Study Abroad & Internships

Cordoba, Spain

Study abroad can be a great time to pursue an internship. Pairing internships with study abroad allows you to investigate the professional culture of your host destination and to gain valuable real world experience that can complement your studies abroad. 

Some programs offer embedded internships, while others provide part-time internships for credit or enrichment. 

OIS maintains a list of study abroad programs that offer internship options. Please consult this spreadsheet for details (Wellesley log-in required). 

 

Can I receive academic credit for my internship?

Potentially - Wellesley students enrolled in pre-approved study abroad programs may earn credit toward the degree for the following:

  1. Internships that require the student to communicate primarily in a foreign language may transfer back for academic language credit toward the degree, provided that the experience is transcripted by the study abroad program, has a minimum number of approximately 120 hours for a full unit of credit (and somewhat less for 0.8 units) and requires the students to submit a substantial final project graded by a faculty member of the study abroad program.
     

  2. Internships that are part of other academic courses may be transferred as academic credit towards the degree provided that:

    1. the student spends at least 8 hours per week doing the internship

    2. there are regular contact hours with the supervising faculty, with appropriate readings and assignments

    3. assessment is done by the supervising faculty member of the study abroad program.
       

  3. Students who pursue a research-based internship under the supervision of and graded by a local faculty member of the study abroad program may transfer credit provided that the experience is transcripted by the study abroad program and that the student:

    1. Submit evidence of the research undertaken in the form of a substantial final product, such as a paper or report, and

    2. A report from the local supervising faculty member of the study abroad program evaluating the internship and its final product.

Should a student wish to apply credit earned for an internship toward major, minor, distribution or 300-level requirements, then the student must apply to the department head or designated transfer credit approver in the relevant academic department using the Transfer Credit Request form in MyWellesley.

 
What if I want to do an international internship but not during my study abroad term?

Wellesley departments and programs offer numerous internships abroad! Please note that some opportunities may specify a language requirement.