By doing an internship, you get to apply your knowledge in your main subject area while also making contacts with potential future employers. On this page, students at the Department of Global Political Studies (GPS) can find information on how to do an internship as part of their studies.

Information meeting

Students who have an elective semester will be invited to an information meeting via Canvas. We will go through the presentation and answer questions. Read the information in the Powerpoint presentation, and prepare your questions to the meeting.

Eligibility requirements and internship courses

To do a credit-earning internship as part of your education, you sign up for an internship course before your elective semester. What internship course you should apply to depends on what programme you study. We recommend that you also apply for a free-standing course via Antagning.se should you not find an internship before the deadline, or if your internship is not approved to be part of the course.

You will find specific eligibility requirements on the webpage for your course. Common to all internship courses is that:

  • you must be enrolled in a programme at the Department of Global Political Studies
  • you must follow the programme plan 
  • you must sign up for the internship course via the application form no later than April 15 for an internship during autumn semesters and no later than October 15 for an internship during the spring semester
  • you must have found an internship position and submitted complete information about this according to the form no later than May 15 for internship autumn semesters and no later than December 1 for an internship during the spring semester
  • you must get the internship position approved by the course coordinator. For more information about internship placement criteria, see "Finding an internship" below.

Internship courses at GPS

Internship courses at bachelor's level

Internship courses at master's level

If you are studying International Migration and Ethnic Relations, Master's Programme (Two-Year) or Political Science: Global Politics, Master’s Programme (Two-year), you can choose between two internship courses:

Finding an internship position

You need to find and apply for internship positions independently. Once you have an offer of a place it needs to be approved by the internship coordinator. Before you start your internship, an agreement must be signed between Malmö University and the place of internship.

Always keep in mind that the internship's activities should have a close connection to your main area of studies and that you must be given relevant tasks. Typical volunteer work without qualified tasks will not be approved.

If you need a certificate that you are a student and that the internship is included in your education, you can contact the GPS study administrator.

Tips when looking for an internship

  • For internships during the spring semester, you should start to look for internship positions at the beginning of October, at the latest. For internships during the autumn semester, you should send out applications for internships in February/March at the latest. 
  • It is your responsibility to set up and plan assignments during the internship in consultation with your prospective supervisor for you to meet the course's learning objectives and get the most out of your internship.
  • If you want to be sure of getting an internship, we recommend sending at least 15–20 applications. Keep in mind that you can also send the application to workplaces and organisations that do not advertise internships.
  • It takes quite a lot of work to get a good internship position and it is not possible to say whether you should send regular letters, call or send emails because it varies from place to place, you have to explore the options yourself.
  • You can find suggestions for internship positions in the career portal Future Finder. 
  • Think about what you want to get out of the internship: where do you want to be? What do you want to do? Is there any special area or country that attracts you?
  • You can apply for internships at, for example, international or national companies, non-profit organizations, cultural institutions, state or municipal authorities.
  • Internships in countries or areas that the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (UD) advises against entering will not be accepted.
  • If you need help with your CV or support in your search for an internship, you can get it via the Career Services at Malmö University.

Requirements for the internship placement

  • The internship must take place in an established workplace. There needs to be a supervisor available at the workplace (remote internships are not approved).
  • The activities of the place of internship need to be clearly connected to your main area of study. Your tasks should be within the framework of your future labour market and should be the type of tasks that require an academic degree.
  • The internship period must last for a minimum of 18 weeks and a maximum of 20 weeks. You must give the exact dates for the duration of your internship.
  • The work during your internship must be unpaid, you should not be expected to perform as an employee with a salary. The internship course is CSN-eligible.
  • The internship must take place during the semester.

Note!

Note that getting the internship placement approved is not the same as being eligible for the course. To be admitted to the course, you must meet the eligibility requirements.

How to apply

Your application is done in two steps. First, you apply for an internship course, and when you have received a positive response from an internship, the placement must be approved by the internship coordinator.

1. Sign up for an internship course

The form is published here when the internship course is open for applications. 

2. Submit information about your internship

Once you have been offered a place of internship, the Internship Coordinator must approve it. Fill out and submit the form no later than 15 May before the autumn semesters, and no later than 1 December before the spring semesters.

Have you made sure that you are eligible for the internship course?
Your level of language competence in the language?

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Internship abroad

You can choose to do your internship abroad. When doing an internship abroad, you are responsible for obtaining a visa, housing, travel and the like. When doing an internship in countries with visa requirements, it is important to check how long the processing time is expected to be at the embassy.

As soon as your internship has been approved by us, we will contact you with more information on how to submit information so that you can obtain an insurance certificate.

Note that the organisation information and the contact person must be in the country where you are doing your internship. Representatives from organisations in Sweden are not approved.

Read more about internship abroad