MAIS - Internships

The completion of one or more internships totaling 120 hours minimum is mandatory for graduation. Advanced approval by the graduate academic director or department chair is required.

Internships are completed with an organization in the San Francisco Bay Area, elsewhere in the United States, or abroad in a field related to your studies and the interests and goals of your career path, such as; human rights, migration, economic development, conflict resolution, and international law. Internships are directed by an on-site organization supervisor.

• Interactive Internship Map »
• Full Internship List.pdf
• All MAIS Internship Resources

Getting Started

There is some flexibility in when you complete your internship. Most students complete internships during the summer following their second semester, although an internship may be completed at any point during the program.

Informational interviews are a great place to start. Here are some useful resources.

International Students

If you're in the U.S. on a student visa, immigration regulations require that you complete one full year of coursework prior to engaging in an internship. This means you must wait until the summer after your second semester or in the fall during your third semester. For more information, please contact International Students and Scholar Services at isss@usfca.edu or (415) 422-2654.

Compensation

An internship does not have to be unpaid. You can make as little or as much money as possible, as long as the internship reflects the objectives and values of the program.

Interning Abroad

You may complete your internship abroad with university approval. You need to submit the MAIS Internship Agreement and have the internship approved by the department.

Once the internship is approved submit the required pre-departure forms. The process is overseen by the Center for Global Education.

Health Insurance

All USF students are required to have health insurance in order to participate in university sponsored international activities. Indicate your health insurance information in the Participant Information form. Supplemental travel insurance coverage with USF ACE/Euroassist will be provided.

Travel Warning

Students are expected to comply with all travel restrictions or sanctions imposed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. If students propose research or internship travel to a country for which the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs has issued a Travel Warning, travel may be approved at the discretion of the Provost and Vice Provost for Academic Affairs. After the Internship Agreement is submitted, the program consults with the Vice Provost and communicates a decision to the student.

U.S. Department of State Travel Warnings »

Graduation Requirements

While internships are required for graduation they do not carry graduate level credit. To meet the program graduation requirements an internship analysis and faculty evaluation must be completed.

students complete an internship analysis paper assessing:

• how the internship built coursework and furthered the students’ research for their thesis or applied project
• self-evaluation of work undertaken
• the development of skills and professional goals
• the learning experience as a whole
• organization supervisor then completes an evaluation of the student and their internship experience
• both are completed and returned to the program, the course will be deemed complete