Internships

Internship

The internship in the second semester offers you the opportunity to learn how to apply academic skills and knowledge in real-life situations and to gain practical experience in your field, better preparing you for employment after graduation. The internship should comprise an individual, well-defined assignment at an academic level on a political or societal issue: it should deal with the original, development and effects of political, economic or social institutions. Regarding the nature of the assignment: think, for instance, of doing (applied) research, writing a policy document or advice, or carrying out a policy evaluation.

We make an effort to look for internship positions for our students. This, however, will provide only limited number of internships. Moreover, you will not simply be assigned to one: there will be a selection procedure.

The alternative is to look for a suitable position yourself and submit it for approval. Consider, for instance, public and semi-public organizations, NGO's, research and advice councils, political parties, or large business companies. If you search for an internship yourself, you have considerable liberty to find yourself a position that fits your wishes. Of course, the internship should still comprise of an inidividual assignment at an academic level, related to a political or societal issue. Finding a good internship position takes time and energy, so it is important to start early. At the start of the academic year you will be given tips and advice on how to go about your search.

Before you start the internship, you are to describe its content and aims in an internship work plan, which requires the approval of your supervisor at the university and of the internship organization. At the end of the internship, you must write an internship report. The internship report is the basis for the supervising lecturers' final assessment. Please note: internships at the MA History of Politics and Society are graded Pass/Fail. Assessment is conducted using a standard assessment form and its appendix:

Please read the step-by-step plan below for more information on the internship work plan and the assessment of your internship.

Skills lab

An alternative for the internship is the skills lab: a project that allows you, in cooperation with a small group of fellow students and supervised by one of the teachers, to delve into a current-day political or societal debate and make your own contribution to that debate. You select the topic yourself, together with your group. You make use of various sources of information in order to gain a thorough insight in the multiple aspects of your topic: you, for instance, read and analyze policy reports, interview experts, attend meetings, or distribute questionnaires. Within your group you divide tasks and at the same time ensure coherence. Your final product will consist of indvidual contributions of each of the group members plus a group product. As as group you determine the form of your product yourself: it can, for instance, be a website, one or more publications, or an advice presented to an organization or politician.

Time schedule

Both the internship and the skills lab should cover 420 hours: the equivalent of 15 EC. Ideally you spend three days per week on the internship or skills lab in the months February to May. This leaves the other two days plus the month June for the thesis. However, if the internship organization prefers so, it is also possible to concentrate the internship in one study period and the thesis in the other.

General HUM Step-by-step plan and forms - (Research) Master's internship

The steps below will help you prepare for your internship and show you the required documents per step. Please read these carefully together with the detailed HUM Internship manual – (Research) Master’s (pdf), which includes important information on finding an internship, internships abroad, writing the internship work plan, registering in Osiris, supervision, keeping a logbook and writing the final report and evaluation.

Important documents in the initial phase

Detailed HUM internship manual – (Research) Master’s (pdf)
Internship work plan guidelines – (Research) Master’s internship (docx)
Approval form internship work plan (pdf)
Standard HUM internship agreement (docx, English) / Standaard GW stageovereenkomst (docx, Dutch)
Internship agreement extension form (docx, Dutch)

Finding an internship

You are responsible for finding your own suitable internship. The internship contact person of your (Research) Master’s programme and the Coordinator careers orientation of your department can also help you if needed. In any case, you should start your search as early as possible and always check if the internship meets the requirements of your study programme.

Useful tips for your internship search can be found in the detailed internship manual.

Internship supervision

You have two supervisors during your internship:

Your internship supervisor (this is the supervisor at the internship organisation): this is the primary person responsible for providing supervision during the internship; this person is your first contact during your internship and supervises the content of your internship.
Your supervising lecturer (this is a lecturer, usually from your own study programme): this is the person that decides whether the internship (assignment) meets the requirements and mainly supervises the internship process. In addition, the lecturer is the one who at the end assesses the internship.

The supervising lecturer is often assigned to you by your programme, however some programmes ask you to find a lecturer yourself. See the programme specific internship information for how it works at your (research) Master’s programme.

Internship work plan

Once you have secured an internship position, you will write an internship work plan in which you describe the internship assignment, your learning objectives and motivation, and agreements relating to supervision. The exact content of the plan depends on the specific internship you wish to complete:

Internship work plan guidelines – (Research) Master’s internship (docx)

Approval internship work plan

Your supervising lecturer and internship supervisor approve your internship work plan by using the approval form internship work plan (pdf). You will fill out this form and then arrange a signature from both supervisors.

Internship agreement

Arranging an internship involves signing an agreement between the Faculty of Humanities, the host organisation and you as the student. This agreement sets out your internship allowance and your liability insurance, giving you greater legal security. You cannot start the internship without this agreement. Preferably you use the standard HUM internship agreement (docx, English) / standaard GW stageovereenkomst (docx, Dutch).

Exceptions

For some organisations, different arrangements apply:

Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Mediastages: these organisations have their own internship agreements that you must sign and submit.
Meertens Instituut: you must submit both the faculty agreement and the Meertens Institute’s own agreement.

Enrolment OSIRIS

Once you have signed your agreement and obtained a signature from your internship supervisor (not your supervising lecturer), you will email the following three documents to the Humanities Internship Office (stage.gw@uu.nl):

Final internship work plan
Approval form Internship work plan (signed by you, your internship supervisor and your supervising lecturer)
Original internship agreement (signed by you and your internship supervisor)

The Internship Office will check the submitted documents and then signs the agreement, providing the third and last signature. Please note that it is obligatory to hand in the three abovementioned documents at the Internship Office before you start your internship (abroad).

