Global Internships: Los Angeles, California, USA

Summary

Gain first-hand knowledge, connections, and professional work experience through an academic internship in the Los Angeles area. On this program, you will:

• Undertake a professional internship opportunity to build transferable skills in the career field of your choice
• Earn academic credit for your internship via a ten-week online course
• Have the option to take additional courses through UC Berkeley Summer Sessions

Location Summary

Los Angeles boasts the third largest metropolitan economy in the world - and its rise to global prominence is a testament to the spirit of its business and residents, and to a culture of thinking big.

LA’s economy is extremely diversified, with established industry clusters ranging from entertainment, technology, and fashion to financial services, consumer products, and tourism. The city also invests heavily in public transportation, infrastructure, and cost-effective rideshares.

As a global city and hub of diversity, LA is home to people from 140 countries speaking over 220 different languages.

Students interning in the Los Angeles area will be placed with companies ranging from innovative start-ups to global organizations and NGOs in a variety of industry sectors.

Program Details

Dates:

• Los Angeles: June 8 - August 2, 2025
• Online course: June 9 – August 15, 2025

Dates are subject to change.

Units: 6 units

Language of Instruction: English

Two Required Courses:

• One online course through UC Berkeley Summer Sessions (3 units)

And an online course of your choice:

• UGIS W157: Experiential Learning (3 units)
• UGIS W158: Global Citizenship (3 units)

Housing

• Students will live in apartment-style accommodations in the Westside neighborhood of Los Angeles.
• Students will have access to a shared bathroom and communal kitchen to prepare meals.
• Students will be housed with other program participants in shared rooms of two students per room. Please note that there are gender-inclusive rooming options available for this program. If you have clarifying questions, please feel free to reach out to the program staff.

Eligibility

• Currently enrolled in a degree program or have graduated within the last 12 months [Graduate students are eligible to apply]
• At least one year of college coursework completed by the start of the program
• 2.0 GPA or higher
• At least 18 years old at the time of application
• Not on academic probation or under censure for student misconduct at any point from application review to the end of your program
• International students must have completed one year of full-time study at a college in the United States in the year immediately preceding your internship, be authorized for F-1 Curricular Practical Training or J-1 Academic Training under federal visa regulations, and have a valid visa for the extent of the program.

Application

• Application opens December 2, 2024 at 9 am PST
• Space is limited and applications are accepted on a first-come, first-served basis
• Deadline to apply is January 15, 2025 at 11:59 pm PST

Courses

In addition to your internship, you will be required to take two online courses for a total of 6 Berkeley units. 

Possible Course Combinations

• UGIS W157 + Additional UC Berkeley Summer Sessions Online Course
• UGIS W158 + Additional UC Berkeley Summer Sessions Online Course

Internship Courses

Option 1:

Course: Undergraduate & Interdisciplinary Studies W157
Title: Experiential Learning
Dates: June 9 - August 15, 2025
Instructor: Richard Thomas Ashcroft, Ph.D.
Units: 3 units
Prerequisites: None

With this course, you will be able to add a new dimension to your internship experience: a reflection on what it is to be both a worker and citizen in a globalizing world. You will be challenged to use your internship experience as an opportunity to explore the importance of cultural / generational differences in the workplace, professional ethics and personal values, and the structure and norms of different types of organizations. A series of audio-visual lectures, practical exercises, writing assignments, presentations, and online group discussions will ask you to engage in honest self-reflection about what you want from your career, and to develop the skills you need to succeed personally and professionally in a rapidly changing world.  We hope that this course will help understand the challenges of the modern global workplace and guide you towards a successful and fulfilling career. 
 

Option 2:

Course: Undergraduate & Interdisciplinary Studies W158 
Title: Global Citizenship
Dates: June 9 – August 15, 2025
Instructor: Jeroen Dewulf, Ph.D.
Units: 3 units
Prerequisites: None

With this course, you will be able to add a new dimension to your internship experience: a reflection on global citizenship. You will be challenged to use your internship experience as an opportunity to critically explore cultural differences, modes of conduct and values. A series of audio-visual lectures, practical exercises, writing assignments, projects, and online group discussions will stimulate you to leave the comfort zone of what you are familiar with and to explore alternative views on right and wrong, good and bad and the beautiful and the ugly. The course will also encourage you to interact with locals and to engage with the city/region/country where you live during your internship. It is our hope that this course will help to increase your consciousness about the challenges of being a global citizen.

Consult with your college/major advisor to see which degree requirements these courses may fulfill.

Summer Sessions Online Courses

Please choose one of the courses offered through the Berkeley Resource Center for Online Education listed here. It is your responsibility to make sure you meet any course related prerequisites as these are general UC Berkeley courses. Please note, these courses do fill up, so the earlier you apply, the higher the likelihood of you getting your first choice.

Registration

Global Internships staff will enroll you in courses after your acceptance to the program. Please make sure there are no active blocks on your student account that may impact your course enrollment.

Instructors

Richard Thomas Ashcroft, Ph.D.

