MITRA4400 ¨C Field Term - Internship for Modern International and Transnational History Students

Course content

In?MITRA4400 - Field Term - Internship for Modern International and Transnational History Students?you will spend the greater part of the third semester on an internship that will give you an opportunity to use your academic skills in a non-academic environment and gain work experience and visibility in an international professional environment.

During the internship, 12-18 hours per week are reserved for working on either a commissioned report for your host institution or an academic paper. The topic of the commissioned report is to be defined in conversation between the student and his or her host institution and needs to be approved by the MITRA study administration. Reports have to demand the intern¡¯s analytical skills; they may consist of a dossier, case study, data analysis or the like. In terms of length, a commissioned report should amount to 15-20 standard pages (2,300 characters, no space).

Students whose host institutions do not assign them a report are expected to write an academic paper on a topic that is different from their master¡¯s thesis project, that is to say engages with a different body of scholarly literature, utilizes different primary sources and studies a different empirical case. Students are encouraged to design historical research projects where they can make use of resources available at the place of their internship, but this is not mandatory. Topics should be defined in conversation between the student and a supervisor at the Department of Archaeology, Conversation and History (IAKH) and need to be approved by the MITRA study administration. The academic paper should be 15-20 standard pages long (2,300 characters, no spaces).

Students that meet the requirements for this course?can:

• apply for internship through UiO's agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (UD). All contact with UD will be managed by UiO.?NB! Only students with a?Norwegian citizenship can apply for these placements. UiO¡¯s agreement does not guarantee that the applications are accepted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• apply for internship through the Department of Archaeology, Conservation and History's (IAKH) agreements with the?Peace Research Institute Oslo?(PRIO), the?Peace Research Institute Cyprus Centre, the?Nobel Institute,?the Norwegian Institute Rome?or?C-Rex: Center for Research on Extremism. Applications for internships at these institutions are to be sent to the MITRA study administration from where they will be forwarded to the partner institutions.
• find your own relevant internship that meets UiO¡¯s requirements. (Please check with the MITRA study administration if an internship you have in mind can be considered relevant before you make informal arrangements with that institution!) All internship partners must agree on the co-operation and sign the Faculty of Humanities' internship agreement.
• As a rule, MITRA-students from Norway have to apply for an internship abroad. However, students may ask for an exception if a placement in Norway can be considered an international environment.?International students (both from within and from outside the EU/EEC) are free to apply for an internship in Norway. The internship in Norway should be in an international work environment. International students who would like to apply for an internship outside of Norway should consult the MITRA study administration.

Learning outcome

MITRA4400 - Field Term - Internship for Modern International and Transnational History Students offers students a chance to gather work experience in areas of the job market potentially open to graduates of the MITRA program. It gives students the opportunity to use some of the competences and skills acquired during their studies in a non-academic environment and helps them to make informed decisions about their future professional career. Furthermore, students may establish useful contacts outside university and can evidence relevant work experience in later job applications.

After you have taken this course you are expected to:

• be able to use the skills and competences acquired during your studies work in an international work environment outside academia
• have a clearer understanding of the demands of working as a historian in a non-academic, international work environment
• design and conduct a research project, either as an assignment by an employer or as academic research

Formal prerequisite knowledge

You must have passed exams equivalent to 30 credits as part of the master`s programme Modern International and Transnational History before your third semester.

Teaching

Obligatory Activities

Students who plan to work on a commissioned report during their internship should talk about the content of an assignment with a representative of their host institution early on and then send a brief description of this task (one standard page) to the MITRA Program Director for approval.

Students who plan to write an academic paper during their internship should send an outline of their project of two standard pages (2,300 characters, no spaces) to the MITRA Program Director who will either offer feedback and guidance or refer the student to another member of staff who is better able to help with the project. Paper projects may also be developed with a supervisor at the department before the outline is sent to the Program Director for approval. The outline should be sent by 15 September.

As the teaching involves laboratory and/or field work, you should consider taking out a separate travel and personal risk insurance. Read about your insurance cover as a student.

Examination

The exam consists of either a commissioned report assigned by the host institution and approved by IAKH or an academic paper of 15-20 standard pages (2,300 characters, no spaces). The commissioned report (dossier, data analysis, case study or the like) should also be of 15-20 pages length.

The academic paper should be completed with a front page containing the following information:

• candidate number (not name)
• subject code
• the title of the assignment
• name of department (IAKH)
• semester

Submission of the academic paper:

• the assignment is submitted in Inspera.

Submission of the commissioned report:

The commissioned report is primary produced for the host institution, but IAKH requires a copy to verify that the respective student has fulfilled the requirements of the course. The report should be submitted in the same way as the academic paper.

It is not possible to sit for the examination other than by being admitted to the course.

If you have not passed the examination in MITRA4400, you will have the option to hand in a revised academic paper at a later date. The deadline for handing in the revised paper will be decided by IAKH. If you have passed the examination in MITRA4400 you will not be able to hand in a revised paper.

Language of examination

The examination text is given in English, and you submit your response in English.

Grading scale

Grades are awarded on a pass/fail scale. Read more about the grading system.

We ask the host institution to provide feedback as to the quality of the commissioned work done by the intern.

More about examinations at UiO

• Use of sources and citations
• Special exam arrangements due to individual needs
• Withdrawal from an exam
• Illness at exams / postponed exams
• Explanation of grades and appeals
• Resitting an exam
• Cheating/attempted cheating

You will find further guides and resources at the web page on examinations at UiO.