Admission requirements
Students are eligible to do an internship in their second (or third) semester provided they have finished at least 30 ec in course work.
Description
The master’s programme in North American Studies offers students the opportunity to replace one elective course for an internship, in the U.S., the Netherlands, or elsewhere. An internship is an excellent way of getting work experience in an organization, institution, business or museum. An internship in the U.S. or elsewhere abroad gives you international experience and will help you practice your English language skills, both of which can enhance your perspectives on the job market. Students need to find an internship themselves, but the Humanities Career Service website and staff can provide help. Online information about how to find an internship and what arrangements to make: Finding and Arranging Internships (Step by step).
In the past four years Leiden North American Studies students have had internships with, for example, the Roosevelt Institute for American Studies in Middelburg, Elsevier Magazine (“American Dreamers” section), GameHouse in Utrecht, Springer Publishing Company in India, the Dutch embassies in Washington and Bangkok, the Dutch Consulate in New York, the oral history project Voice of Witness in California, NOS News Washington, DC, Volkenkunde Museum in Leiden, the National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, and the Aids Foundation in Amsterdam.
An (intra)curricular internship replaces an elective course (10 EC). It counts towards the weighted average grade (for example for a cum laude). An internship can also be extracurricular, in which case the credits will be added to the regular 40 EC course credits on the diploma supplement. Note that extracurricular internships do not count towards the weighted average grade.
The requirements for both kinds of internships are the same: they have to include a research project that has to be approved in advance by the Board of Examiners.
Internships are supervised by a staff member within the North American Studies programme and by a supervisor within the host institution or company. Students are free to choose their own host institution, but need final approval by the Board of Examiners.
Since a research project is a crucial aspect of the internship, students are required to follow the following procedure:
Before the internship begins:
submit an internship proposal (approx. 1200 words) including:
work schedule: what are your tasks, when and where?
a research proposal on a topic relevant both to the Internship Organization and the MA North American Studies including an abstract, a research question, methodology, plan, and initial bibliography.
During the internship:
submit short monthly reports by email to your Leiden internship supervisor.
At the end of the internship:
submit a report consisting of two parts:
- on your work as an intern at the host institution (stageverslag, ca. 2,000 words)
- on your research project (onderzoeksverslag, ca. 4,000 words, including a bibliography).
For details about the internship proposal and the internship report, see Brightspace Thesis Seminar > course documents > Folder Career Orientation and Internships. When approved by both supervisors, the staff at the Humanities Career Service will submit your proposal to the Board of Examiners. The final report has to be submitted to both supervisors.
Assessment method
Assessment
Practical work: Internship and research project: ca. 600-800 hours (depending on the length, usually 3-6 months);
Preparation: drafting proposal: ca. 20 hours;
Tutoring: interaction with local and Leiden supervisors about progress and research: ca. 20 hours;
Assignment(s): researching and writing final report: ca. 50 hours.
Note: The maximum number of credits a student can get for an internship is 10 ec.
Final assessment is based on the report by the local supervisor of the work you carried out during your internship (50%) and on your final research report (50%).
Weighing
Local supervisor’s report (50%) and student’s final research report (50%).
Resit
Not applicable.
Inspection and feedback
Not applicable
Registration
Registration in uSis will be done by the student administration.
When considering an internship, always first contact the Humanities Career Service in Lipsius (Studiepunt). The staff there can inform and help you and it has a considerable number of internship vacancies, in the Netherlands and abroad. Please first consult the website.
Internship vacancies are also regularly posted on the Leiden American Studies LinkedIn page. The Internationalization Office can inform you on the grants* available for an internship abroad. See also under remarks below.
Contact
Mw. Laura Kouters (Study adviser MA North American Studies)
Remarks
NAS students who have found an internship in the U.S. or Canada (North America) can apply for multiple grants, including, but not limited to the Sustainable Humanities Internship Fund and the Leiden University Fund (LUF).