Optional internships

You can complete several optional internships during your studies at Sciences Po. Alongside your required internships, they offer a valuable way to explore different fields and roles, and can help you refine your career goals or choose your final internship.  

Regulatory conditions

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

• You must be registered as a student.
• An internship may last no longer than 924h by academic year.
• The internship may not exceed 21 hours per week (or 15 hours per week for students studying at the School of Research and the School of Management and Impact).
• The internship must be related to your study programme or career plan.
• The internship manager you declare is in charge of supervising and supporting you throughout your internship. They must therefore be physically present and easily reached on the premises where you are completing your internship.
• Possibility of doing an optional full-time internship during the academic holidays.

You are in master, before declaring your optional internship, you must:

• Consult your academic advisor, who will review your optional internship plan with you to be sure of its educational value before granting their approval in writing.
• Their approval must be sent to scpo.carrieres@sciencespo.fr.

Specific case for 1st year students during the academic year:

Your optional internship will only be validated after you have declared and been accepted for your compulsory civic internship.  

Specific case for 3rd year students during the academic year:

• The agreement of your Geographical Area Manager with the DAI is mandatory for obtaining an optional internship agreement in parallel with your courses at the exchange university. Send this agreement by email to Sciences Po Careers (scpo.carrieres@sciencespo.fr).
• If you are applying for a full-time internship, you will be asked to provide proof that you do not have classes during that period (link to your exchange university's calendar).
• Optional internships during the 3rd year do not carry ECTS credits and cannot replace a semester of study. They are also not allowed as substitutes during the hybrid year.

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 and send a copy to Sciences Po Carrières. Their agreement must be sent to scpo.carrieres@sciencespo.fr.
• Once you have the approval of the International Affairs Division, completeyour online internship declaration.​

The deadline for completing internships

In accordance with the regulations governing the reception of interns in a professional environment, internships for all students must take place during the period of your administrative registration at Sciences Po, which runs until 31 August.

Legal framework

Law n°2014-788 of 10 July 2014, the implementing decree n°2014-1420 of 27 November 2017 and the amending decree n°2017-1652 of 30 November 2017 stipulate the conditions under which students may carry out an internship during their course of study.

Please note: An optional internship may not replace a compulsory internship.

Contact us

If you have any questions, please contact scpo.carrieres@sciencespo.fr