Internship for the Master's Programme in Economics

The course Internship for the Master's Programme in Economics, is a course within the Master of Science programmes at the Graduate School, School of Business, Economics and Law, University of Gothenburg.

To be eligible for the Internship course the participant must fulfil the entrance qualifications for the Master of Science programme in Economics. For programme specific entrance requirements, see programme syllabus. The course is elective and admittance is based on application. For admittance participants must have passed (grade A-E) 4 out of 5 of the core courses from the first year of the programme.

To get accepted to the course the student must have arranged an internship. That is, each student is fully responsible for organizing his or her own internship, including finding a workplace, a supervisor at the workplace and a preliminary project description. For acceptance to the course a description of these arrangements, including a description of how the internship fits with the student's choice of specialization (elective courses and, possibly, preliminary plans for thesis) within the programme, must be handed in. The application must also include a draft of an agreement to be signed by the organization and the student. The application may also contain a suggestion for tutor. The tutor should be a teacher at the Department for Economics at the School of Business, Economics and Law. The internship has to be aligned with the student's choice of other elective courses and preliminary ideas for thesis work and is to be approved by the course coordinator.

This course provides the students the opportunity to practice knowledge acquired within the master´s programme and previous bachelor studies in actual work situations.The internship should include daily work as an economist at a firm, public authority or other organization. The duration should be at least ten weeks of full time work.

On successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:

1. apply knowledge acquired within the master´s programme in advanced work situations/advanced work tasks
2. work both independently and in collaboration with others
3. communicate economic principles and methods that are applied in advanced work situations.

The content of this course is an internship and the learning will arise from practicing economics at a workplace. There will be no lectures. There is no required reading.

Students are assessed based on an evaluation form completed by the on-site supervisor as well as on the student’s own internship report and an oral presentation of the report. The student must follow the working hours of the working place. The student can be absent (due to illness, parental leave or care of child) no more than 20 percent of the total working hours.

Learning objective 1 is assessed through the Internship Report.

Learning objective 2 is assessed through the on-site supervisor’s evaluation and the Internship report.

Learning objective 3 is assessed by the clarity of the report and the internship seminar.

Students who have made two unsuccessful attempts to pass the internship have lost the possibility to pass the course.

If a student has received a recommendation from the University of Gothenburg for special educational support, where it is compatible with the learning outcomes of the course and provided that no unreasonable resources are required, the examiner may decide to allow the student to sit an adjusted exam or alternative form of assessment.

In the event that a course has ceased or undergone major changes, students are to be guaranteed at least three examination sessions (including the ordinary examination session) over a period of at least one year, but no more than two years, after the course has ceased/been changed. The same applies to placements and professional placements (VFU), although this is restricted to just one additional examination session.

The grading scale comprises: Excellent (A), Very good (B), Good (C), Satisfactory (D), Sufficient (E) and Fail (F).

The course will be evaluated upon completion. The results of and possible changes to the course will be shared with students who participated in the evaluation and students who are starting the course.

The internship at the internship place must take place during the actual time period for the course.