Internship Resources for International Relations students

Internship Resources for International Relations students
Everyone knows that internships are important but they can be hard to find. You can either do a
general internship in something ‘different’ and exciting to enhance your CV eg Camp America, or
something directly related to career areas that you’re interested in eg a formal internship with a large organisation. The ideal is a
combination of both over your time at St Andrews.
Some internships are paid but many are unpaid and more informal in nature. Obviously, most students cannot afford to do
an unpaid internship for long. If this is an issue for you, our advice would be to limit the period you do unpaid internships for and
combine it with ordinary paid work to supplement your income. Employers do value ‘real’ summer jobs eg bar or shop work, as
long as you ensure you can present what you did there in a commercially-minded way on CVs and applications.
a) For general information about work experience and internships visit:
http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/careers/students/jobsandworkexperience/workexperience/
b) For a list of popular internship websites visit our website:
http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/careers/students/jobsandworkexperience/workexperience/workexperienceresources/
 Lists local internship opportunities including the St Andrews Summer Internship Scheme & the University of
St Andrews Undergraduate Research Internship Programme (URIP), both of which are funded.
 Lists links to websites for international internships eg Going Global & The Saltire Foundation.
 Lists popular UK internship sites such as inspiringinterns.com and topinternships.com.
c) For specific internships for International Relations students:

The School of International Relations has produced a page of useful internship links

NATO provides students with the opportunity to intern with the International Staff at NATO Headquarters in
Brussels and in a few other NATO bodies.

The digital political journals Your Middle East and Global Politics actively welcome contributions from St Andrews
students: the editorial team have St Andrews connections.

If you’re interested in working for an international organisation or a multi-national business in the UK, being
proficient in a foreign language(s) will give you the edge. You may wish to consider applying for an evening
language programme run by the University of St Andrews. Another option is to spend your summer overseas
picking up language skills while you work or spend time Teaching English as a Foreign Language(TEFL).

The Centre for the Study of Religion and Politics(CSRP) and the Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political
Violence (CSTPV) offer year long internships for both Honours and postgraduates .Information about these is
normally posted on the noticeboard early in semester one with applications in October. Check details with the
CSTPV secretary at [email protected] .

The IOM Iraq Displacement Monitoring Programme offers a full-time internship in Amman, Jordan. The internship
lasts for three to six months.

Examples of organisations which have offered internships to IR students in the past include; Allafrica (Washington
DC), Amnesty International , Chatham House, Human Rights Watch (London, New York and Washington DC), USAID
Africa Internship (Sub-Saharan Africa and Washington DC), World Bank (Washington DC)

Teaching - If you’re interested in teaching or other work with children, the University runs schemes in partnership
with local education authorities which give students access to school pupils. To find out more, contact the staff
involved by e-mail, [email protected] . The School of International Relations runs several initiatives
with local schools. Group projects are open to junior Honours students and recent examples include a Middle East
peace summit, mock UN Security Council debate on Syria, debates on counterterrorism and an introduction to
Chinese politics. Senior Honours students have the opportunity to take an interdisciplinary module
“Communication and Teaching in Arts and Humanities” which requires students to spend over 20 hours in a local
school and the assessment contributes to their degree. For more information, contact the IR Outreach Co-ordinator
by email, [email protected]. ID4002- Communications and Teaching in the Arts and Humanities

http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/careers/students/careerdecisions/careersa-z/
o Popular choices for International Relations students include: Conflict Resolution, Human Rights,
Humanitarian Aid, International Organisations, Overseas Development, Political Risk Analysis and Think
Tanks.
o Pay particular attention to the ‘How to get experience’ section where you’ll find the most popular
internships for the job sector in question, and the ‘How to find a job’ section at the bottom of the page.

Find out what internships other St Andrews students have done:
o http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/careers/students/careerdecisions/beinspired/
Read the case studies and get some internship inspiration!
d) Making speculative applications to organisations which don’t advertise internships
 Sometimes, if you can’t find an internship in an area or organisation that you’re interested in, you might try making
a speculative application putting your case forward for interning using a CV and cover letter.
http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/media/careers-centre/documents/Speculativeapplications.pdf
e) Get one-to-one help with applying for internships
 For information on seeing an adviser click on the Adviser icon at http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/careers/
 Networking: LinkedIn and Careers Alumni Network - click on Networking tab at the link above.
February 2013