How Students Qualify and Apply for an Internship
Eligibility
Each prospective student applicant must be enrolled in an InterSIP-approved program of study that includes courses and requirements that are relevant to the broad field of advertising, public relations and other aspects of marketing communication. Work experience in this field is also helpful.
As a general policy internships are limited to qualified undergraduate or graduate students who are at least half way through the professional part of their academic programs. Recent graduates who clearly can benefit from such experience before seeking regular employment may also be considered.
Only students from participating educational institutions are eligible to apply. Every student applicant must meet InterSIP requirements. It is especially important for a student to have a recommendation from the InterSIP Coordinator at his/her educational institution that certifies the student has high potential for success in a career in the field of international marketing communication. The Director of InterSIP will make the final determination that a student is qualified to participate.
Procedures to Apply
InterSIP currently has Internship Coordinators at institutions of higher education in Australia, El Salvador, Hungary, Italy, Lebanon, Malaysia, Netherlands, United Arab Emirates (Dubai) and the USA. More countries will be added as InterSIP expands.
Students at approved InterSIP educational institutions in the above-mentioned countries begin the application process by contacting the institution’s Internship Coordinator. Students from other educational institutions may qualify if an administrator or faculty member at their institution is willing to initiate the process to become approved by InterSIP and to take on the responsibilities of InterSIP Coordinator at that institution.
After consulting with their Internship Coordinator, there are three possible procedures to obtain an international internship:
1. Apply to an existing employer internship program in a country in which InterSIP has an Internship Coordinator.
2. Obtain an internship in the student’s home country for a student from another country, and thereby qualify for an internship abroad that is available from InterSIP contacts.
3. Participate in an internship program of a multinational advertiser, agency or media company that has been established by agreement between the employer and InterSIP to arrange for “one-to-one exchanges” or “multilateral exchanges” of interns in offices of the employer in two or more countries.
Procedure 1: Use existing employer internship programs.
Many employers throughout the world have student internship programs. Normally they are available only to domestic students, but some employers will accept applications from students from other countries, especially if such students meet the employer’s standards and requirements in the same way as local-country students. Since many employers normally use internship programs as a means to identify desirable future employees, the student must be open to the possibility of accepting a position with the employer after the student’s educational or degree requirements have been completed.
To use this process the student may proceed in one of two ways:
(1) Go on-line to identify an employer (in a country where InterSIP has an Internship Coordinator) and contact the employer directly to ascertain if students from other countries will be considered for an internship.
(2) Ask the Director of InterSIP for the names of employers who are known to consider applications from foreign students.
If a student identifies an employer who is willing to accept foreign students, s/he should contact the Director of InterSIP for instructions before submitting an application. The reason is that most employers need a firm written assurance that they will not need to handle the processing of student visas. InterSIP coordinators in the employer’s country may be able to take care of most of the details of applying for a VISA or work permit for a qualified student, as well as assist with other important details.
If a student intends to apply for an internship with an employer in the USA, Michigan State University will make a firm commitment to the employer to handle the arrangements to obtain the proper student J-1Visa. The student must obtain this commitment from MSU before applying to the employer, and must submit the letter of commitment with the internship application to the employer. The letter from MSU will also confirm that the MSU Internship Coordinator will be available to help to solve any problems that may arise before or during the internship. Local Internship Coordinators in other countries perform the same functions.
However, the student must apply to InterSIP before receiving assistance. Click below to apply.
This procedure works well because:
(1) the employer can handle foreign student applications almost as easily as those from domestic students,
(2) foreign students qualify for an internship in accordance with the employer’s normal requirements, and
(3) the Internship Coordinator will be available to resolve any problems that arise before or during the internship period.
Procedure 2: Qualify for an internship abroad by obtaining a local internship for a foreign student.
Under this procedure, each prospective student applicant is expected to participate in obtaining agreement from an employer in his/her own home country to offer an internship to a student from another country. Since most students do not have the necessary contacts and personal qualities to be able to obtain such an agreement without help, they will seek the aid of the Internship Coordinator at their institution, or the assistance of other faculty members or administrators who agree to help. Participation in this process will be valuable experience for the student. The Director of InterSIP will provide information to assist in this process, and sometimes provide leads to employers who are interested in hosting an intern from another country.
Michigan State University will handle the process to obtain the J-1 VISA for a qualified student who is coming to the USA under this procedure. The Internship Coordinator at MSU will also be available to solve any problems that arise for the student or employer before or during the internship. Local Internship Coordinators in other countries perform the same functions.
However, the student must apply to InterSIP before receiving assistance. Click below to apply.
This procedure works well because:
(1) students and their InterSIP Coordinators in other countries are doing the same thing,
(2) InterSIP will handle the necessary multilateral matching of students and employers in several countries, and
(3) The Internship Coordinator in the employer’s country will take care of most of the details of processing a qualified student’s application for a VISA or work permit, and will be available to resolve any problems for the student or employer that may arise before or during the internship period.
Procedure 3: Participate in an internship program of a multinational advertising agency, advertiser or media company that is interested in developing foreign talent for its offices.
Under this arrangement two (or more) of an employer’s offices establish an agreement with InterSIP to take an intern from another country in which that employer has an office. Such arrangements can be either on a one-to-one basis with two of the employer’s offices in different countries, or on a multilateral basis among three or more country offices.
Internship Coordinators will provide the same services as mentioned for the other procedures above—visa, handle problems, etc.
Interns under such agreements must be open to the possibility of accepting a position in the employer’s office in the student’s home country after the student’s educational or degree requirements have been completed. This arrangement between IntersSIP and a multinational employer permits an employer to train a potential employee in one office for possible employment in another office.
InterSIP has not yet finalized any of these kinds of arrangements, but is seeking to do so with several multinational employers. Students who are interested in this arrangement should contact their Internship Coordinator to learn if such arrangements are available.
General information
After the initial steps under one of the three above-described procedures, the student should complete an application form and submit it to InterSIP. This form requires general personal information, education record, work experience, special competencies, capabilities and strengths, and a written statement of his/her career interests and plans that indicate the kind of internship that s/he prefers, e.g. creative, managerial, research, media, public relations, direct marketing, sports marketing, or other specializations. Students will pay a $100 application fee to MSU. This fee makes a small contribution to covering MSU’s costs.
Students may incur additional costs such as fees that their institutes may require if they wish to receive academic credit for the internship experience. In some cases an employer will pay for student out-of-pocket costs associated with the internship, e.g. local living expenses, travel, visa costs, and so forth. But students must be flexible and have sufficient resources to cover expenses not covered by the employer.
As part of the application process the student must also ask the registrar or other appropriate official of his/her institute to send to the Director of InterSIP an official transcript of the student's academic record. This transcript should show courses or classes taken, number of credits or hours, grades received, and any special honors or significant academic achievements. The student must also ask the internship coordinator or the student's academic adviser to send a letter of recommendation directly to the Director of InterSIP. These two items may be sent by email, fax or regular mail, and must be sent separately from the application.
All application materials and correspondence must be in the English language or accompanied by an English translation.
All Students must negotiate their individual contracts with employers and submit them to the Director of InterSIP for review, before the Visa services are rendered by Internship Coordinators. In the case of procedures two or three above, the student will be given the names of one or more employers to contact to determine if s/he meets the employer's requirements and if so, to initiate direct negotiation of an internship contract.
If the student qualified but an internship is not available for the applicant, the $100 fee will be returned.
Students should begin the process about nine months before the intended starting date of their internship. Earlier application is recommended. A student can become an official applicant by clicking below and following the indicated timeline, sequence of steps and guidelines.
[Click Here to Apply]
