Gain a Competitive Edge in the Job Market!
Gain hands-on work experience by participating in UCLA’s Global Internship program. Participants intern with organizations and companies abroad for academic credit! The Global Internship Program offers an array of work opportunities in diverse career sectors and locations throughout the globe. The program is a great way to increase industry knowledge and employability.
Internship placements are approximately 8 weeks long in all program locations. Internships are for academic credit only and are unpaid. Internship placements are offered in-person and virtually for Summer 2026.Â
UCLA partners with local providers in program cities to assist with placing students at internship sites based on their career goals, personal interests, and experience. While completing the internship, students will also be enrolled in 1 or 2 online courses, earning 4 or 8 units of academic credit. Online courses follow Summer Session A and will last for a total of 10 weeks. Students seeking financial aid must be enrolled in at least 8 units of academic coursework during the program.
My global internship has helped me think about inequalities through a worldwide lens. It helped me find interconnectedness in two completely different countries. I learned the importance of being open-minded, reflecting, community and the value of finding similarities in differences.
I have a renewed understanding of the specific values and skills required for a line of work related to human rights and community development. My internship taught me to be focused on a capacity building and growth mindset, which is something that I had not embraced in the past even in my previous internship and schoolwork.
My global internship experience definitely improved my intercultural communication skills for the future. It also contributed to my interest in pursuing the field of public health. Finally, it showed me the kind of work-life balance I would like in the future!
The knowledge I gained during my Global Internship Program in Bogota, Colombia could have never been acquired from a textbook or sitting in a class.
This experience has allowed me to see the endless possibilities for engineers to have a positive impact on the environment!
My favorite part of the program was the internship itself together with the partnered courses. They really embody the full package and give you a holistic experience as a student and intern!
I am eager to use the skills I have acquired through this internship in my future career to help further the projects and initiatives of other internationally-based non-profits through increasing their funding through new sources.
For my company in particular, although they were based in Japan, the team was made up of individuals from many other countries as well. It was interesting to see how a team made up of people from different countries was able to provide many unique perspectives that could be used to elicit the best possible results.
My participation in the UCLA Global Internship program not only taught me the critical peacebuilding initiatives to combat armed conflict and violence in Colombia but also develop profound intercultural communication skills through class and peer discussions.