeting with Patricia and/or Hakan during your first and second week of classes before your internship starts to prepare you for your first work day. Both speak English and you will be given local contact info and emergency contact info to reach both at any time. Patricia and Hakan both run successful education programs all around Ecuador, think Galapagos Islands Marin tours!, and are seasoned international education professionals.
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Why Choose Adelante Abroad?
Adelante Abroad has earned the trust of thousands of candidates worldwide through 25 years of guaranteed placements and life-changing experiences. Since 1999, we’ve specialized in providing affordable, customized internship and study abroad programs across Spain, Latin America, and Scotland, and we’re not a large, impersonal agency. We’re a team of seasoned travelers and international education professionals who’ve lived abroad ourselves and know what it takes to make your experience a success.
Every program is built around you: your goals, your values, your background. With in-country directors operating full-time in every city where we have programs, you’re never on your own. No matter where in the world you are.
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