The general goal of internships is to offer students the chance during their studies to get acquainted with work duties typical in their field. In addition, internships help students to get a better idea of their post-graduation employment prospects and to gain connections to working life. An internship abroad is a good way to get to know your field in an international environment and to learn to work in a foreign culture while enhancing your language proficiency.

The work duties performed by a student in the internship must relate to the field of business. The same duties cannot be counted towards both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree.

The duties held in an internship for a bachelor’s degree must

• give the student the opportunity to become acquainted with working life, and
• give the student the capability to handle business and economics research data in work.

The duties held in an internship for a master’s degree must

• give the student the capability to apply business and economics data and knowledge in work
• deepen the competencies and expertise acquired in the degree programme.

If you have worked in your own business and want to apply to have the experience approved for internship credit, the business must have established steady operations. The Application section and its appendices tell which documents are used for evaluating this.

NB! Work experience from student organizations (such as KY) can't be used for internship credits. This type of work experience can be used for the course Yhteisössä vaikuttaminen (JOIN-A003).

Internships can be approved only for a single, continuous period of employment in one company.

The required amount of work for 3 credits is:

• 6 weeks of full-time work or internship
• 12 weeks of part-time (at least 20 h/week) work or internship
• 24 weeks of part-time (at least 10 h/week) work or internship

The required amount of work for 6 credits is:

• 12 weeks of full-time work or internship
• 24 weeks of part-time (at least 20 h/week) work or internship
• 48 weeks of part-time (at least 10 h/week) work or internship

Internships may not be approved in advance. They are approved on the basis of an application which you submit for approval after the period of your internship has ended. Your employment relationship may continue after the date your internship ends.

Up to six (6) internship credits may be included in a degree. You may apply for a master’s degree internship after you have completed a bachelor’s degree.

Apply for approval of the internship by the end of the term that immediately follows the end of the internship. Spring term ends on 31 July and autumn term on 31 December.

If you worked during the summer of 2022, for example, and your internship ended in July (which is part of spring term 2022), you must apply for approval of the internship no later than the last day of autumn term, 31 December 2022. If your internship ended in August 2022, which is during autumn term 2022, you must apply for approval of the internship no later than the last day of spring term, 31 July 2023. 

An internship performed outside of Finland and elsewhere than in the student’s home country may be approved (effective as of 1 August 2017).

Internships are put in your (HOPS) study plan as elective studies. The correct codes are listed below.

Bachelor’s degree

• 20H00150 Internship, 3 cr
• 20H00100 Internship, 6 cr
• 20H01150 Internship abroad, 3 cr
• 20H01100 Internship abroad, 6 cr

Master's degree

• 20H00250 Internship, 3 cr
• 20H00200 Internship, 6 cr
• 20H02250 Internship abroad, 3 cr
• 20H02200 Internship abroad, 6 cr

Apply to have your internship approved as part of the degree by the end of the term that follows the end of the internship.

Attach the following appendices (each is required):

1. Student's application form: Application in English or in Finnish (PDF)
2. Form to be filled in by the instructor of your internship (your employer) in English or in Finnish (PDF)
3. A copy of your certificate of employment after your internship has ended. If your employment is ongoing, you can ask for a temporary certificate of employment or make sure that the same information can be found on the form filled by the internship instructor.
4. If you are applying for credit for having completed an internship in your own business, append extracts from the balance sheet and income statement of your last accounting period
5. Internship report (See below for guidelines)

Submit your application on the MyCourse page for Internship Report.

Processing usually takes four weeks at most, but may take longer during a vacation season. The credits will be registered on the date, when the report has been submitted (and not when the internship period has ended).

The internship is graded Pass/Fail based on the internship report and the internship form. If your application is approved, your internship will be entered for credit in the Sisu student information system. If your application is rejected or if additional information is required, you will be notified by email. If you receive a fail, you will be provided with reason(s) for the grade.

The report must include all of the points below; otherwise it will be rejected. Organise your report according to the headings listed below. The report is mainly intended to be your reflection on how the work experience you received relates to your studies, how the studies you have completed relate to working life, and how the internship supports your studies.

In the beginning of the report, write your name, student number and the internship code. You can find the codes here.

The report must contain a short description of:

• the work duties performed during the internship,
• the employer’s line of business and the basic mission of the company or organisation,
• and the duties you performed relate to the latter.

The main focus areas of the report are as follows:

You must

• reflect on what you learned in the internship in relation to the courses you have already taken (include references to courses and to the relevant literature),
• describe how the internship is linked to your current studies, and
• think about how the internship has helped you achieve the intended learning outcomes of the major or the degree programme.

The learning outcomes of each major or degree programme are described in your programme’s curriculum. Refer to these learning outcomes, discussing each of the them from the perspective of your internship.

• Suggest ways to improve the duties of the internship in the light of what you have studied.
• Describe how the internship connects to your future career plans.

The finished report must have at least 10 headings: an introduction, the eight items in the above list, and a summary. The report must be 7 to 10 pages long (using line spacing of 1.15, size 11 Calibri font, and all margins at 2 cm). NB! Pages with table of contents or pictures are not counted towards the report's length.

See that the presentation form of the report in consistent, and pay attention to good grammar and putting on the finishing touches. Students who are studying in a Finnish-medium degree programme should write their report in Finnish in most cases. Students who are studying in an English-medium degree programme should write their report in English in most cases.

If you are applying for credit for an internship that was coordinated by Career Services or supported by an Aalto school, or your internship was abroad and you received a scholarship for it, review any of their guidelines for reporting. See the pages on internships in Finland and internationally.