For more than 40 years, Boston University Study Abroad internship programs have integrated rigorous academic coursework with hands-on professional experience, offering students a dynamic and immersive learning environment. These programs combine classroom learning with real-world work, helping students connect theory to practice while gaining a deeper understanding of both local culture and professional life abroad.
Each internship is part of a broader academic experience, typically a 4-unit course within a 16-unit term, and is guided by faculty through a structured syllabus.
The internship itself exhibits these characteristics:
- It is academically directed. The internship is a separate course, supervised by faculty members, and with varying assessments that may include written work or presentations.
- Grades and academic credit are based on explicit requirements detailed in a course syllabus.
- It is credit-bearing.
- Its scheduling is meant to allow the student to carry out projects of significance for the employer while allowing normal contact hours for the accompanying classroom-based courses.
INTERNSHIP COURSE ASSESSMENT
Assessment is a combination of written work, participation in the internship seminar, and the internship supervisor’s evaluation. The internship course syllabus will indicate the specific grading and assessment criteria.
All assessment is performed by qualified teaching faculty, the resident director, or a qualified academic contracted specifically for this purpose.
Upon acceptance to an internship program, students will be provided with materials stating the academic expectations and requirements of the internship. These include:
- The placement process
- Suggestions on how to prepare résumés and how to conduct oneself during an interview
- An introduction to daily work life in the host culture and the behavioral expectations placed on the student
Everything I have been able to accomplish in my life can be traced to the life-changing and formative experience of studying abroad. I did so twice before making my move [to Paris] permanent, and the most instrumental period was the semester I spent studying at BU [Paris] and interning. The internship at L'Oréal put my feet in the French professional world, an experience that would prove crucial to my pursuit of a career as a full-time Parisienne. Studying abroad not only opened doors but exposed me to a diversity of thought and experience that has made me a much more empathetic adult.