Fulfulling the internship requirement

Internship requirement

All students of the MA Applied Linguistics program are required to complete an internship (180 hours) at some point during their studies. Completing an internship is an invaluable experience that allows students to apply what they have learned in the classroom, get an insider perspective in the field of their choice, network with businesses and workplaces in our community and beyond, and learn about their strengths and weaknesses while on the job.

Previous students in our program have explored a variety of fields and found internships at places ranging from research institutes and libraries to student exchange programs and language schools in a broad variety of fields such as PR & marketing, media & journalism, publishing, politics, language teaching, speech therapy, computer linguistics, private tuition/tutoring, and translation.

The internship requirement falls under the "Professional Training" module in the second semester of the program structure, but it may be completed in any semester during the master's program. To receive credit for their internship, students must register for the module per usual at the beginning of the semester via BASIS. Students are required to hand in an internship report; for more information on the internship report guidelines, click here. The report may be turned in at any time during your studies after the internship has been completed.

Resources for finding an internship

It is advisable to start your internship search early in your studies. Even if you are not yet ready to apply, it is helpful to see what employers look for in a candidate and how you might measure up to the requirements. If you do not see a listing for an internship, you might consider contacting the business anyway and inquiring whether they offer internships for students.

To get you started, here are some ways to look for internships:

  • Subscribe to the Linguist List email list to get updates on linguistic research, conferences, and job opportunities
  • Check out the University of Bonn job portal
  • Apply for a student assistant position, many of which are listed here
  • Take advantage of the resources that the Career Center has to offer: seminars, events, and career guidance
  • Use online job search engines such as StepStone or Monster
  • Consider creating a profile on LinkedIn and trying online networking
  • Contact the student mentors, who also send out career opportunities via email once in a while
  • Take note of the job postings in the foyer of the IAAK and other university buildings
  • Keep an eye out for local job fairs (Jobmessen)

See where our students have completed internships:

Still looking for ideas for an internship? Some of our students have shared their internship experiences with us.

Bünyamin

Springer Nature, Chennai, India

"I worked as a project manager for Springer Nature at a scientific book publishing vendor in Chennai, India. I coordinated the publishing processes of German Springer books from the beginning to the end stages. My job in the office required me to use specific tools and systems. It mainly involved communicating with my Indian colleagues and the Springer team located in Germany, as well as the book authors themselves. What I liked best about the internship is the fact that I worked in an environment different from home, yet it was so easy-going and comfortable. Working together with people of other cultural backgrounds widened my perspective on how to approach things. An additional perk was that, aside from working in the office, I was also given enough time to travel around, which added more spice to my Indian experience."

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Hairi

Bayer - Crop Science division, Monheim am Rhein, Germany

"I was working in Executive Communications in the Crop Science division at Bayer. As an intern, I mainly prepared presentations, speeches, briefings and letters of the CEO and other executive leadership members for internal and external events. In addition, positioning the CEO in the digital sphere was one of my major tasks. My absolute favorite part of this internship was creating readable and engaging messages on complex scientific topics. It actually reminded me of my “Applied Linguistics: An Overview” class during my first semester in the MA Applied Linguistics program. Since fellow students and I worked on writing blog posts to give a brief overview of different fields in Applied Linguistics for high school students in Troisdorf, the module helped me to figure out how to create meaningful and communicative messages for different audiences. My journey at Bayer has allowed me to get a glimpse of corporate communication and come up with a concrete idea for my career path."

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Marian

Goethe Institut, Bogotá, Colombia

"As a student in the MA Applied Linguistics program here at the University of Bonn, I had the opportunity to go abroad to do an internship. I decided to join the Goethe Institut in Bogotá, Colombia. I got accepted by the department of languages and worked there from March 2018 until the end of June 2018. I can say that it was a very interesting and intense experience, as it was my first time in a non-western country outside of a hotel. My tasks included the management of the daily ”Konversationsclub“, which was a lot of fun since I was able to meet all different kind of people on a daily basis. Furthermore, I was involved in the creation of worksheets, the customer service, interpreting at different conferences and giving little seminars or private tuition to students of the Goethe Institut. I can definitely recommend the GI in Bogotá as an employer: the team was very friendly, helpful, and welcomed me as part of the team."

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Maria

Berlitz, Bonn, Germany

"During my experience working at a language school, I had the opportunity to teach German in intensive courses for job seekers (similar to integration courses). The objective of the courses was to enable the participants to actively use German in work situations. Another important aspect was practicing job application procedures with my students. I usually taught two or three days per week (8 teaching modules per day). My tasks included preparation of the courses, documentation of the classes and quality management procedures. I enjoyed teaching a lot. The lively discussions with my students and their open attitudes made it especially exciting. I was able to experience language teaching firsthand and had a wonderful team of colleagues. Most importantly, I learned a great deal about different teaching methods, time management and methodological competencies and encountered many different cultures. All in all – a very valuable experience!"

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