Gain short-term work experience by finding your own internship
By securing your own independent internship, you will gain short-term, supervised work experience in a professional setting. Independent internships allow you to gain work experience in a real-world setting and can be useful in determining whether a specific sector or career path is right for you.
Independent Internship Benefits
An internship can provide you with practical work experience — either within or outside Canada. You will also gain:
- Insight into professional roles, career options and work-life structures
- Skills in applying classroom learning to a professional, workplace context
- The beginnings of a professional network and industry references
- Greater self-confidence
Who is Eligible to Participate?
For an independent internship, eligibility requirements vary by organization. Some organizations may require that you are:
- Registered as a full-time undergraduate degree student
- In good academic standing
- Enrolled in an academic course or program that aligns with the internship work/activity
If you are an undergraduate degree student at the Faculty of Arts & Science — St. George campus, the Experiential Learning & Outreach Support (ELOS) office can assist you in fulfilling the requirements of your independent internship. You can reach them at experiential.artsci@utoronto.ca.
Is There an Additional Cost?
The cost structure of internship opportunities may vary. Some organizations may provide a salary or help offset a student’s living or transportation expenses, while others may require that the student cover these costs themselves.
Internship Document Request
If you need support in preparing documents (e.g., Convention de Stage; Confirmation of Enrolment; No Objection Letter) that are required by your internship organization, please contact the ELOS office (experiential.support@artsci@utoronto.ca) as early on in this process as possible for guidance and assistance, as some paperwork can take several weeks to complete.
The Convention de Stage is a legal agreement typically required by partner/host organizations located in France, but also by certain organizations located in other European countries as well. It is an agreement between the student intern, the educational institution and the internship organization.
As each case varies, it may take four to six weeks for ELOS, and other units involved, to review your case and process the Convention de Stage request. You must fulfill the following requirements in order to obtain a signed Convention de Stage from the University of Toronto:
- Be enrolled as an Arts & Science (St. George) degree undergraduate student
- Be enrolled in an academic course (e.g., Independent Study Course) during the internship. The internship should be part of the course and should count towards your degree credits. Regular tuition fees will apply.
- Provide a bilingual version of the Convention de Stage with English and French side by side.
- If the internship takes place outside of Canada, complete the Safety Abroad requirements – including adding your travel and personal information to the Safety Registry and completing Safety Abroad workshop modules.
The ELOS office provides advice on course options to fulfill the requirements of Convention de Stage. Please reach out to the ELOS office (experiential.artsci@utoronto.ca) for guidance as soon as you secure an internship.
A Confirmation of Enrolment letter is an official document that can be used to verify your status as a student at the University of Toronto. If you are registered, or invited to register, in a current or upcoming session, you can download a Confirmation of Enrolment letter from ACORN by visiting the Transcripts & Enrolment Confirmation page. If you are unable to download this letter, contact the Arts & Science Office of the Faculty Registrar.
The No Objection Letter is an official document that states that the University does not object to your internship. To obtain this document, please contact the Experiential Learning & Outreach Support (ELOS) office at experiential.artsci@utoronto.ca.