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Overview - EDGC 398 - Internship

B.A.(Education); Major - Education in Global Contexts

Internships provide valuable learning experiences, potential career paths, and endless networking opportunities.

The B.A.(Education) Program includes a compulsory internship for U2 students to apply classroom learning to a variety of sectors (private, public/governmental, non-profit) organizations, and locations around the world. The process of exploring, applying and securing an internship provides valuable real-world experience and prepares students for their own career journey.

Completing an internship will help students develop skills and perspectives that will be expanded upon in EDGC 399 (Internship Capstone) and EDGC 499 (Critical Research Inquiry). In these courses students will unpack their internship experience and incorporate research methods and analyses towards the production of knowledge centered on a problem or challenge.

Read carefully and understand the process and eligibility outlined on this page before planning your internship.

On this page:

Important McGill and internship search contacts

McGill contacts

Contact Support

Internships Administrator

Book an appointment | internships.edgc [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

 Internship site options and referrals to resources, people and workshops to support your search and preparation.

Education Career Advisor

Book an appointment | internships.edgc [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

 Spruce up your CV and cover letter, develop your LinkedIn profile, receive job search and application advice and perhaps connect to some internship leads.

Student Advisor

Book an appointment | edgc.advise [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

 B.A.(Education) and Internship pre-requisites, program progression and the learning competencies you want to address in your internship.

Education Local Wellness Advisor

Book an appointment | lwa.education [at] mcgiull.ca (Email)

 Connect to supports that help you maintain a healthy work-school-life balance.

Financial Aid Counsellor

Book an appointment | student.aid [at] mcgill.ca (Email)

 Explore possible funding options, especially when doing unpaid internships.
myFuture Posts job and career-related info sessions, jobs and internships

Internship search contacts - ISA and McGill 

ISA Internship Leads Database is an Excel file with an updated list of mostly local non-profit and public organizations and a list of the latest internship postings (paid/unpaid) curated by the ISA Office in collaboration with community partners

myFuture is McGill University's portal for promoting paid job opportunities locally, nationally and internationally

McGill Workday lists paid on-campus student jobs

Internship search contacts - External*

Young Canada Works (YCW) offers a variety of short-term job and internship programs to job seekers and employers.

Job Bank is Canada’s national employment service. They help Canadians find work and plan their careers, and make it easier for employers to recruit and hire across the country.

Volunteer opportunities with The Canada Service Corps (CSC) promotes civic engagement among youth aged 15 to 30. CSC-funded organizations deliver service opportunities that equip young Canadians with meaningful life skills and experiences

Federal Student Work Experience Program allows you to apply to be considered for full or part-time job opportunities across the country in the Canadian federal public service.

Student Employment Portal (Government of Canada) shares job opportunities and Government of Canada hiring programs for students.

*all of these employment/internship opportunities require a Social Insurance Number which you receive if you are a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, temporary foreign worker (TFW) or receive a work/co-op permit*

 

Important documents

Required docs for EDGC 398 - Internship

Internship Proposal Form (Click here for text from the webform)

Internship Agreement & Learning Plan

Student Reflection and Self-Assessment Form

Employer Student Assessment Form

 

Internship planning docs for Students

Planning Your Internship Worksheet 

ISA Internship Leads Database 

Intro Email Template to Employers

Internship Design Form (student version)

Job Search Tracker

 

Docs for Internship Hosts/Site Supervisors

INFO FLYER FOR HOSTS: PDF icon employer-ba_internship_flyer-sept2023.pd

Internship Design Form (internship host version)

Intern Onboarding Guide for Employers

Internship Hours Tracking Sheet (Summer, Winter)

 

Important dates

Period/Date MILESTONE

Early September

Internship Leads Database updated

Internship Proposal Form opens
Mid October Internship Info-Session (for U2 students only)
End of November Latest period for International Students to apply for Co-op/Work Permit
3rd week of January Course Add-Drop Deadline
Month of April Period to take Making the Most of Your Internship Training (myCourses, asynchronous) and Intern Positionality (in-person & virtual)
2nd week of April Deadline to withdraw from EDGC 398
Once student secures an internship Internship Proposal Form submitted to ISA Office
3-5 days after submitting Internship Proposal Form Internships Administrator will approve or deny proposal. If proposal is denied, student should book an appointment to discuss which internship criteria was not met and how this can be resolved.
Within 2 weeks after Internship start date Complete Internship Agreement & Learning Plan and receive three signatures (student, site supervisor, internships administrator)
May to 3rd week of August Students on U2 internship (exact dates may vary)
Last day of internship Deadline to receive completed Employer Student Assessment Form from Site Supervisor AND Student Reflection and Self-Assessment Form.

 

Internship eligibility

  • Successful completion of EDGC 299 – Professional and Research Seminar
  • Registered for EDGC 398 - Internship: Education in Global Contexts
  • Completed or currently in 2nd year of the B.A.(Education) program

 

Minimum requirements for EDGC 398 course and documentation/forms

As a Pass/Fail course, students must fulfill these minimum requirements:

  1. Complete and submit Internship Proposal Form
  2. Completed and signed Internship Agreement & Learning Plan
  3. Student submits the Student Reflection and Self-Assessment Form on the last day of the internship.
  4. Site Supervisor submits Employer Student Assessment Form within 3 days after last day of the internship. 

