Internship MA Intercultural Communication
In order to strengthen the relationship between the Intercultural Communication programme and practice, you will complete your Master's degree in block 4 with a mandatory internship of 15 EC.
On this page and in the internship manual (pdf) you will find all information to find, arrange and complete your internship, as well as the necessary forms (see 'Step-by-Step plan' below). Discuss your internship ideas and plans timely with the ICC internship coordinators (Marie Steffens and Toon Cox), and - as soon as you know who - with your internship supervising lecturer.
The objectives of the internship within the framework of the Intercultural Communication programme are:
- Discovering an organisation and its structure, departments, activities and organisational culture;
- to be given and take responsibilities in the form of carrying out work within the organisation;
- observing behaviours and the way(s) of communicating of the organisation, both internally and externally, at home and abroad;
- carrying out practice-based research and establishing the relationship between one's own observations and the theoretical backgrounds studied during the lectures, with the aim of providing advice and possibly implementing the advice for the organisation.
More generally, the internship should help you to acquire the following competences:
- You can reflect on your own communicative functioning in an international, multilingual or intercultural organisation. So you know what your own strong and weak communicative competencies are and you know how to build or improve these within an intercultural organization.
- You know how to make a relationship between the knowledge and skills you have acquired during your training and the requirements and expectations of a concrete organisation.
- You can identify a communicative problem in an intercultural practical situation in terms of common communicative models and theories.
- You can make a difference between an organisational problem, an intercultural / multilingual problem and a communicative problem and the different solutions that go with it.
- You can translate an intercultural organisation's communicative problem into concrete research questions, make a reasoned choice for an adequate research method and carry out the research within the intercultural organisation context.
- In doing so, you know how to find a responsible compromise between the scientific ideal and what is practically feasible in an organisation.
- You can adequately present the results of your own work and the recommendations to be derived from it to those involved in the organisation.
The internship has a standard size of 5 EC (=140 hours) or 15 EC (=520 hours).
- 5 EC: you complete your internship with an internship report in which you reflect on the organisation and your learning experiences (NOTE: This only applies if you have followed a MasterLanguage course, see: https://students.uu.nl/en/hum/intercultural-communication/curriculum).
- 15 EC: besides completing your internship with an internship reflection report, you will give a presentation about your internship experiences at the end of Block 4.
During your internship you will be supervised by two people: the supervising lecturer (from your programme) and the internship supervisor (from the organisation). Both parties need to agree with your Internship work plan before you start (see below 'Before you start').
Based on your provisional internship plans, the ICC internship coordinator(s) will appoint you a supervising lecturer. The role of this lecturer will be smaller than with the thesis: this person acts as a source of information, stimulates you to reflect weekly on what you learn and develop and at the end of the internship assesses the internship report.
All ICC internships are completed with an internship report. You will report on the internship and your own development in a reflection report of up to 4000 words. This report will only be read and assessed by your internship supervising lecturer and will be written in the language of your language track.
If you do are doing a 15 EC internship, you also have to give a presentation at the end of Block 4.
You are responsible to find your own internship placement. You can also choose to do your internship abroad. These internships require more preparation time than other internships.
From block 1 on you will be supported in your job market (and internship) orientation:
- In cooperation with UU Career Services ICC students will be offered several workshops, which will help you in finding a suitable internship.
- The internship coordinator will often give you tips about internship opportunities throughout the year and can think along with you about possible internships.
- The Internship Dashboard ('Stage-etalage' in Dutch) contains short descriptions from previous ICC internships. You can log in with your Solis-ID and get inspired for your own internship search.
At the end of your own internship, you add your internship to the Internship Dashboard to inspire future ICC students. With questions you can turn to the coordinator careers orientation Languages, Literature and Communication. - The videos below illustrate internship experiences from two ICC alumni.
Experiences
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
The extent to which you are responsible for finding an internship yourself varies from programme to programme. Read the tips on finding an internship in the detailed Faculty of Humanities internship manual. In some cases, your programme coordinator or internship contact person will provide you with additional information. 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.
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:
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!
Supervision
Two people will supervise you during your internship:
- the supervising lecturer, who will supervise the internship from the university side (focus on the learning process)
- an internship supervisor at the host organisation (focus on the content and daily activities)
Keeping a log
However not obligatory for every study programme, it is recommended to keep logs during your internship because it helps you to reflect on your activities and learning objectives. As well your logs form a rich source for your internship report. Check the document 'Appendix to the internship assessment form' of your own study programme (see above under 'internship assessment') to see if keeping a log is mandatory.
