Application Opens:  October 24, 2022

Application Closes:  December 4, 2022

Final Payment Deadline: February 10, 2023

Cancellation Deadline: February 15, 2023

Please do not enroll in a Global Internship Program unless you are sure you intend to participate. Remember that your deposit is nonrefundable. See our Cancellation Policy. The cancellation deadline is February 15, 2023 at 11:59PM. Paid program fees (minus $300 nonrefundable deposit) are refundable until February 15, 2023 at 11:59PM.

Eligibility Criteria

• Undergraduate student
• Minimum of 90 units completed by end of Spring 2023
  • Units can include transfer credit
• Cumulative GPA of 3.0 or above
• Good academic standing
• Proof of COVID-19 vaccine required for participation by program provider (CRCC Asia).

Selection Process

Students who apply that meet the eligibility criteria will conduct an advising call with CRCC Asia, our partners in Ho Chi Minh City. Through this advising call CRCC Asia will learn more about each applicant’s qualifications, experience and career goals. The call will help CRCC Asia determine whether the applicant is a good match for available internship opportunities in Ho Chi Minh City. After the call is completed, CRCC Asia and UCLA will decide whether to offer the applicant acceptance into the Ho Chi Minh City Global Internship Program based on their qualifications and the pool of applicants.

Acceptance Decisions

Applicants will be notified of acceptance decisions in early January.

Placement Process

Students selected for the Ho Chi Minh City program will need to place their program deposit first, in order to be officially enrolled in the program. After enrolling in the Ho Chi Minh City program, a placement coordinator from CRCC Asia will work with each student one-on-one to find the best internship match. Internship placements are customized to a students’ personal and career goals, interests and experience. Students will intern approximately 32 hours per week at their internship site. Total work hours and mode of work (in-person vs hybrid) will depend on their specific internship site needs.

Disclaimer

The Global Internship Program provides all participants with meaningful internship placement opportunities. Students must be realistic, however, about the level of their internship placement. Students with limited or no work experience, limited leadership or volunteer experience, no specialization courses completed, or other kinds of related activities, will be placed in an entry-level position in their requested industry.

Resume

As part of the application process, you will be asked to upload a current copy of your resume. Please take time to appropriately format and spell check your resume before submitting. For assistance with your resume, you can use the VMock tool provided by the UCLA Career Center.

Motivation to Enroll Questionnaire 

As part of your application process you will be asked to complete a questionnaire. Responses should be well thought out and demonstrate why you are a strong candidate for the Global Internship Program. It’s highly encouraged to prepare your responses in advance on a Word document and then copy and paste to the application once you apply. The maximum word count for each short-answer response is 125 words. Please see the questions below to assist you in preparing your answers.

• Personal Introduction: Please give some  general background on yourself and why you are interested in participating in the Global Internship Program? (125 word maximum)
• Location of Interest: What makes you interested in interning in the particular city or country you selected for your program? (125 word maximum)
• Career Goals: Within your career field, which specific sector are you interested in working in and what do you hope to gain from this global internship experience? How will this experience assist you toward reaching your career goals? (125 word maximum)
• Why should you be selected? What do you think makes you stand out as a strong candidate for the Global Internship Program? Why should you be selected for the program? (125 word maximum)

Ho Chi Minh City Placement Options:

• Chambers of Commerce
• Law
• NGOs
• Non-Profits

Examples Placements:

Please note that these are just a few examples of student placements from past years and there is no guarantee that these same placements and/or project roles will be available for future terms. There are many more placements available in Ho Chi Minh City than those listed below. Your internship placement will be determined through an interview process to match you with a company or organization aligned with your skills and interests.

• ADK Vietnam Lawyers (Law)
• Asia Society for Social Improvement and Sustainable Transformation (Community Development)
• European Chamber of Commerce (International Relations)
• Global Vietnam Lawyers (Law)
• LNT & Partners (Law)
• Pacific Links Foundation (Education and Human Trafficking)
• Phuoc & Partners Law Company Limited (Law) Sample Placement
• PLF Law Firm (Law) – Sample Placement
• Saigon Children’s Charity (Community Development, Health and Education)

Students will intern approximately 32 hours per week. Total weekly work hours and mode of work (in-person vs hybrid) will depend on the specific internship site needs.

Program Courses

All students are required to enroll in the POL SCI 195CE course while attending the program. Students who wish to earn more units and/or apply for financial aid, may also enroll in the CESC 130 course as well.

• POL SCI 195CE (4 units) ~ Mandatory
• CESC 130 (4 units) ~ Optional 

* Please note that in order to be eligible for financial aid, students must be enrolled in both the mandatory course AND the optional course (total of 8-units).  

