Academic Year and Summer Internships

If you plan to pursue an external internship, whether during the academic year or during the summer, you should understand the guidelines for students and the steps necessary to get approval for the internship. The approval process and rules are different, depending on whether the internship falls during the academic year or the summer. 

Academic Year Internships

In-term internship policy and process

Any paid work during the academic year, even if it is termed an "internship" by the employer, is considered employment and is subject to a limit of no more than ten hours per week, on average. In some cases, a full-time doctoral student may accept employment with a private entity for the purpose of generating data, learning methodologies, or accessing equipment necessary for the completion of their dissertation. In these cases, the student may petition the Graduate School for an exception to the ten-hour per week rule. 

To do so, the student should submit a request in a single pdf to GSASadministrativedean@yale.edu, that includes: 

  1. A personal statement from student detailing the research plan;
  2. a letter from the employer describing the duration of the appointment, the number of hours to be worked each week, and the hourly compensation;
  3. a statement from the employer giving the student permission to use any data generated for their dissertation, in publications, and in public talks;
  4. a letter of support signed by the academic adviser, indicating that the internship is ‘essential’ to the dissertation; and
  5. DGS approval. 

Note that if the employment is approved, compensation beyond 10 hours per week will be deducted from the student’s Yale financial aid package for the duration of the employment.  International students who seek employment opportunities for any number of hours should first consult with OISS to ensure that they comply with the terms of their visa. Students who accept outside paid employment while also being paid a stipend from a faculty member’s research grant are required to submit a Conflict of Interest (COI) disclosure to the Yale Conflict of Interest office.

A note on process: If a student is a visa holder, any employment (1-20 hours per week) must go through the approval process.  If a student is not a visa holder, any employment between 10 and 20 hours per week must go through the approval process.

Note on term-time restrictions: For any internship over 20 hours per week during the academic year, students will need to request a personal leave of absence.

Students on a visa must consult with OISS and seek CPT approval before pursuing any external internship opportunity.

Summer Internships 

Rules governing summer internships 

  • The candidate must get permission from their adviser or PI.
  • The internship must begin after the date of May graduation and end before the first day of fall classes.
  • The candidate's stipend will be suspended and the candidate will be paid by the hiring organization.
  • Students on a visa must consult with OISS and seek CPT approval before pursuing any external internship opportunity.

Approval for summer internships 

Any candidate pursuing an internship must fill out the following form:  https://forms.sis.yale.edu/PhDSummerInternship.  This form can also be found on the University Registrar's form page, under "Summer Internship Request Form."