Internship Requirements

INTERNATIONAL STUDIES INTERNSHIP

Internships are a central focus of the International Studies Program, enabling students to gain invaluable experience in the globalizing workplace and insights into globalizing career paths and professions. The internship must be undertaken after consultations with the Internship Director for the I/ST Program. The advisor will go over the procedures for finding and completing your internship. The director may also be able to assist you in finding and selecting an internship appropriate to your I/ST major.

General Requirements

  • Complete 125 hours of work at an approved organization, company, or institution
  • Must be related to your professional development area, geographic concentration and foreign language, OR future career plans
  • Must have an international component or meet the International Studies student learning objectives. 

What is an Internship?

An internship is a short-term career-related learning experience that is supervised in a professional learning environment. The work experience should be educational for the student and reinforce what the student has learned in the classroom. The National Association of Colleges & Employers (NACE) holds the following definition:

An internship is a form of experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional setting. Internships give students the opportunity to gain valuable applied experiences and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career path; and give employers the opportunity to guide and evaluate talent.

Finding an Internship

Finding an internship is something like finding a place to live – everyone has different preferences, budgets, and expectations. You are encouraged to seek out internship opportunities by consulting with faculty, business colleagues, friends, and family. The Internship Director may also be able to direct you towards internship situations appropriate to your career interests and academic program.

Start looking, and then make an appointment with Dr. McCall, the I/ST Internship Advisor in FO2-206. Only the I/ST Internship Advisor can approve your internship plans to fulfill the requirement.

Here are some strategies for finding an internship that fits your needs and the resources available to you in this search:

  1.  Start working as soon as possible on designing a resume. Whatever route you use to set up an internship, you will almost certainly need to have a resume to help the organization decide whether they want to give you an internship and, if they do decide to take you on as an intern, to decide what role you will play in their organization during your time with them.
  2. Think seriously about interning abroad! The CSULB website has a list of resources that will help you if you are thinking about doing your internship in another country: http://www.csulb.edu/divisions/aa/iec/abroad/
  3. The Career Development Center in Room 250 of Brotman Hall is an excellent place to enquire about a placement and advice about putting together a resume. Stop by and/or check out the web site: http://www.careers.csulb.edu/student/student_coop.html#eligibility for registering your resume for interviews with prospective internship employers.
  4. With your resume ready, begin brainstorming about the type of organization with which you would like to work. One good place to start might be to use an Internet search engine (e.g., www.google.com) to find what organizations have offices in the Los Angeles area and if they have information about possible internships. You might also check in with the professional association representing the firms or organizations that your career interests are steering you towards. Lower tech options, but often extremely useful are the phone book and personal contacts through family and friends, both of which might help you to locate organizations that would offer exciting internship possibilities.
  5. The Internship Advisor for I/ST (Professor Jolene McCall – Jolene.McCall@csulb.edu) is available as a further resource to guide you in this process. For example, you might ask Dr. McCall to work with you to brainstorm possible places that might work as a potential internship employer. Alternatively, you might find that some internships ask you to submit a letter of recommendation along with your resume and other supporting application materials. It is perfectly appropriate for you to ask the Internship Advisor to provide you with one of these letters (although you might have another professor who knows you and your work much more directly). The Internship Advisor is glad to help you shape some of your choices and suggest ways to find and select an appropriate internship, but, at the outset, you must recognize that you will need to be pro-active in your search for an appropriate internship.

Remote/Virtual Internships

Remote or virtual internships fall under the same definition as other internship experiences previously outlined in International Studies; however, the work is done remotely. These are short-term, career-related learning experiences that are remotely supervised in a professional, structured environment. The work experience should be educational for the student and reinforce what the student has learned in the classroom.

Finding a virtual internship:

  • Virtual internship announcements can be found in the same manner other internships are discovered:
    • Internet searches
    • Contacting individual organizations/agencies/companies to inquire about positions or opportunities
    • Postings on the Career Development Center
  • Possible options for search engines:
    • Google Job Search – select internships and work from home
    • LinkedIn Jobs – select internships and remote
    • Idealist.org – search within internships and select remote option
    • Chegg.com/internships – search for remote internships within website
    • Handshake Remote Internships
    • Virtual Internships
    • WayUp
  • Additional Resources: 

Complete an Internship Contract

Once you have found an internship, and had your plans approved by the I/ST internship advisor, you should discuss your responsibilities and duties as well as what you hope to gain from the experience with your internship supervisor. You and your supervisor should complete the Internship Contract which should be submitted to I/ST internship advisor in the first two weeks of your internship.

Upon Completion of your Internship

Upon completion of the minimum 125 contact hours with the organization, you must have your internship supervisor submit a letter on their organization’s letterhead addressed to the Internship Director for the International Studies Program detailing:

  1. Confirmation that you have worked at least 125 hours for the organization;
  2. Brief description of the duties that you performed and the actual begin/end dates for your internship;
  3. Brief analysis of the quality of work that you did for the organization;
  4. Name of the internship supervisor and signature.

Complete I/ST 492

It is recommended that you enroll in I/ST 492 after you have completed your internship or when you are nearing completion. This course is offered credit/no-credit and provides students with an opportunity to critically reflect on their study abroad/internship experiences, integrate them into their I/ST major, and link them to future career plans. You MUST complete the course to receive credit for your internship and fulfill the I/ST study abroad/internship requirement.