Intern Abroad FAQs

Housing for the internship program varies at each location and based on the time of year. Housing assignments may also be based on the individual location of the internship placement to keep commute times reasonable. Housing options are as follows:

Bristol, Dublin, Edinburgh, London, Lisbon, and all Australia and New Zealand locations - housing will typically be in twin shared mixed-gender student apartments.

Barcelona, Madrid, Seville, Buenos Aires, and Santiago - participants have a choice of homestay (with meals) or shared mixed-gender student apartments.

30-60 minutes, though there can be slightly longer in some instances. Participants should also expect to take multiple modes of transportation - i.e. bus and subway, subway and ferry, etc. Public transportation costs are not included.

API can locate high-quality, customized internship placements in nearly all fields of study, with the exception of hands-on, clinical work.

Yes, API can find English-speaking internships in our non-English destinations. Applicants that are unable to speak the local language may need to be more flexible with their placement. English-speaking placements in Buenos Aires are limited; therefore a high-intermediate level of Spanish is typically required.

The average placement time is 4-8 weeks, though it can take longer for 'niche' fields.

Each applicant will receive an official internship offer with the details of their internship placement. This includes a description of the company and of the anticipated internship duties. The participant must officially accept the offer and make the next payment towards the program fees of $1,000 (unless their home university has a direct bill arrangement with API). Once the applicant has officially accepted their offer, API will assist them with the pre-departure process.

In the rare event that API cannot place an applicant, the applicant would receive a full refund on any application and confirmation payments made.

API customizes all placements based on the individual applicant's learning and career objectives. This means that we are continuously developing new internship placements for applicants. We find our placements through professional networks, industry connections, and research. Customization does not refer to company size or stature.

We can find placements in most industries or fields except hands-on clinical work. Most of our placements are with smaller to mid-sized local companies or organizations. We have found that these types of organizations tend to offer a better experience than large corporations. The larger the organization, often the more restrictive they are in what they will allow an intern to work on. Participants wanting an English-speaking placement in a foreign language destination will need to allow for flexibility in the type of placement we can find.

In most cases, the API participant will be the only intern at the internship site. Because most of our sites are smaller to mid-size organizations, they only have the resources to host 1-2 interns at a time.

API will locate a placement based on the information that the applicant provides us during the application process. API will focus on the desired learning outcomes in making an internship match, which takes priority over the size and the focus of the host organization. Therefore, API is confident that any internship offered will match the desired placement requested by the applicant to the best of our ability. Unless an applicant has valid reasons why the placement does not match their learning objectives, the expectation is that the applicant will accept the given offer.

More details are provided on the respective program pages, but in general, the following features are included:

• Tailored internship placements
• @api online system
• Orientation materials and resources
• Workplace and culture orientation
• Housing
• Access to Resident Coordinators / Directors 24/7
• Mobile phone
• Academic credit (optional)
• Internship placement oversight
• Career Navigation Briefcase

Yes! All of the API internship locations are supported by API Resident Coordinators / Directors who will be available 24/7 to support and assist participants through the internship experience.

Each intern will have someone at the internship that is designated as their internship supervisor. The expectation is that the supervisor and intern will meet on a weekly basis.

Unless otherwise specified, the participants will intern 4 days a week for approximately 32 hours per week. Internship days are typically Monday - Thursday or Tuesday - Friday. However, there may be instances where the intern must work over the weekend and have days off during the work week. For example, hospitality-related organizations often are busiest during weekend hours where it is beneficial to have interns assist.

In order to meet contact hour requirements for credit through the participant's home institution, special arrangements can be made for a 5-day intern week.

No. All API internships are unpaid due to immigration restrictions and availability.