UGIS W157: Experiential Learning
Email: rashcroft@berkeley.edu

Richard Ashcroft is a Lecturer in UC Berkeley’s Department of Political Science and Interdisciplinary Social Science Programs, and former Postdoctoral Coordinator for the Network for a New Political Economy. His research and teaching explore how modern societies should evolve in the face of deepening diversity and disagreement, with a particular focus on the connections between postwar multiculturalism, political economy, and the legacies of empire. He teaches courses on the political theory of multiculturalism, classical and contemporary political economy, and US, UK and EU politics.

Dr. Ashcroft is from Winchester in the United Kingdom. He read Theology at Oxford, before attending law school in London and qualifying as a Solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales. He spent several years working for a leading US-UK firm specializing in tax and trust law, and then became a legal aid lawyer in South London acting for the homeless and tenants of social housing. During this period he received an MA in the Theory and Practice of Human Rights, before completing his PhD in Political Science at UC Berkeley in 2018.

Jeroen Dewulf, Ph.D. 

UGIS W158: Global Citizenship
Email: jdewulf@berkeley.edu

Dr. Jeroen Dewulf is Associate Professor in the Department of German at the University of California Berkeley where he teaches courses in German Studies and Dutch Studies. He is also Queen Beatrix chair as well as Director of Institute of European Studies and Director of Dutch Studies.

Born in Ostend, Belgium, Dr. Dewulf graduated in Dutch and German Philology at the University of Ghent. He holds a Master's degree from the University of Porto and a Ph.D. from the University of Bern. His areas of specialization are European Studies, particularly related to (multi)cultural identity in Belgium and the Netherlands, and Post-Colonial Studies, in particular, Dutch colonial history and literature.

Internship

The Global Internships team works one-on-one with you to find an internship based on your academic background, experience, interests, as well as employer needs and availability. Internships in the Los Angeles Area are available in a wide variety of fields, and internship placement is guaranteed.

Example internship placements:

• Management and tech consulting services for a start-up company
• Film/Entertainment Industry: assisting with pre-production, editing, conducting film research, collaborating on funding proposals and budget documents
• Graphic Design Firm: working with clients to create logs, revamp websites, implement SEO plans
• Ecommerce Company: developing social media plans, drafting communications, researching competitors and clients

Some challenging internship fields to place in Los Angeles are:

• Hospitality & Tourism locations prefer longer (up to six month) placements. Alternate opportunities include marketing, social media, market research, and planning for virtual events.
• Medical placements or any field requiring handling of confidential data or information is unlikely. Alternate opportunities include public health or general research and support not related to specific clients or patients.

Opportunities can vary year-to-year by such factors as market trends, time of year, and the economy. Common industry sectors for internships include, but are not limited to:

Costs

Tuition and Program Fee

The fees to participate in this program are broken down into 1) tuition and 2) program fees, which are applied to your student billing account as follows:

*Program fee includes accommodations. Students have the option to opt out of program housing and find their own accommodations. These students will pay a reduced program fee of $1,905.

Fees are subject to change. All non-Berkeley students must pay an additional Document Management Fee of $71.

Estimated Out-of-Pocket Expenses

In addition to the fees outlined above, Berkeley Study Abroad has estimated amounts for out-of-pocket expenses. These amounts are used to calculate financial aid packages for eligible students. Actual expenses will vary depending on your lifestyle and spending habits.

*With off-program housing of $4,500, the estimate total is $10,979.

Financial Aid

Financial aid is available for UC Berkeley students who are enrolled in at least 6 units during the summer.

Financial aid estimates for 2025 Berkeley Global Internships programs are now available in the Summer Financial Aid Estimator in your Cal Central account.

Please FIRST obtain your estimate in the Summer Aid Estimator, then write to travelaid@berkeley.edu if you have any questions about the estimate you receive. Your estimate will include a Berkeley Study Abroad Scholarship if you qualify for one based on financial need.

How to locate the Estimator:

1) Log into Cal Central
2) Navigate to the My Finances Tab, and find the "Financial Resources" card
3) Scroll to the bottom of the Financial Resources card and click on Summer Sessions
4) From the Summer Sessions menu, click on Summer Cost and Aid Estimator

Make sure to adjust the number of units in the estimator if your program offers a choice of course selection. If your program only offers one combination or one course for 6 total units units, you do not need to update the units in the estimator.​

All other students should contact the financial aid office at their home institution for more information.

Explanation of Fees

Tuition is based on a per unit cost:

• The UC undergraduate student rate is $419 per unit
• The visiting student rate for all non-UC participants is $615 per unit

The program fee includes the following items: 

• Student housing in shared, apartment-style accommodations, if you choose to stay in program housing
• One-on-one meetings with the internship placement coordinator
• Resume review
• Interview preparation
• Professional development seminars
• Pre-internship orientation meetings
• The initial non-refundable deposit of $300, which will be charged on February 3, 2025, is applied to the program fee

The list of items included in the program fee is not all-inclusive and is subject to change.

The following items are excluded from the program fee:

• Airfare
• Personal expenses (emergency expenses, medical expenses, toiletries, etc.)
• Meals
• Course materials (textbooks and readers)
• Commuting costs for the daily travel to and from your internship

Timeline

*All dates are subject to change.