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Internship Programme

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Information for Students

Instead of writing a thesis, students may opt to complete an internship in a role directly relevant to their field of study. The internship requires a minimum of 480 hours and may be undertaken anytime after the end of the teaching term until the third week of August. Students are responsible for securing their own internship placements. The School provides a list of potential host organisations. UCD Careers offers support with application writing and related resources.

Information for Host Organisations

UCD SPIRe has established an internship programme for graduate students undertaking primarily MA programmes in the school. These internships are designed to provide our students with a unique opportunity for professional development and to apply their knowledge in real-world situations.

To this end, we are approaching potential hosts that may wish to participate with us in this programme. Internships will normally:

  • Have an explicit research focus or project(s) which will be defined in an agreed Learning Contract between the student, the host organisation and the UCD SPIRe staff member coordinating the internship programme. The Learning Contract will also specify the nature of the duties to be undertaken, the learning objectives associated thereto, the host’s proposed management of the internship and reporting requirements.
  • Entail a full-time work load of 480 hours over the period early May to end of August.
  • Be subject to all disciplinary and HR processes, as well as the employee insurance policy, of the host organisation.
  • Relate the student’s educational and academic experience to the professional needs of the host with which they are associated.

Internships are an integral part of the student’s academic programme at UCD, and will be assessed academically as such. Students undertaking internships will also remain subject to all requirements under UCD’s academic and disciplinary codes.

UCD SPIRe is proud of the quality and skills of its graduate students. Over the last few years our graduates have gone on to professional posts with the European Commission and European Parliament, the European External Action Service, the British, German, Irish, Korean and Turkish Foreign Ministries, the Asia Development Bank, the IBRD, the World Trade Organisation, the UN New York and UN Geneva and the IMF as well as a wide variety of international private sector employers and Non Governmental Organisations. We have every confidence that our students will make a valuable and distinctive contribution to their host organisations over the period of their internship.

Internship Option: FAQs

The Internship Option allows eligible graduate students to substitute an internship for the thesis requirement. 

It is available only to students enrolled in the MA graduate stream in  SPIRe and certain designated programmes:

  • MA Politics
  • MA International Relations
  • MA Peace and Conflict
  • MA International Political Economy
  • MA European Politics and Policy
  • MA Middle East Politics
  • MA Gender, Politics and International Relations
  • MA Politics and International Relations (Part-Time)
  • MSc Human Rights
  • MEconSc European Public Affairs and Law
  • MSc Politics and Data Science

  • Internships provide practical experience but are less academically prestigious.
  • Students considering a PhD or academic career may be better served by completing a thesis.
  • Students with funding must confirm with their funding body that the substitution is acceptable.

Students are fully responsible for sourcing their own internships. A list of previous hosts is available for reference.

To be approved, you must submit:

  1. A signed Internship Agreement (School & Student)
  2. A completed Host Agreement (School & Host), including learning goals
    Both must be approved by the Internship Coordinator.

All documents must be submitted via the UCD online internship management system (SISWeb).

Deadline: Friday, 24 April 2026.

  • Minimum of 480 work hours must be completed by 21 August 2026.
  • Internships may continue beyond that date, but all academic requirements must be met by then.
  • Internships may begin only after the Spring teaching term ends.

No. Employers must sign the SPIRe agreement as is. SPIRe cannot sign alternative (or additional) agreements.

  • Internships can be undertaken anywhere in the world.
  • They may be paid or unpaid (this is between the student and the host organisation).

Students must complete:

  • Five reflective journal reports (~500 words each), submitted every two weeks during the internship
  • Final reflective essay (~3000 words), due by Friday, 21 August 2026

Yes.

  • All submissions must follow UCD’s plagiarism guidelines.
  • Use of AI tools is strictly prohibited and may result in failure of the module and disciplinary action.

  • You must switch to the thesis option if no internship is secured by 24 April 2026.
  • Notify the Graduate Administrator immediately (graduatespire@ucd.ie) so your module registration can be updated.

Note: Everybody must submit a Thesis Proposal, regardless of whether you have registered for the internship or thesis.  The only exceptions to this are students that are in the first year of their Part-Time programme. 

Yes. Even if registered for the Internship Module, you must:

  • Complete thesis research training (i.e. Complete POL42330 Research Design)
  • Submit a thesis title/outline
  • Be assigned a thesis supervisor

Yes. An information session will be held during the Autumn Term. Attendance is mandatory to remain eligible for the internship option. Students will be informed via email to their UCD Connect account.

Past Host Organisations 2022-2025

These are the organisations where our students did an internship from 2022-2025.

Contact Us

If you would like to pursue the possibility of hosting a UCD SPIRe Graduate Internship, or have any questions on the programme, please contact:

Dr Tobias Theiler
Internship Coordinator
UCD School of Politics and International Relations
Belfield, Dublin 4
Email: (opens in a new window)tobias.theiler@ucd.ie

UCD School of Politics and International Relations (SPIRe)

School Office: G301, Newman Building, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.