AMS4900 – Internship Term for Asia and Middle East Studies

You spend a semester on an internship in an organization or business. The aim of the placement is to give you insight into and increased awareness of how you can apply the skills and competences you have acquired during your studies in a practical context, and which competences and skills the labour market requires. This course gives you the opportunity to gain practical work experience in an organization from the private, public or voluntary sector that is relevant to your education.

The semester is divided between work for the host organisation and independent work on a term paper. You must complete the internship in Asia or in the Middle East, and find a suitable placement on your own or apply for the position as a "hospitant" in the Norwegian Ministry of Forreign Affairs. The host organisation may be a Norwegian diplomatic mission, a Norwegian company with an office abroad, a foreign company, or a voluntary/interest organisation (NGO)

We arrange information meeting each spring semester, to explain the requirements and the application process. This will be announced in Canvas.

After completing this course, you will have required:

• insight into the work methods, tasks, and organization of the workplace.

• knowledge of the norms and values that are central to the organisation.

• experience of a work community and work environment where communication and collaboration are key elements.

• knowledge of how your professional competence and skills can be used in practice, and the ability to present your experiences from the internship.

• generic skills such as the ability to plan, execute, meet deadlines, solve problems, be creative, and collaborate.

• the ability to communicate your knowledge and skills to potential employers and a solid experiential basis for future employment and working life.

Students who are admitted to study programmes at UiO must each semester register which courses and exams they wish to sign up for in Studentweb.

If you are not already enrolled as a student at UiO, please see our information about admission requirements and procedures.

The course is only available to students admitted to the master’s programme in Asia and Middle East Studies (master). The course must be completed in the third semester.

Admission is limited by the number of available internships. It is the host organisation that decides, based on applications, who they wish to offer an internship to and thereby who is admitted to the course. For internships the student finds independently, the department will decide whether the internship can be approved. The student may not hold paid employment with the host organisation during the same period as the internship.

1) Internship you find yourself:

The student must contact potential host organisations and secure a placement in order to be admitted to the course.

• By 1 June the student must have notified the department that they are in the process of finding a placement independently.
• By 15 June the contract with the host organisation must be signed.

If the deadlines fall on a public holiday, the deadlines will be the next working day.

The department can provide an introductory letter for the student with information about the study programme and the academic competence the student has acquired. When contacting potential organisations, it is recommended to include the introductory letter together with your CV and a motivation letter/application. A condition for approval of the placement and admission to the course is that the tasks the host organisation can offer the student are academically relevant. The host organisation must also appoint a contact person who will follow up the student during the placement period.

Documentation required to get the placement approved:

• Confirmation from the organisation
• A short description of the tasks the student will perform (max. 1 page)
• Contact details for the contact person at the host organisation

Application: fill out the online form.

If the department approves the placement, a contract will be issued that must be signed by the student and the host organisation. The department will sign as a third party.

2) Internship at a Norwegian diplomatic mission with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Application deadline: Tentatively 1 March (may vary)

Requires Norwegian citizenship.

You must submit:

• Application (in English)
• CV (in English)
• Transcript of records (in English)
• Letter of recommendation (from a current or former instructor)

The documents should be combined and uploaded as a single PDF to each mission you wish to apply to (max. 3 missions).

Application: fill out the online form.

3) Placement through the Global Career Center (GCC)

Only for students at Japanese Studies (programme option)

Application deadline: 1 May.

You register your interest in placements through the Global Career Center on the Faculty of Humanities’ GCC webpages.

When the faculty nominates you for a placement through the Global Career Center, you will be contacted by a GCC consultant for a follow-up interview. Your preferences for type of host organisation and tasks will be the basis when GCC contacts relevant placements.

The course has no regular seminar teaching but will be delivered through various forms of supervision. The course instructor and your supervisor will give you academic follow-up and guidance during the internship period. Supervision may take place by e‑mail, phone or Zoom/Teams.

Compulsory assignments:

1. Compulsory attendance on a seminar with the course instructor that will prepare you for the internship. The seminar will be arranged in June (time and place will be announced by email after the internships have been confirmed).
2. Submission of one or more assignments during the placement that describe progress, reflect on the tasks performed at the placement, and relate these to your academic skills. You must submit an outline and drafts to the supervisor via Canvas for guidance and comments throughout the semester.
3. Completion of the placement during the agreed period.

You will receive more information about the requirements for the compulsory assignment(s) at the compulsory seminar. Deadlines, requirements and assignment formats will be specified in Canvas.

Approval of the compulsory activities are only valid for the current semester. Compulsory assignments must be completed during the same semester as the internship in order to qualify for the exam. It is your responsibility to verify that you have obtained approval for all compulsory activities.

Absence from compulsory activities:

• Here you will find information about compulsory activities at the Department of Culture, Religion, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies.

It is important that you familiarize yourself with the rules regarding absence from compulsory activities, to prevent being excluded from teaching and losing your eligibility to take the exam.

More information on compulsory activities at the University of Oslo:

• Common guidelines relating to compulsory activities - University of Oslo (uio.no)

Access to teaching

A student who has completed compulsory instruction and coursework and has had these approved, is not entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework. A student who has been admitted to a course, but who has not completed compulsory instruction and coursework or had these approved, is entitled to repeat that instruction and coursework, depending on available capacity.

The exam is a term paper, defined as a report.

The term paper must have a research question, use scientific literature with emphasis on the student’s area of specialization, and investigate a current academic issue related to the student’s tasks at the placement.

UiO, the individual student, and the external contractor must decide in mutual consultation what the topic of the report should be. UiO has the academic responsibility for assuring the quality of the topic proposal and for the content of the report, plus the continuous academic follow-up.

The assignment should consist of approximately 20 pages. One standard page is approximately 2300 characters without spaces, including references. The front page and bibliography are not included in the page count.

You must submit the exam in Inspera - see guides for digital exams.

You are personally responsible for familiarizing yourself with the requirements and deadlines for the exam.

All compulsory activities must be completed and approved in order to take the exam.

You can find more information about the exam on the semester page of the course.