Internships and Work Experience
Work experience is a great way to explore professional life, and better understand types of work you might consider for your later career. It allows you to experience the world outside academia - an experience that is becoming ever-more important not only for entry to the labour market, but also for entry to master's programmes. Internships are one very good way to achieve this.
Students are free to find or arrange their own internships and work experience, and are not obliged to register them with the university. For example, this could entail a sustained period of work with a ‘host organisation’ during the summer or winter breaks. Alternatively, some work experience is manageable alongside studies. Future employers often appreciate applicants with this kind of initiative, who have shown independence in their self-development entirely outside the academic curriculum.
Students who hope to integrate an internship into their curriculum so that it carries ‘credit’ may do so under certain conditions. You are allowed to include one 7.5 credits internship into your standard 180 credits curriculum at UCU. UCU can accommodate internships in the curriculum in two ways:
- An internship can be described as a ‘non-academic internship (code: UCACCINT21)’. This means it can be registered as an academic course at level 2, but does not count towards your GPA . It may count as 7.5 credits (the equivalent of one course) of the required 180 credits for an undergraduate diploma.
- An internship can be described as an ‘academic internship (code: UCSCI/SSC/HUMINT21)’. This means it is graded and does count towards your GPA.
Remember, doing an internship 'off the grid' (entirely independent of the curriculum) is possible as well. Not all internships fit into the University College Utrecht 7.5 ETCS model or lend themselves for a reflective report, but are equally valid in their own right.
Integrating internships into the curriculum fits best in the second or third year of study. Generally, students follow internships between semesters, since the employers or supervisors often expect interns to be present full-time. Some internships can be carried out during the semester. The minimum duration is five weeks full-time, or 210 hours during the semester.
Summary:
Non-academic Internship UCACCINT21 | The focus is exclusively on work experience. Graded and supervised by the UCU Futures Centre internship coordinator (see details below). |
Academic Internship | The focus is on both work experience and academic depth. |
Full descriptions of the requirements can be found in the Course Planner.
General pass criteria for all internships to be integrated into the curriculum
- At least 210 hours of work;
- A written report describing your daily activities;
- Any internship that counts towards your degree should be somehow connected to the academic fields you are interested in, and you must be able to explain how the work experience is linked to your Liberal Arts and Science education.
- Upon completion of your internship: a completed grading sheet signed by the ‘host’ supervisor.
Finding an internship
- You are free to search under your own initiative, or arrange internships directly with host organisations.
- You are welcome to contact the UCU Futures Centre for advice and guidance on finding and applying for internships
- Our alumni offer internships to UCU students in the annual Alumni Internship Programme.
- Join the UCU Futures group on Facebook and follow the UCU Futures Centre LinkedIn page in order to stay updated on internship vacancies and other interesting opportunities.
- Utrecht University Career Services also uses the platform Jobteaser. Using Jobteaser you can search for internships, research placements, student jobs and more.
UCU Futures Centre internship coordinators
Contact the UCU Futures Centre at ucu.futures@uu.nl.