Start writing your internship report
Your internship will be assessed based on your internship report. It is best to start writing the report early on in your internship. Tip: have a look at the 'Appendix to the internship assessment form' of your own study programme and the general guidelines for the internship report in the internship manual to see what is expected of you.
Extend the internship
If your internship goes on for longer than originally intended (and you have discussed this with both your supervising lecturer and internship supervisor), use the internship agreement extension form (pdf) (or in Dutch).
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)
Feedback form teaching internship (docx, English) / Feedbackformulier onderwijsstage (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
Finding an internship if you have a disability
Internships for students with disabilities are not always easy to find. If you run into any problems, please contact the internship coordinator of your (Research) Master’s programme or the study advisor. The following websites offer useful suggestions and/or internship vacancies:
- Expertise Centrum Inclusief Onderwijs (website in Dutch only)
Information on completing an internship with a disability, including a useful Guidebook. - Onbegrensd Talent (website in Dutch only)
A recruitment and selection agency for highly-educated people with a disability. - Onbeperkt aan de slag (website in Dutch only)
A digital platform for employers and employees in the Utrecht region.
Student athletes
Student athletes may face more difficult challenges in finding an appropriate internship. Fortunately, a growing number of companies are aware of the needs of this group of student interns and are taking steps to make it easier for this target group to complete internships (e.g. flexible working hours and a longer internship duration). For more information on the possibilities within your own programme, please refer to the internship coordinator of your (Research) Master’s programme or Study Advisor.
- Preparation time: depending on your citizenship, doing an internship abroad usually takes more time to prepare than an internship in the Netherlands. Especially if you are going to a country outside the EU. It is therefore wise to start your orientation early, ideally about a year in advance.
- Personal commitment: one of the aspects that make an internship so educational is the fact that you have to do a lot yourself. Arranging an internship abroad requires even more of your own initiative and perseverance than arranging one in the Netherlands or your home country. Like studying abroad, this can be very rewarding: you experience daily life in another country, you learn more about the culture of the country and (in many cases) the language, and you have much more contact with the local population than when studying abroad. Moreover, it provides you with an international professional network and you work on your intercultural skills in a professional setting.
- Travel advice: please note that in areas where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issues a negative travel advice (Code Orange or Red), the university will not approve your internship.
Even if you live in the Netherlands as an international student, it can be interesting and useful to do an internship in another country. Moreover, the working language of most organisations in the Netherlands is Dutch. An internship abroad is therefore a good choice if you do not speak Dutch.
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
In addition to signing an internship agreement (see above), check what you have to take into account regarding health and safety: are there safety risks? How is health care organised?
Financing
Doing an internship abroad can be quite costly. Here are some useful links (mostly in Dutch):
- Studiefinanciering
- OV-chipkaart
- Erasmus+ grant
- Beursopener (overview of (private) funds). Have you found a fund here and does it require a letter of recommendation from a student dean? Then look here.
Visas and permits
- Depending on your citizenship or current visa, you might need a visa or work permit.
- Bear in mind that arranging a permit can take a long time. In some countries, this can take up to a year! So be sure to check well in advance.
Insurance and liability
- Whether you are adequately insured during your internship depends on various factors, such as the amount of your internship fee, the duration of your internship and your age.
- It is important that you have properly examined your individual situation before you go on an internship and have signed a contract. This also includes which insurances you have and how these are arranged according to the law and the internship contract.
When you have found an internship abroad, in addition to the steps required for an internship within the Netherlands, you must complete two extra mandatory steps to manage your enrollment in Osiris:
- When registering your internship in Osiris Case, specify that you will be undertaking an international internship (only for Bachelor's students).
- Once your supervising lecturer and internship supervisor have approved your final internship work plan, you need to register your internship through the button 'Abroad' in Osiris.
If you have questions after reading this information and the information on the internship page of your study programme (incl. internship manual), please contact the following contacts:
- Information about doing an internship abroad: your internship coordinator
- Writing an internship work plan, connection to supervising lecturer: your internship coordinator
- Registering in Osiris and signing the OV-form: Internship Office (Student Information Desk Humanities)
- General information abroad and applying for an Erasmus grant: Erasmus Office or International Office Humanities
More information
If you wish to know more, or if you have any questions about internships, you can contact the Internship Office Humanities.