Course Descriptions

POL SCI 195CE: Internship Course (4 units)

Prerequisites:  None

Political Science (POL SCI) 195CE is a 4-unit course designed around an individual internship experience. The goal of this course is to get you to think about the relevance of political science outside of the classroom. As part of this process, this course will help you understand how politics is connected to your internship and more importantly, how it affects your industry and the work that you do. POL SCI 195CE must be taken for a letter grade if units are to be applied towards elective credit for the Political Science major. Pass/no pass is allowed.

*The POL SCI 195CE course is open to all majors. Completion of the course fulfills one upper division elective course requirement for the Political Science major.

CESC 130: Intercultural Communication in the Global Workplace (4 units)

Prerequisites:  None

This 4-unit course is designed to help students critically analyze their own cultural values and beliefs and the impact they have on their communication. It will provide students with strategies and tools to more effectively communicate and to manage intercultural conflicts in the global workplace. Students will study and critique intercultural communication theories, review relevant case studies and discuss first hand experiences from their global internship. This course must be taken for a letter grade. Auditing and pass/no pass is not allowed.

*The CESC 130 course does not fulfill any elective course requirements for the Political Science major.

Budget	UCLA Undergrads (4-Units)	 UCLA Undergrads (8-Units)
Program Fee	$5,855	$6,971
IEI Fee	$61	$61
Visa                                    (U.S. Citizens ~ estimate)	$150 – $250	$150 – $250
Airfare (estimate)	$1,800	$1,800
Meals & Incidentals (estimate)	$1,000	$1,000

*Pell Grant recipients will receive a $200 refund on their program fee. This refund will be assessed prior to the financial aid payment deadline.

**Fees are subject to change by action of the UC Regents. Click here for full fee disclaimer.

Program fee includes:

• Tuition
• Internship placement
• Private room accommodations in shared apartment
• Airport pickup
• On-site orientation 
• Social and cultural activities
• Community outreach event
• 24/7 on-site healthy and safety support from the CRCC Asia staff
• Health insurance.

Personal Expenses NOT Included:

• Round trip Airfare to Ho Chi Minh City
• Visa fee
• Personal travel during program
• Costs for medical expenses and emergencies
• Meals and entertainment expenses
• Transportation to/from housing to internship site

IEI Fee

All undergraduate students will be charged a $61 IEI fee per summer. The IEI (Instructional Enhancement Initiative) fee is a course materials fee that is charged in order to support the use of technology in undergraduate education at UCLA. For more information please click here.

Budgeting

Financial aid for Summer Global Internship Programs is available to qualified UCLA students. Students must be enrolled in a total of 8 units (2 courses) to be eligible for financial aid. For details about the financial aid application process, please visit the Financial Aid section of this website.

Purchasing Airfare

Students should not purchase their flight to Ho Chi Minh City until informed to do so by UCLA.

*The purchase of a fully-refundable and/or flexible airfare is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.

Financial Aid

Financial aid for Summer Global Internship Programs is available to qualified UCLA students. For details about the financial aid application process, please visit the Financial Aid section of this website.

Arrival

Our partner organization, CRCC Asia, will provide airport pickup for your internship program.  You will be responsible for making your own arrangements back to the airport at the end of the program.

Accommodations

Students will reside in private room accommodations in shared apartments with other interns or young professionals. All apartments come with bedding, kitchen appliances, and basic Wifi. Apartments are typically within a 30 to 60 minute commute from internship sites.

Meals

Meals are not provided. Students have access to fully furnished kitchens in their apartment to cook.

Optional Social and Cultural Activities

This program offers weekly organized events around the city that are free to participate in with the other internship program participants.

Travel to Ho Chi Minh City

All Global Internship program participants are required to purchase and arrange their own travel accommodations to Ho Chi Minh City. Students should not purchase their flight to Ho Chi Minh City until informed to do so by UCLA. Students will receive specific arrival instructions to assist with arrival to program housing.

*The purchase of a fully-refundable and/or flexible airfare is STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.  

Visa Information:

All students are required to obtain a business visa to do an internship in Vietnam, which requires obtaining a certified invitation letter (provided by CRCC Asia), and paying a stamping fee (approx.: $150 – $250 USD) upon arrival at the airport in Ho Chi Minh City.

For non-US citizens, please contact the IEO Office for questions regarding your visa eligibility for the program.

Personal Travel

The Global Internship Program is an intensive 8 week experience. Internship sites will expect students to complete their weekly hours and will not be providing vacation days during the program. Although it may be possible for students to conduct short weekend trips, all longer trips should be conducted prior to or after the conclusion of the Global Internship Program.