International Internships

Coordinator: Dr. Sunil Thomas
E-mail: sunilthomas@fullerton.edu
Phone (657) 278-2705

Midterm Due Date 10/19/18
Final Due Date 12/19/18

For more information, please click on the following links:

Internship Objectives
Types of Internships
Prerequisites
Employment Requirements
Requirements for Academic Credit
Student Mid-Term report format
Final Report Format
Employer Mid-Term Intern Evaluation Form (Word)
Employer Final Intern Evaluation Form (Word)


Internship Objectives

Internships are designed to benefit two groups; you and the employers. The specific purposes of internships that benefit you also provide optimum benefits to the companies or organizations hiring you as an intern. While the following information is particularly addressed to you, the student, please keep in mind that the long-run continuation of the internship program depends upon the willingness of employers to hire and to rehire new interns, which necessarily depends upon the satisfactory experiences of the intern employers.

Essentially, the primary purpose is to provide practical perspectives on the academic concepts and theories you have studied. It is not designed simply to give you work experience! Although work experience and an in-depth look at an organization and at a particular industry, are desirable results of an intern position--they are not the principal objectives.

Therefore, emphasis throughout the internship will be on providing you with the opportunity to make significant contributions to your employer's operations through your insights and applications of what you have learned at the University. Thus, not only will your employer gain the optimal benefit from you (far beyond simply hiring "another warm body"), but consequently you too, will obtain the most benefit from the experience and opportunity to discover more about theory and practice.



Types of Internships

  1. Overseas assignment obtained through AISEC, faculty or personal contacts. The assignments would involve some aspect in any of the functional areas of managing a business/company involved in domestic or international business. This internship would complete both the language and the business internship requirements.

  2. Domestic companies - Your assignment will need to have some functional aspects of international business, utilizing the foreign language in business communications. This would complete both the business and the foreign language internship requirement.

  3. Same type as #2 but excluding the foreign language requirement. This would only complete the international business component of the internship requirement. You should seek the foreign language advisor for the completion of the requirement.

  4. Study abroad or exchanges would qualify for one or both internship requirements; you need to see advisors in Foreign Languages and Int'l Business.

  5. Business Travel Seminars in Europe - this may also satisfy both, but you need to check with your advisors.

 

Prerequisites

  • At least Junior (3rd year) standing and have an adequate proficiency in a foreign language
  • Completed at least one (1) semester of CSUF residency
  • Overall university and business grade unit average (GPA) of at least 2.5
  • Completed at least two (2) international business courses
  • Completed intern application and set up your file in the Internship Office, H-114, have the Int'l Business Intern Coordinator approve it and return the form to H-114
  • Meet all Internship prerequisites
  • If you find your own internship, you will need to ask your potential employer to describe your duties and responsibilities on the company's letterhead (see Employment Requirements below)

 

Employment Requirements

You will need to receive approval of the employment position from the Int'l Business Internship Coordinator before beginning work to receive academic credit.

Your position must truly involve some international business management experience. The following are examples of tasks which would satisfy this objective:

  • Preparation of export sales plans
  • Country market assessment studies
  • Assisting in international sales
  • Working at or preparing promotional materials for trade shows
  • Working with and processing various financial instruments
  • Working with foreign exchange transactions
  • Assisting and communicating with international customers
  • Working on international advertising campaignsPreparing and processing export documentation
  • Dealing with purchasing and transportation requirements

 

Requirements For Academic Credit::

Two written papers and two employer evaluations will be the basis for your grade. The grade for this course is on a Credit/No Credit basis only.

Satisfactory work performance is based on criteria determined by employer and by International Business Internship Coordinator. The employer will be asked to complete two written evaluations: (1) approximately four weeks into the program outlining goals and the means to accomplish these goals (to be attached to your Mid-Term Paper along with your supervisor's business card), and (2) the Final Appraisal is attached too, and due with your Final paper.

 

Format Sample Paper

The sample format will be the only acceptable format for your papers. Absolutely NO dot matrix print will be accepted.

These are business reports and not essays and should be in report format. You should use headings, sub-headings, bullets, and etc. These reports are equivalent to mid-term and final exams. They must be in final, professional form, in perfect composition style with no typographical or spelling errors, and in perfect grammatical form. You may want to consult the Business Writing Program faculty or the University Learning Center. Papers will NOT be returned for correction - you will simply receive an "NC" for the internship.

