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Gap year internship

During your years of study at Sciences Po, you may choose to take a gap year, either between your Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes or between the first and second year of your Master’s degree. Together with your compulsory internships, a gap year is a great way to try out new fields and types of job, learn new skills, and narrow down your career goals and/or your choice of final internship.

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One gap year, several options

A gap year is a voluntary, personal undertaking. It is an opportunity for you to take a maximum of twelve months to learn in a new context or explore career options.

There are several things you can use a gap year to do:

one or two internships in France or abroad (six months maximum per internship)
professional experience on a fixed-term contract, permanent contract, volunteer abroad programme, etc.
language exchange
study abroad outside Sciences Po
civic service or volunteer work with a non-profit organisation
entrepreneurship, starting a business (subject to acceptance of your application)

Good to know: during your gap year, you get to keep your student status and access to all Sciences Po student services.

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Regulatory conditions

Failure to comply with these conditions may result in your request for an internship agreement being refused:

An internship may last no longer than 26 weeks (6 months)
The internship must be related to your study programme or career plan
You must be registered as a student
You may only take one gap year during your studies at Sciences Po
Remote work for a few days a week is possible, provided it complies with the collective agreements in force in the host organizations.
The internship manager you declare is in charge of supervising and supporting you throughout your internship. They must therefore be physically present/easily reached on the premises where you are completing your internship.

Important:

You must first contact your academic advisor, who will review your gap year plan with you to be sure of its educational value.
Any request for a gap year must be declared on your Student Account and approved by your academic advisor before you request an internship agreement.
It is possible to complete two long internships (four to six months maximum) during a gap year. However, the legislation governing internships requires that each internship be part of a study programme of a minimum of 50 contract hours.

Doing an internship abroad

Before doing an internship abroad, you need to read the advice and recommendations for travelers to your destination on the website of the French Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs (countries are classified into green, yellow, orange, and red zones).

Is the internship you plan to do in a risk area (orange or red zone)?

Contact the International Affairs Division
You must contact the person responsible for the region in question at the International Affairs Division by email (with Sciences Po Careers copied on the email) requesting permission to go to the high-risk country.
You MUST obtain the agreement of the International Affairs Division by email before completing your online internship declaration.

Please note

Internships completed during your gap year do not need to be evaluated by your internship manager and you do not have to write an internship report, unless you are a doing the Master in Economic Law at the Law School.

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