BARCELONA – LIBERAL ARTS & BUSINESS
Internships Internships offer a unique real-world experience combined with professional skill building and cultural immersion. While we have an array of internship placements that only requires English, there are some fields that ask for advanced Spanish language skills. It is your responsibility to research and understand your current college or university's policies with regards to earning credit for an internship before you apply for one. To apply for an internship, submit the Internship Application Form in your MyIESabroad account. The application consists of several pieces that must be submitted before the deadline including: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Internship Application Form Résumé or Curriculum Vitae Cover Letter Internship Approval Form FBI Criminal Background Check Form (varies by placement)
If you are interested in interning in a health-related field or a field that requires interaction with minors or populations at risk (such as teaching internships, NGO's, etc.), you are required to obtain an FBI criminal background check before you arrive in Barcelona. You must upload a copy of your FBI background check through your FBI Criminal Background Check Form and bring the original document with you. FBI background checks take approximately 12-14 weeks to process; therefore, it is important to start this process right away! Students in the past have used the services of FBI approved channelers to process their background checks faster (approximately 2 weeks). For a list of FBI approved channelers visit: https://www.fbi.gov/services/cjis/compact-council/list-of-approved-channelers Although our staff will do their best to find a placement for all applicants, IES Abroad cannot guarantee placement in an internship or in your placement of choice. Final selections are made after an interview and placement depends on the position's availability and requirements, as well as your background and skills. You cannot drop from an internship after a placement has been made by the internship coordinator without potentially preventing future students from obtaining internships; therefore, we ask that you apply for an internship only if you are dedicated to making the most of this learning experience. All internships are a minimum of 100 hours during the semester (eight hours per week approximately), unpaid and are accompanied by a weekly academic seminar. Internships are listed on the IES Abroad transcript with a grade and credits. Previous internship placements include business, communication, entrepreneurship, finance, international relations, marketing, NGOs, psychology, elementary and secondary education, adult education centers and service learning.
Internship sites in Barcelona may require professional dress. Some placements will require you to wear formal business attire while others might allow you to wear jeans and t-shirts. The best thing to do is to make sure that you have formal business attire for your interviews. When you go to the interview or first visit, notice how the other people in the organization are dressed. If you are offered a placement, you should dress in a manner which benefits that organization. Internship Seminar Attendance Policy Attendance is mandatory for all IES Abroad classes, including course-related trips. Any exams, tests, presentations, or other work missed due to student absences can only be rescheduled in cases of documented medical or family emergencies. There will be no penalty for the first absence in the Internship Seminar. A second absence will result in 3 percentage points being deducted from the final grade. A third absence will result in a maximum grade of C for the course. A fourth absence will result in a grade of F. Attendance at the internship placement, at the times agreed with the placement supervisor, is mandatory. Any unavoidable absences, due to documented medical or family situations, must be communicated immediately to both the placement supervisor and to the IES Internship Team. Any hours missed must be made up during the semester, in agreement with the placement supervisor. IES Abroad Barcelona retains the right to adapt the Attendance Policy ahead of student arrival onsite. An updated version of the attendance policy will be available on the IES Abroad Barcelona course syllabus by the start of class sessions each semester. Under no circumstances will exam schedules (midterm or finals) be modified or special arrangements be made to accommodate independent travel.