Internship

Students can carry out internships in the following areas: government agencies, NGOs, a regulatory or public affairs division of private sector firms, or consulting firms focused on policy analysis. Generally, the internship is performed outside the realm of the university. Students must largely act on their own initiative when choosing their internship.

Time

The internship can be started at the earliest in the second semester. 

Duration

The programme offers two different options:

• A short internship which corresponds to a workload of 180 working hours, is to be completed within 3 months (6 ECTS points). 
• A long internship which corresponds to a workload of 360 working hours, is to be completed within 6 months (12 ECTS points).
   

The internship needs to be approved by the Study Director. Students cannot register directly via myStudies.

The internship constitutes a voluntary part of the MSc curriculum. The ECTS points awarded for the internship are assigned to the category Electives. Students can choose either the course unit "860-0600-00L Internship – Short", which corresponds to the Short Internship, or the "860-0700-00L Internship – Long" for the Long Internship.

To obtain credit points for the internship, the following steps need to be carried out:

Before starting the internship:

• Send a proposal with a short description to the Study Administration.
• The Study Administration will make the registration in myStudies after the Study Director has approved the proposal. After the registration has been confirmed, students can start the internship.

After the internship has been completed:

• Please hand in a confirmation by the host of the internship which proves the successful completion and a report (3-5 pages) summarising the activity and outputs during the internship.
  

After these documents have been handed in and the report has been approved by the Study Director, students will obtain the credit points.

For international students from non-EU/EFTA countries, companies must obtain a work permit from the Cantonal Office for Economy and Labour. Clarify the necessary procedure with your employer in advance. The internship is not compulsory for the MSc programme. This might make it more difficult for students from non-EU/EFTA countries to get a work permit. More information and links can be found through the International Student Support of ETH Zurich.

A work contract regulates the work conditions and also the payment between the company and the intern. Within Switzerland, it is very common to have a work contract. Depending on the sector, wages can range from CHF 0 to 4,000.–.