Virtual Internships

Virtual Internships in Montpellier —

  1. Program Details

    Virtual Internships in Montpellier is a four-credit internship opportunity. It’s critical to learn to adapt, acclimate, discover new ways to contribute, and be productive working remotely. Virtual internships combined with the internship course give you an opportunity to learn and develop valuable skills.

    Location Montpellier, France
    Term Fall Semester, Spring Semester, Summer Session
    Credit Type Resident Credit
    Sponsor Learning Abroad Center

    Program Eligibility

    GPA 2.5
    Student Type UofM Students, Non UofM Students
    Student Year Sophomores, Juniors, Seniors

  2. About Virtual Internships in Montpellier

    The Virtual Internship in Montpellier program is a four-credit internship opportunity. Virtual internships combined with the internship course give you an opportunity to learn and develop valuable skills.

    You’ll work on projects from the US for an international organization while adding a global perspective to your professional work experience. You’ll apply your in-class knowledge to real-world meaningful work, gain experience working remotely, expand your skill base, earn four credits from coursework, and maximize your time.

    While we’ll try to place you in your preferred location, keep in mind that our top consideration is making an appropriate match to your skills, experience, and internship goals.

    For more information, refer to our Frequently Asked Questions.

    Learning Outcomes

    At the conclusion of this course, students will be able to:

    • Communicate and navigate effectively in a global, virtual environment
    • Gain culture specific knowledge of work placement country
    • Understand your own values, skills, and behaviors and how different values and communication styles may impact workplace dynamics; develop strategies for adapting to these differences
    • Identify and articulate skills and experiences necessary to reach future career goals; develop learning objectives for the virtual internship site that will help you move toward these career aspirations
    • Conduct your work during the internship utilizing best practices around professional behavior within a virtual work environment
    • Understand and practice tolerance of different cultural assumptions
    • Use a comparative framework in essays and dialogue with fellow students to examine cultural and professional aspects of work and how COVID-19 has impacted these environments
    • Research and analyze the placement country’s workplace, particularly in terms of social media and online presence, including language, norms, values, economic assumptions and compare this to virtual environment to the US

    About the Learning Abroad Center

    Learning Abroad Center programs are:

    • Affordable: our programs are cost effective.
    • Academically strong: many programs have strong University of Minnesota departmental support and offer pre-approved courses for many majors.
    • Culturally rich: regardless of the program you choose, you will have the opportunity to immerse yourself in the local culture.
    • Expertly managed: our staff in Minnesota and abroad are trained professionals and are always available to answer your questions from extensive pre-departure advising and online orientations to reentry programming. Your safety and well-being are paramount, and we work hard to ensure you have a rewarding and safe experience abroad.

  3. Program Structure

    Program Level 3000-level course
    Courseload

    One 4-credit virtual internship course as well as 15–20 hours per week at your internship placement.

    Course Schedule

    Spring 2021

    January 25: Virtual Internship course begins
    February 1: Virtual Internship placement begins
    March 31: Virtual internship placement ends
    May 3: Virtual internship course ends

    The class will meet synchronously six times throughout the semester. Our expectation is that you are able to make it to all synchronous sessions, and do not have another course that has conflicting class times. For this reason, there are two different options for class times, outlined below. You will choose either the Monday/Wednesday option or the Tuesday/Thursday option.

    • Mondays and Wednesdays, 9–10 a.m.: January 25 and 27, March 15 and 17, April 26 and 28
    • Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8–9 a.m.: January 26 and 28, March 16 and 18, April 27 and 29

    Fall 2020

    September 21: Virtual internship course begins
    September 28: Virtual internship placement begins
    November 27: Virtual internship placement ends
    December 16: Virtual internship course ends

    The class will meet synchronously three times throughout the semester. The schedule of those classes is:

    • September 21 at 10–11 a.m.
    • November 2 at 10–11 a.m.
    • December 11 at 10-11 a.m.

    Coursework

    The 4-credit virtual internship course will consist of lectures, small-group discussions, readings, posting to prompts, blogs, essays, a mock interview, and a presentation. Along with the class, you’ll be assigned projects for 15–20 hours per week at your internship placement. The course will help you apply in-class knowledge to your work and understand your newly developed professional skills to articulate in professional situations.

    Virtual Internship Syllabus (PDF)

    Internship Placements

    Internship placements are available in a variety of fields and industries. Our partner in Montpellier maintains a network of onsite contacts and will work to place you with an internship suited to your skills, experience and goals for the internship. Internships are available in English and French.  You will find a list of the industries within our partner’s network and the languages possible.

    Montpellier Internship Industries

    Industry English French
    Advertising X X
    Business X X
    Communications X X
    Creative Media X X
    Education X X
    Electronics X X
    Environmental / Sustainability X X
    Finance X X
    Graphic Design X X
    International Relations X X
    Marketing X X
    Public Relations X X
    Publishing   X
    Social Media X X
    Sports Managment   X
    Video Editing and Animation X X
    Web Design   X

    Sample Placements

    The following sample placements are examples of the type of work that may be available in this location.  These are intended as examples and are not a complete list of internship sites.

