Program Overview

Academic Internship Program

The UC San Diego Academic Internship Program (AIP) provides an opportunity for undergraduate students to earn course credit for substantive internships related to their academic and career goals. As an academic program, AIP strives to facilitate partnerships that lead to genuine learning opportunities for students, and create value for our community partners.

Eligibility

All AIP courses are open to eligible students of any major who follow the application and enrollment process in the quarter preceding the internship. Eligibility for AIP courses is dependent on the course:

• Lower division: 30 units completed, 3.0 UC GPA
• Upper division: 90 units completed, 2.5 UC GPA

Students need to apply for an AIP course or program before the quarter they are applying for credit. AIP is not able to grant academic credit for retroactive or previously completed internships.

Course Information

More detailed information is available on the AIP Courses page. Below is a general overview of AIP's core courses. See Course Catalog for official descriptions. Students are encouraged to check with their major department to determine whether AIP courses can fulfill a major requirement.

• AIP 197: Academic Internship Program. Upper-division, Pass/No Pass Special Studies course. Students engage in independent internships, identify Learning Objectives, and develop a related paper or project under guidance of a faculty advisor. Internships may be in any industry, and are vetted by AIP for alignment with established internship criteria.
• AIP 97: Academic Internship. Lower-division, Pass/No Pass Special Studies course, making enrollment in an internship course accessible to lower-division students. Course structure and requirements mirror AIP 197.
• AIP 197P: Public Service Internship. Upper-division, Pass/No Pass Special Studies course. Students intern with non-profit or government entities, and may apply credit toward Public Service Minor requirements. Overall course structure is similar to AIP 197.

In addition to AIP's core courses, we support enrollment in internship courses linked to partner programs, including BISP 197 (Biology Research Internship Program), ANTH 197 (Anthropology Internships), and GLBH 197 (Global Health Internships).

Special Programs

AIP also has special programs as an opportunity to explore internships within specific fields and even beyond San Diego. We encourage you to explore the UCDC and UCCS programs, as well as other special programs such as the BISP 197 and CHEM 197 courses.

Application Process

More detailed instructions on the application process are available on our AIP Checklists page.

• Upload your resume, cover letter, and other required documents
• Apply for positions and the internship organization will contact you directly for an interview
• If selected for an internship position, complete the Learning Agreement

An AIP counselor is available to meet with students throughout this process, providing assistance with finding appropriate internships, resume/cover letter preparation, the application and interview process.

Learning Agreement

More detailed instructions on the Learning Agreement page. A Learning Agreement must include:

• Internship dates
• Internship schedule and hours
• Faculty Advisor contact information
• Internship details
  • Organization name
  • Supervisor Name
  • Supervisor Title
  • Supervisor Email
  • Supervisor Phone
  • Internship Title
  • Internship description
• Determine three Learning Objectives
  • Learning objectives should reflect concrete knowledge or experiences you hope to gain from the internship opportunity.
  • Identify the steps that would help you to achieve those objectives
• A summary of your final deliverable

Once the Learning Agreement is complete:

• Submit the Learning Agreement
• AIP will review your Learning Agreement and will provisionally approve your application
  • If revisions are needed, the Learning Agreement will be sent back to you for edits
• Your Internship Supervisor will receive an email requesting their electronic approval of the Learning Agreement

EASy Request

More information is available on the EASy Requests page. Upon approval by AIP and your Internship Supervisor, you may begin your enrollment request via the Enrollment Authorization System (EASy). You will need:

• Your proposed final deliverable
• A PDF of your approved Learning Agreement

Your request will be electronically routed to your Faculty Advisor for approval.

Timelines

Below are the recommended EASy submission deadlines. The Learning Agreement must be approved and attached to the EASy application when submitting.

Please note that special studies applications require multiple levels of review through EASy, including submissions by both the student and instruction, departmental review, and (in some cases) College approval before final submission to the Registrar.

All approvals must be completed and application must be submitted to the Registrar by Friday of Week 2 (the campus add deadline). Students are encouraged to submit their applications by the deadlines listed below to allow for sufficient processing time.

Important dates for AIP

• For participation in
• Internship Dates
• Learning Agreement Due
• Priority EASy Request Deadline
  • Spring 2025
  • Summer 2025
  • Fall 2025
  • Winter 2026
  • Spring 2026

Summer internships will be scheduled for Special Summer Session III, see the Summer Session website for information around fees and payment deadlines.