Before considering an internship, keep in mind that two types of internships exist -- an internship for professional development and an internship for IR academic credit. The vast majority of internships are resume-enhancing and not necessarily academic. Such internships are often designed to help you explore a career field rather than to give you deep intellectual insights into your area of IR specialization. The IR Program encourages majors to take advantage of these opportunities.

Academic internships offer an opportunity to test ideas and concepts one learns in the classroom in a professional or organizational setting. Only select types of internships are eligible for credit.

Students can earn IR credit for internships by following the steps outlined below:

1. Statement of Intent. Once you have secured an internship, you should submit a short statement of intent that explains the scope of the internship and how the internship is in accordance with your thematic concentration and thematic concentration requirement. Since internship credit may only be applied to the thematic concentration portion of the IR major, 75% of your work at the internship site must be directly related to your concentration.
2. IR Core Faculty Sponsorship. You should secure sponsorship by an IR Core Faculty member with expertise in your thematic concentration area and/or who has some familiarity with the professional or organizational setting of your internship. You must arrange with your IR Core Faculty internship advisor the terms for an internship paper of no less than 20-25 pages length. He/she should also email a letter of support to the IR Program Administrator and sign a one-on-one course form.
3. Enrollment Requirements. The statement of intent, letter of support, and one-on-one course form should be sent to the IR Program Administrator. Once these materials are received, the IR Program must certify that the content of the project is applicable to a particular concentration and concentration requirement. Once the IR Program has certified the eligibility of the internship, you will be assigned a section number to register. You will then submit the completed one-on-one course form (with the section number) to Student Services for registration. This must be done before the end of registration period.

NOTES:

• *Students must be enrolled in INTR 99 at the time of the internship--credit may NOT be earned retroactively.
• Tufts requires at least 150 internship hours per semester to merit academic credit; a student's advisor or internship host may require more.
• IR Majors may only use one approved internship for academic credit but are strongly encouraged to take additional internships for professional development.
• Students may only apply one internship credit (INTR 99) or one IR Independent Study (INTR 193/194) toward their Thematic Concentration, but not both.
• Should the student change his/her thematic concentration, the internship may not be able to count for IR credit unless appropriate to the newly selected thematic concentration.

Students whose internships do not meet the criteria above have a variety of other options to seek Tufts credit. Other academic programs and departments such as Peace and Justice Studies and Political Science have internship offerings that may complement IR studies. Organizations in the fields of communications/media and finance often require that internships carry university credit; the Communication and Media Studies Program and Career Services are often appropriate sources of credit for these internships. Please see the Career Services website for comprehensive information on internship credit through other academic programs and departments and Career Services.

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