     

    Marketing & Communications Assistant

    Internship Industries: Advertising, Communications, Marketing, Public relations, Social Media

    Description: Work with a local wine producer, brewer or baker to create and/or maintaining social media content, translate websites into English and other similar duties as assigned. 

    Internship language: French

    Language prerequisite: FREN 1004 or equivalent. Internship communication will be conducted in French while work will be produced in English and/or French.  

     

    Teaching Assistant

    Internship Industries: Communications, Creative Arts/Writing, Creative Media, Education

    Description: Work for a private junior high school, assisting teachers with lesson plans, creating slide decks to present aspects of American cultures, and other similar duties as assigned.

    Internship language: English

    Language prerequisite: None, however prior study of French is beneficial

     

    Business Development Intern 

    Internship Industries: Business, Finance,  Public relations

    Description: Work with a local wine producer, brewer or baker to assist in developing partnerships and conduct research to identify export opportunities in the USA.  

    Internship language: English or French

    Language prerequisite: FREN 1004 or equivalent is required for French placements. Internship communication will be conducted in French while work will be produced in English and/or French.  Limited placements avaialble with no language prerequisite, but prior French study is beneficial.

     

    Social Media Specialist

    Internship Industries: Communications, Creative Media, Environmental/Sustainability, Marketing, Social Media, Web design

    Description: Work for small start up focused on sustainable practices.  Research best partices on sustainability in Minnesota.  Develop a social media campaign and webinar to share these with French citizens.  Help develop US/French partnerships.  Create and refresh content on their website and social media, and other similar duties as assigned.

    Internship language: English or French

    Language prerequisite: FREN 1004 or equivalent is required for French placements. Internship communication will be conducted in French while work will be produced in English and/or French.  Limited placements avaialble with no language prerequisite, but prior French study is beneficial.

  4. Dates & Deadlines

    Submit the online application and complete the assigned application checklist according to the appropriate deadline:
    Program Term App Open Date Deadline*
    Fall 2020 Jul 15 Aug 15
    Virtual Internship Course Begins Sep 21
    Virtual Internship Placement Begins Sep 28
    Internship Ends Nov 27
    Course Ends Dec 16
    Spring 2021 Oct 5 Nov 15
    Virtual Internship course begins Jan 25
    Virtual Internship placement begins Feb 1
    Virtual Internship placement ends Mar 31
    Virtual Internship course ends May 3
    Summer 2021 TBD TBD
    Virtual Internship Begins (tentative) Jun 7
    Virtual Internship Ends (tentative) Jul 30

  5. Fees for Virtual Internships in Montpellier

    UofM Students

    Semester

    The tuition rate for this 4-credit course is the same as other undergraduate UMTC courses and will be billed to your UofM student account.  If you are already taking 13 credits during fall or spring semester, you can add the virtual international internship course at no additional cost. Visit Onestop for additional information about tuition costs.

    Summer

    The tuition rate for this 4-credit course is the same as other undergraduate UMTC courses and will be billed to your UofM student account.  Visit Onestop for additional information about tuition costs.

    Non-UofM Students

    Semester

    Virtual International Internships are not available to non-UofM students during fall or spring semester.

    Summer

    Non-UofM students will pay a program fee in lieu of tuition. The exact fee is forthcoming, but the cost for this 4-credit course will be approximately $2,050.

    Cancellation Policy

    The regular Learning Abroad Center cancellation and refund policy does not apply to this course. If you decide to cancel your participation in the course after confirming your participation, the Learning Abroad Center will bill your University of Minnesota student account for non-recoverable costs incurred to secure an internship placement on your behalf. In addition to any tuition refund processed per Onestop policies, if you cancel before the course start date, you will be billed $400. If you cancel after the course start date, you will be billed $600.
  6. Center Name TC Learning Abroad Ctr
    Country France

    Submit

    Applications are now open for spring semester 2021. Applications for summer 2021 will open in early 2021. Non-UofM students are only eligible to apply for the summer 2021 programs.

    Apply Now

    Complete

    After completing the above application, which includes submitting a cover letter and resume, your application will be reviewed.

    Next Steps

    After the above application is complete, your application is reviewed by our program team. You will be notified of an acceptance decision by email. After the initial application submission, you may need to submit additional application materials with our onsite partners. This could include a letter of recommendation, transcript, and/or a cover letter and resume in the language of your host city/country. You may also be asked to conduct interviews with potential internship placements.

    If accepted, you will be assigned a confirmation checklist, which you will complete to confirm your participation in the program. If you decide not to continue with the application process, log into the online application system and submit a Cancel Request.

    Register for On Campus Course

    Once you are confirmed in the program, the Learning Abroad Center will register you in the 4-credit Virtual Internship course. No other action is needed from you to register for the course. You will not be able to withdraw from this course on your own, you will need to contact the Learning Abroad Center.

  7. Program Contact

    We encourage you to reach out early in the process if you have questions about available placements, so that our advisers can help guide you to the location that works best for your skills, experience, and internship goals.

    For further information or questions about this program, send an email to

    Maria Mantey or call at 612.626.7535.