International Internships Guidelines

Students can participate in an international internship that may range from a few weeks to six months of full-time work. The internship integrates academic credit at Western Washington University with on-the-job experience, allowing students to gain valuable skills while working towards a degree. Students should start planning at least two quarters in advance for an international internship. Education Abroad (EdAbroad) and the Career Services Center offer internship resources.

• Meet EdAbroad eligibility requirements (min. 2.5 GPA, completion of at least 30 credits at WWU).
• Acceptability to the internship program or agency.
• Internship approval by a faculty advisor and academic department or college chair; faculty advisor must determine how the internship is evaluated and indicate the S or U grade earned.
  • Communication Studies students are not able to obtain pre-approval of an international internship. Students may ask the Communication Studies internship supervisor to review their internship upon return for potential credit within the major/minor.
  • Journalism students participating in international internships must follow these Internship Guidelines and complete the Independent Study Abroad application.

• Students meet with their departmental faculty advisor and obtain approval for internship.
• International internship credit can only be applied to one academic department.

Application:

• For International Internships with Travel: Complete the WWU Education Abroad application for your specific internship. If your internship is not a pre-approved Education Abroad program, complete the generic WWU International Internship application.
• For Virtual Internships: Complete the WWU Virtual Internship application.
• For Virtual Internships and Virtual Global Courses: If the program encompasses both virtual courses and a virtual internship, complete the WWU Virtual Global Courses + Internship application.
• Exceptions: Political Science and Health and Human Development (HHD) students will complete the WWU Independent Study Abroad application and follow departmental internship procedures including departmental registration.

Application Processes:

• As part of the WWU EdAbroad application, complete the Departmental Academic Advising E-sign Form with the faculty advisor to document approval. International internship credit can only be applied to one academic department. It is up to the student and faculty advisor to determine how the internship will be evaluated. Some departments have specific guidelines and students must follow departmental and EdAbroad guidelines for international internships.
• Schedule an advising appointment with an EdAbroad advisor to process the application. At the advising appointment, students will be provided the EdAbroad Registration Form to complete with their faculty advisor and department or college chair (if required by the department).
• Return the completed EdAbroad e-sign Registration Form to EdAbroad.
• If the internship program provides this service, the student may request the program or agency to send the evaluation or transcript directly to EdAbroad for processing upon completion of the internship. EdAbroad will send the internship evaluation or transcript to the faculty advisor for review via an e-sign form.

After the application is processed by EdAbroad, and the student submits the completed signed EdAbroad Registration Form the student will be registered for each quarter they are participating in the internship. EdAbroad registers students in a block placeholder of Global Internship and Field Study INTL x15 credits, S/U graded.

For more information, contact Krista Mantello.