Q. Why is the program only open to juniors, seniors and graduate students?
A. IE3 Global Internships are designed to provide a transition from a student's academic major to a future career. The clarity that students have about their career path is important to the success of the internship. Overseas host organizations are also interested in what a student can contribute to their office, school or project and therefore prefer that students be further along in their studies. For these reasons, we ask that students have at least junior status before beginning their internship.

Q. How is an internship different than a study abroad program?
A. An internship is a professional experience where the student is working full-time in their chosen field. Interns contribute to the daily operations of their host organization. The student may be the only intern in their location and is not part of a group or co-hort who are abroad together. Interns typically do not take classes while overseas. Most previous interns would say that the internship is a much more independent, individualized and professional experience than a study abroad program.

Q. How can students better their chances of being selected for an internship?
A. The final decision on who is accepted on an internship lies with the host organization. Students should look at the internship application in a light similar to a job application. Why is the student a perfect "fit" for the internship?

Encourage students to think about the skills, previous experience and courses taken that might make them particularly well qualified. If a student has previously been overseas, he or she may have gained valuable cross-cultural skills that will be valuable in the internship situation. Some interns planned for a long time before applying for the internship to assure that they had the necessary language proficiency and professional skills required for the position. Students should think about how they present themselves. The application and resume should have no spelling errors and should be neat and typed.

Q. How does IE3 Global Internships monitor student safety and security issues?
A. The IE3 program staff is committed to students' personal safety abroad. Below is a summary of the information that we share with students who are accepted on the internship program. While we cannot provide absolute guarantees, we are fully committed to help students gain critically needed international skills and understanding without exposure to unusual risks.

A SAFE EXPERIENCE ABROAD

While there are always risks involved with travel (whether abroad or in the US), we will not send you to a place or circumstance that we consider of particular risk.
We monitor the safety conditions in all countries where we operate drawing upon a variety of sources:

We provide personal safety information and pre-departure briefings to help you understand the reasonable precautions you should observe.
Our overseas representatives or host organizations provide you with further safety advice on site, and serve as backstops should safety issues arise.
Keep yourself informed through State Department Advisories at http://travel.state.gov

Q. What if a student just wants to work overseas and doesn't really care if it has anything to do with his or her major?
A. Many students work overseas in areas that don't relate to their major in college. The IE3 Global Internships program however works with students to help them gain skills related to their major and career goals. Most host organizations also want to be sure that students are trained in the fields they've requested and have a genuine interest in the work that they are doing. If a student is interested in working overseas, he or she might look to resources such at BUNAC or CIEE who have work abroad programs for students.

Q. Why is the program only for currently enrolled students?
A. The program is designed for students. The primary mission of IE3 Global Internships is to serve students as they transition from the academic work to a professional career. The internships are developed to provide students with solid professional experience that they can use as a springboard into their career and we work with host organizations to assure that the experiences are appropriate for students. Many of the visas that we help students secure are dependent on the fact that the intern is a student. In most parts of the world, it is very difficult to obtain the necessary documentation to work legally unless you are a student.

Q. Do students make their own flight arrangements?
A. Yes. Once accepted on an internship, the student will work with the regional director to decide upon an appropriate start and end date for your internship. Once that is decided, we'll provide students with information about student airfares and then let the student make their own reservations.

Q. Where will students live?
A. Housing arrangements vary by internship. In some cases, the host organization provides housing while in others, students will be living with a family. In some locations, interns find their own housing with the aid of the IE3 Global Internships regional director. On each position description, we try to provide you information about the housing that will be available.

Q. What if the student doesn't get accepted by his or her first choice?
A. The internship placements are competitive and final decisions regarding acceptance are always made by the host organization. Given these factors, IE3 Global Internships cannot guarantee a student's placement. If there are other similar placements that might be of interest to a student, we will direct students to these. In some cases, we'll encourage a student to re-apply or keep their file for a subsequent round of selection.

Q. Can a student apply for more than one internship?
A. Yes, on the application form, there is a way for students to indicate several internships, in order of preference. Because some internships are for the same major or have a similar focus, applying for more than one position may be to the student's advantage. Students should however be advised against selecting more than three to four internships as that can indicate a lack of focus. Regional directors will work to place students in their first choice option and then work closely with students if that is not possible.

Q. How quickly will a student know if they've been accepted?
A. Once a student's file is complete, regional directors work to confirm a student's placement within four to six weeks. If this is not going to be possible given holidays, schedules of our counterparts overseas or other factors, the regional director will alert the student.