 

Internship criteria: What is an acceptable internship?

  1. Internship duration: 150 hours (commuting time not included) anytime between May 1st to the third Friday in August.
  2. An internship should allow students to address B.A.(Education) Learning Competencies, as outlined in the Internship Agreement & Learning Plan.
  3. Students are expected to search for and secure their own internship placements.
    • The Internships Administrator can recommend and, at times, connect students with sites that the Faculty of Education has relationships with.
    • The Education Career Advisor is also available for support with cover letters, CVs and searching internship placements.
  4. Students are permitted to develop an internship with a previous or current employer or a site where they have worked as a volunteer.
  5. Internship Site Supervisors must not be someone in a close, personal relationship with the student. For the purposes of the internship, a close personal relationship shall include spouses, parents, guardians and children, siblings, and consensual amorous relationships.
  6. Internships can be paid or unpaid, depending on the capacity of internship hosts to pay a salary or offer a stipend.
  7. The internship can be completed locally, across Canada or internationally.
    • NOTE: International Internship placements are available on myFuture and through your own research. The ISA office cannot help you with lodging, visa and insurance considerations but can point you to trusted partners to help prepare for an international work experience. International travel is subject to McGill University’s Travel Regulations. Consult McGill Abroad for more information.
  8. The internship may be conducted in-person, virtually, or through a hybrid approach. The format will be decided upon by the internship site/organization in collaboration with the student.
  9. Students must ensure their Site Supervisor submits the Employer Student Assessment Form within 3 days after the last day of the internship.

 

What is considered an unacceptable internship placement

The Internship Administrator has the right to refuse placement with a host organization that meets one or a combination of the following conditions:

  • Conflict of interest where a student has a pre-existing close, personal relationship with their Site Supervisor (see Internship Criteria, point 5)
  • Where there is no opportunity to practice and develop the B.A.(Education) Program Learning Objectives and internship tasks are not linked to Learning Competencies as outlined in the Internship Learning & Action Plan
  • Where there is an absence of supervision
  • An organization involved in exploitative practice or “saviorism”
  • Refusal of Site Supervisor to sign Internship Agreement
  • Consistently negative feedback from past students about placement site and/or Site Supervisor
  • Site Supervisor demonstrates a lack of transparency in the internship tasks and objectives
  • Student is not clear about tasks
  • Unsafe work environment
  • Number of hours do not meet the minimum requirement of 150 hours.
  • Hours worked are not within the set dates (between May 1st to the third Friday in August)
  • Previous experience that was not approved by ISA and on which student was not evaluated for the purpose of the EDGC 398 internship course.

 

Criteria for International Students

International Students wanting to do their internship in Canada will need to apply for a co-op/work permit. A letter from the Faculty of Education is provided to international students to apply for the permit at the same time as the initial Study Permit. Because of current processing delays, students are advised to apply for their co-op/work permit 6 months before their internship is due to start (i.e. by early December for a May internship). More information for international students can be found at McGill International Student Services.

 

Criteria for Canadian students going on an international internship

Canadian students are eligible to do their internships abroad. It is the student’s responsibility to research and secure permits, McGill travel registries and Pre-Departure Orientation. Visit McGill Abroad for more information about how to prepare.

 

Glossary of Terms

Internship - An internship is a supervised learning opportunity that is part of a vocational training, technical or university program offered at an educational institution recognized by the Ministère de l’Enseignement supérieur. Internships have a pedagogical intent and include observation and competency acquisition and/or implementation in a workplace environment.

What can be considered an internship:

  • An experiential opportunity integrating knowledge gained in the classroom to an employment setting
  • Has a defined start and end date and includes a job description
  • Has clearly identified objectives and outcomes related to the student’s field of study
  • The student’s work is supervised by a qualified professional and feedback is shared with the student on a regular or ongoing basis
  • The employer provides equipment, resources and facilities to support the learning objectives/goals
  • Includes a reflection and evaluation process at the conclusion of the internship

Internships Administrator - Staff member in the Internships & Student Affairs (ISA) Office (Faculty of Education), responsible for helping B.A.(Education) students to plan and prepare for their internships by providing tools, internship leads and offering advising. They work with Internship Hosts to support the design and posting of internship opportunities. Finally, they design internship reflection activities for students and approve Internship Proposal Forms.

Internship Host / Employer / Community Partner – Any private, public/governmental or non-profit organization who has been identified as a host for an internship placement.

Site Supervisor - Community Partner staff member responsible for the onboarding, day-to-day supervision, and guidance of the student intern’s work term at the Internship Site. They will provide the Internship Administrator with written evaluations—via a form—of the intern by the last day of the 150-hour internship. This evaluation will measure professional competencies and contribute to the student’s final grade (i.e. pass/fail for the course EDGC 398).

Work Term – The period of 150 hours that a student commits to as part of their B.A.(Education) internship.

 

 

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