Subsequently you, your supervising lecturer and the internship supervisor receive a signed version of the internship agreement from the Internship Office. The Internship Office will then also register you in OSIRIS (you cannot do this yourself).

Now you are ready to start your internship!

Important documents in the final phase

Internship assessment form – (Research) Master’s (see above, 'Internship products and assessment')
Appendix to internship assessment form - per study programme (see above, 'Internship products and assessment')
Feedback form internship supervisor (docx, English) / Feedbackformulier stagebegeleider (docx, Dutch)
Detailed HUM internship manual – (Research) Master’s including guidelines for the internship report (pdf)

Finishing your internship report

At the end of your internship you finish your internship report. Have a look at the document 'Appendix to the internship assessment form' of your own study programme and the general guidelines in the internship manual to see what is expected of you.

Feedback internship supervisor

A few weeks before the end of your internship, you will ask your internship supervisor of the organisation for feedback on your internship by using the Feedback form internship supervisor. It is recommended to integrate this feedback into your internship report and reflect on it.

Submitting your internship report

You submit your report (including all attachments) to your supervising lecturer and in some cases as well to the internship organisation.

Assessment of your internship

Your supervising lecturer is responsible for assessing your internship. The quality of your internship report will be the main determinant for your final grade. Assessment is conducted using a standard assessment form and formulated programme specific criteria. You can find these documents above under 'Internship products and assessment'.

Meeting supervising lecturer and internship supervisor

At the end of your internship your supervising lecturer will organise a conversation with your internship supervisor on your internship performance to come to a final assessment. Feedback from the feedback form will then be discussed.

Final grade

Although the internship report is the main determinant for your final grade, your study programme might have additional programme specific assessment criteria (see 'Appendix internship assesment form' of your own programme) to determine your final internship grade. Your lecturer will inform you of your final grade, and ensure that you receive (or have access to) copies of the completed assessment and feedback form. Your grade and the number of EC will be entered into OSIRIS by your supervising lecturer.

Archive internship report

Once you have received your grade, you email your final report (including all attachments) to the Humanities Internship Office: stage.gw@uu.nl

Internship Abroad

There are several ways to find an internship abroad:

1. You search one yourself. Below you will find some tips on how to search.

2. You can also ask an intermediary organisation for help. Below you will find a number of organisations that can help you; however, there are more.

Don't know yet what kind of organisation you want to do an internship with? A good start to your orientation is to take the free tests from Career Services. For more tips on how to get an internship that matches your interests and ambitions, check the internship manual for students on the internship page of your programme. Can't work it out? Make an appointment with the internship coordinator of your study programme. They will be happy to act as a sparring partner.

Option 1: Finding your own internship

An internship abroad can be done at many different kinds of organisations. Are you a Master’s student? Keep in mind that most Master’s programmes only allow internships that are related to the subject of your studies. Always contact your programme’s (internship) coordinator to discuss your plans.

Some examples:

Organisations/companies that do work in your field of interest and are in line with your study background;
A foreign branch of an organisation from your home country (for example: news organisations, embassies, cultural institutes or NGOs); or an organisation in your home country;
A local company abroad with an international orientation or in a country where you speak the/a language at a high level;
One of several international organisations or governing bodies (such as branches of the UN, the EU, NATO, or IGOs) or other organisations with an international orientation such as a multinational;
(Research projects at) foreign universities* or research institutes;
Museums, events, think tanks, cultural institutions, etc. with a collection/activities important for your specialisation.

* Internship Dutch as a Foreign Language: are you a student of Dutch, or are you interested in the Dutch language, language acquisition or language teaching? Then you can combine a study abroad with an internship teaching Dutch as a foreign language (NVT). Countries with many students of Dutch include France, Spain, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Germany. For more information and available traineeships, please contact Emmeline Besamusca-Douwes.

Option 2: Finding an internship through an intermediary organisation

There are several organisations that mediate in the search for internships. They often charge money for their work, so read the conditions carefully and ask yourself if this is really necessary for you. Not all internship vacancies are equally suitable, but you can use them to see which organisations offer internships and get ideas that way. Some links that may help you further:

Europe: Jobted, Europlacement, ETCi - UK, iAgora
Other regions: United States, Australia, Curaçao, South America
Worldwide: iHipo, AIESEC

More information

If you want to know more, or if you have any questions about internships, contact your programme coordinator. If you have questions about your enrolment in OSIRIS, you can contact the Internship Office Humanities.

Feedback

Internships

Internship

Skills lab

Time schedule

General HUM Step-by-step plan and forms - (Research) Master's internship

Before you start your internship

Important documents in the initial phase

Finding an internship

Internship supervision

Internship work plan

Approval internship work plan

Internship agreement

Exceptions

Enrolment OSIRIS

During your internship

Supervision

Keeping a log

Start writing your internship report

Extend the internship

After your internship

Important documents in the final phase

Finishing your internship report

Feedback internship supervisor

Submitting your internship report

Assessment of your internship

Meeting supervising lecturer and internship supervisor

Final grade

Archive internship report

Exceptions

Finding an internship if you have a disability

Student athletes

Internship abroad

Internship Abroad

Internship in the Netherlands versus internship abroad

Internship abroad as an international student

Finding an internship

Finances and insurance

Registration in Osiris

Contact Internships

More information

Feedback

Contact

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