There are a number of benefits of earning academic credit for your internship abroad. Internship coursework requires students to complete a variety of reflective assignments, which will help the student recognize skills and learning gained through participation. This can be essential for communicating the experience and earned competencies to future employers. Also, earning academic credit may open up financial aid and scholarship opportunities through your home institution.
There are two ways for students to earn credit for their API internship experience:
1. API Schools of Record
API has partnered with Nichols College to offer academic credit for some API Global Internship programs (conducted in English) for an additional fee of $750. Students will receive an official Nichols College transcript at the conclusion of the program. Nichols College is a private institution located in Dudley, Massachusetts. Nichols College may require a minimum enrollment of students in order to award academic credit.
Participants who complete their internship in Spanish, in a Spanish-speaking country, who wish to earn academic credit (3 US semester credits) through Universidad de Congreso will incur an additional fee of $600. In order to receive credit in Spanish for your internship, you must: 1) be interning in a Spanish-speaking country; 2) be completing your internship 100% in Spanish; 3) have taken at least 2 Spanish classes at the 300 level or above, or demonstrate written and oral proficiency at the equivalent level.
Please let your Internship Program Manager know as soon as possible if you plan to seek academic credit for your internship abroad. Please note there is an additional fee involved.
2. Through your Home Institution
In many cases, students can earn credit for the API Global Internship programs through their home institution. In most cases, this will be arranged through your academic department. All tuition fees are paid directly to your home institution and are in addition to the API program fees. It is important to arrange any academic credit before participation in the program as academic credit normally cannot be given retroactively.