Prior to your internship

Students enrolled on the Bachelor’s Programme in Political Sciences and the Master’s Programme in Political Science have a unique opportunity to gain qualified work experience during their studies. Think about which interests you want to develop during your internship, which kind of organisation you would want to work with and what work you would want to do. Decide if you want to undertake your internship in Sweden or abroad.

Getting an internship - step by step

Step 1

At the beginning of every term, the Department of Government holds an information meeting for students who are interested in undertaking an internship during the following term.

Step 2

Those interested in undertaking an internship during the following term send in their interest form.

Step 3

Now it is time for you to look for internships. There are several ways to do that:

browse the internship search engines on the web
contact organisations in which you are interested
contact organisations where our students have previously interned
check the offers/ads of internships collected on our own web.

When you apply for an internship, you often attach a covering letter and a CV, but some host organisations require more documents such as certificates and grade records. Always check with the organisation which application documents they require.

Step 4

When the applications have been received, each organisation selects those students they find appropriate for an internship. With organisations in Sweden, this can be followed by an interview.

Step 5

Each organisation will decide on placements. When you have accepted the position, please inform the Internship Coordinator, Marie Nylund who your supervisor/contact person is.

Step 6

The department and the organisation will then sign an ”Internship Agreement” with proposed assignements, including the name of the supervisor and the planned work assignments. The Internship Coordinator will send the agreement form and additional information to the organisation.

It is important to point out that it is the organisations that selects which students they wish to host, and therefore it is not certain that every applicant will be offered the internship for which they have applied. Should anyone not get an internship because of the competition, or if no ”appropriate” host organisation could be found, they may apply again the following term.

Practical issues

Period of time

The internship has to equal one academic term, which is 20 weeks. It is usually carried through during the term. However, it is possible to do the internship during the summer (or some part of it). The student has the right to five day’s holiday during the internship.

Funding

The internship is funded by the student, normally through student loan. The students are entitled to apply for additional loans to cover travel costs and possible extra insurance costs. In exceptional cases the organisation contributes to the interns fixed expenses, e.g. local travel or lunch.

Scholarships

An internship (especially abroad) usually means additional costs and scholarships give a welcome extra income. Remember that some long-term planning in advance is essential when you apply for scholarships. Scholarships from Uppsala University or Student Nation are issued during internships as during course studies in Uppsala.

Erasmus Traineeships

Accommodation

Intern accommodations vary. The organisation can in some cases assist in finding
accommodation, but the student normally solves this problem. A good advice for
interns abroad is to contact a local university; they sometimes offer student
accommodation at a good price. Also try to contact students who have had
internships there in previous years.

Travel

The students cover their travel expenses between Uppsala and the place of the
internship themselves. You can apply for additional student loans for travel
expenses and possible additional insurance costs at CSN.

Insurance

As we are a member of the EU, students who are covered by the Swedish social
insurance are entitled the same health care as the natives in each EU country. You
need a health insurance card from Försäkringskassan to confirm this.

Interns working in a non-EU country are covered by the so-called STUDENT-UT-
insurance, based on Uppsala University’s insurance agreement with
Kammarkollegiet. It gives practically full cover for students abroad in terms of healthcare and accidents as well as liability and legal aid during their studies abroad. It also covers travel directly to and from the country/place of studies and is valid two weeks before and after the course starts and finishes. Baggage insurance and property insurance while at the place of study are also included. Note that the insurance is only valid in the country where your internship is. If you travel to another country you need to get an additional insurance. See the insurance terms and conditions at Kammarkollegiet.

Visit Kammarkollegiet's website.

Help with your CV

CV-online

Succeeding your internship

Contact

More information can be found on a common university level

Student / Internationella möjligheter / Praktik och fältstudier