Use the sample below for layout/format and content of your report.

 

International Business Internship
Mid-Term Report

Your Name
Your Address
City, State, Zip Code
Your Home Phone # (including area code)
Your Student ID
Your E-mail Address
Semester you are registered for

Intern Employer
Supervisor's Name and Title
Company Address
City, State, Zip Code
Company Phone # (including area code)
E-mail address of your employer (NOTE: Set your computer to Double Space here but do not put four lines between text and headings.)

 

COMPANY BACKGROUND (Headings are in all capital letters, bold, and underlined).

Indent all paragraphs five spaces with two spaces between sentences (after the period).

This first paragraph or two gives a very brief background of the company and a description of its products or services. Include your salary for this position.

INTERNSHIP GOALS

The next few paragraphs outline the goals of your internship including a brief description of the projects you will be working on and what you hope to learn.

TASKS ASSIGNED

This section should outline the tasks you will be performing to accomplish the goals you and your supervisor have outlined. Also, please list skills (e.g., computer software) you will be using and knowledge or background you have obtained in your classes that you will bring to these tasks. List your language and whether or not you are required to use it during the business day.

SUMMARY

A brief summary of accomplishments to date should go here. Also, you need to attach the Mid-term Evaluation completed and signed by you and your supervisor as the last page of this mid-term report. Please attach his/her business card so that they may be contacted.

Be aware that this report should be no more than three to four (3-4) pages in length. There is no cover page and it must follow this format explicitly with one-inch margins on all four sides, double-spaced, one blank line between headings and text as shown. Do NOT put it in a cover or bind it in any way - only a staple in the top left corner. It must be run on a laser printer - ABSOLUTELY NO DOT-MATRIX will be accepted. If this format is not followed, or your paper is late, you will not receive credit.

For DUE DATES, CHECK WITH THE MARKETING DEPARTMENT OR GO TO THE TOP OF THIS SITE.

 

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS INTERNSHIP

Final Report

Your Name
Your Address
City, State, Zip Code
Your Home Phone # (including area code)
Your Student ID
Your E-mail Address
Semester you are registered for

Intern Employer
Supervisor's Name and Title
Company Address
City, State, Zip Code
Company Phone # (including area code)
E-mail address of your employer (NOTE: Set your computer to Double Space here but do not put four lines between text and headings.)

COMPANY INTERNATIONAL OPERATIONS (Headings are in all capital letters, bold and underlined)

This must include all of the following: (use as sub-headings or bulleted items)

1. International organizational structure
2. Hiring and promotion practices in international positions
3. International involvement as measured in terms of: percent of sales, earnings, assets and/or employment; major markets (for exports) or suppliers (imports); other market entries, cooperative agreements, joint ventures, direct investment. Including references properly cited.

SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES

Similarities and differences you have observed in international versus domestic operations, specify the topics under appropriate business functions such as:

Manufacturer
1. Product policies
2. Distribution channels
3. Financial considerations (include statistics)
4. Human resource issues
5. Manufacturing operations and others
6. Product promotion

OR

Service companies
1. Service policies
2. Distribution channels
3. Financial considerations (include statistics)
4. Human Resource issues
5. Promotion

DUTIES AND TASKS

This section outlines:
1. The specific tasks and responsibilities of your internship.
2. The projects you worked on.
3. How you applied what you've learned in your classes to these responsibilities and tasks.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES

This section is for you to outline the strengths of your internship position and any weaknesses, making suggestions for change if appropriate.

Identify areas (projects) from which you have learned the most and tell how you will apply this to your other courses and career preparation.

This final report should be no more than five to six pages in length. There is no cover page and it must follow this format explicitly with one-inch margins on all four sides, double-spaced, one blank line between headings and text as shown. Do NOT bind it in any way - only a staple in the top left corner. Do not justify. It must be run on a laser printer - ABSOLUTELY NO DOT-MATRIX will be accepted. If this format is not followed, or your paper is late, you will not receive credit. Also, be sure to attach the Final Appraisal Form signed by your supervisor. THIS IS YOUR FINAL EXAM!!!

 

FOR DUE DATES, CHECK WITH THE MARKETING DEPARTMENT OR GO TO THE TOP OF THIS SITE.