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; however, academic credit can only be given to a truly academic internship.

Academic internships offer an opportunity to test ideas and concepts one learns in the classroom in a professional or organizational setting. The IR Program expects students to take the initiative in conceptualizing and organizing their internships to suit their particular intellectual needs. Students should consult their advisors for more information and advice.

To earn IR academic credit for an internship, students must meet all of the following conditions:

1. Compatibility with Thematic Concentration. Since internship credit may only be applied to your Thematic Concentration, the internship must be compatible with the purposes of that concentration; therefore, 75% of your work at the internship site must be directly related to your concentration.
2. IR Core Faculty Sponsorship. It is expected that you will secure sponsorship of an IR 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 sponsor the terms for an internship paper of no less than 20-25 pages length.
3. Enrollment Requirements. Once students have found an appropriate internship and secured faculty sponsorship, have your IR internship advisor email a letter of support to the IR Program Administrator and have them sign an add/drop form. Once the approval email is received, students will be assigned a section number. Students will then submit the signed add/drop form with the section number to Student Services for registration.

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.
• This credit may only be applied to the Thematic Concentration portion of the IR requirements.
• IR Majors may only use one approved internship for academic credit but are strongly encouraged to take additional internships for professional development.
• Students may use either an IR internship or an IR Independent Study in 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. Back to top.

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