Field Experience
In the third year, students must perform either as a teacher's assistant or do an internship based on his/her study of interest for at least 12 weeks. The student must send their intended field experience and have this approved by the Graduate Department and once it is approved an official letter will be sent to the person overseeing their internship or the Professor whom they will be acting as their assistant. Upon completion of the internship or teacher's assistant term, a progress report and evaluation must be made by the Supervisor and sent to the Graduate Department.
Internships are to be done outside of AOU
PhD internships increase your marketability after graduation & provide you with important beneficial contacts and may lead to a permanent employment position.
PhD internships focus on allowing PhD students to work in a non-academic role, taking on challenges arising outside of their research expertise, and developing skills relevant both to their academic research and their contributions out in the world.
A PhD internship should primarily be of value to you as a PhD student, and should complement, rather than conflict with your research.
What do you want to get out of your internship; ask yourself:
Skills:
Are you aiming to develop any particular skills?
Knowledge:
Are you seeking any specialist knowledge? This may be specific knowledge relevant to your research area, knowledge of real-world problems or issues connected to your research or insights into a particular occupational area, employer or industry sector.
Network:
Are you hoping to extend your network of professional contacts?
There may be a particular individual or organization that you want to work with that has particular relevance to your doctoral research or future career aspirations. Alternatively, you may want to consider contacts that would be of interest to your supervisor or department.
Career:
Are you hoping to explore or expand your career options?
You may be looking to explore potential career options either related to your research or in an alternative area. Alternatively, you may be aiming to gain either specific or generic experience which will help you to progress your career in a particular direction after your PhD.
Finding an internship:
Depending on what you are hoping to achieve through an internship you may decide to apply for an advertised internship vacancy or approach a particular individual or organization to see if they would be willing and able to offer you an internship.
You will find links to job profiles with information about different careers, links to professional bodies and trade associations which often provide lists of member companies, and specialist careers sites.
Explore current graduate vacancies in the sector that interests you to gain an insight into who is recruiting and for what types of roles. Even though you are not looking for an advertised job you can use these adverts to identify possible organizations to research further and also to gain a clearer picture of potential internship projects. Use social media sites, such as LinkedIn, to search for groups of people who have a common interest.
APPLYING FOR AN INTERNSHIP
The same principles operate when applying for an advertised internship
as when completing an application form or submitting a CV and covering
letter for any job vacancy. These are usually clearly set out in the advert, job description and applicant profile. Work through the job specifics and compile all the evidence you have to demonstrate that you meet each of the employer’s requirements. Use evidence from your PhD, undergraduate degree, work experience, voluntary work etc. Once you have your evidence, consider where this fits into the application form provided or how you are going to include it in your CV. Be aware that a non-academic CV is very different in style and content from an academic CV.