Study + Internship in Prague
Fall 2015 Semester

About the Program

Why choose when you can have both?  Make steady progress toward your academic degree AND gain valuable hands-on skills in an international internship in one of Central Europe's economic and cultural capitals. Incorporate a professional internship placement into your semester or summer study program and give your future career a boost. Internships in Prague encourage you to immerse into local culture while developing practical skills in fields such as marketing, management, journalism, communication, international relations, and more.  Take care of those degree requirements and build the foundations of your professional network all while gaining the international experience you’ve been seeking with a study + internship program in Prague. Learn more about the benefits of a CEA internship.

Program Structure

CEA’s study + internship program includes a personalized internship placement, a flipped classroom-style online academic course and additional elective courses. Your internship work schedule may vary depending on industry standards for your career field and will be determined after you arrive.

Internship Course
The required internship course has been designed to help you make the most of your internship and launch your transition to professional with the refined and strengthened career skills employers are craving.  The course features one hour of face-to-face coaching sessions per week while you are in-country and includes additional self-directed course content, activities and assignments equivalent to about 30-40 hours total. You will automatically be enrolled in the internship course upon acceptance of your internship placement.

Credit Options
The 3 credit internship option includes the required online hybrid course and 120-180 hours at your internship placement. Together, the internship hours and course are worth 3 credits.

The 6 credit internship option also includes the required online hybrid course, but your internship placement hours are increased to 200-240 hours. Together, the internship hours and course are worth 6 credits.

Prior to submitting your application, you will select the internship option (3 or 6 credits) that works best for you. We strongly recommended that you apply as soon as possible. Internship positions are selective; students who demonstrate both professionalism and commitment throughout the process are most successful in securing placements.

Additional Elective Courses
In addition to your internship course and placement, you will choose 1 - 3 AAU elective courses and 0 - 2 CEA elective courses (starting Fall 2021) to take from the catalog of course options available to you.  This provides you with the opportunity to gain professional experience while also making progress toward your degree requirements and engaging in classes that afford a richer cultural experience.

Elective courses meet for 42 - 45 contact hours/3 credits.  Overall, semester students may earn 12 credits. Students may petition to take one additional 3 credit/ 42-hour course if needed for a total of 15 credits.  Given the demands of the internship, 12 credits are recommended.

Elective courses generally meet at various times, Monday-Friday. Active learning components required by your courses may be scheduled for Fridays. Your internship coaching session will meet weekly and your internship placement hours may take place Monday-Friday; the exact time of day and days of the week will be determined after you arrive.

Career Coaching & Placement Process
Once you’ve submitted your application, your career development adventure will begin! The placement process is more than just securing an internship placement.  You will engage in a career exploration and coaching journey with your internship coach to help you to identify your ideal professional pathway.  During this time, you will receive 7-10 hours of professional career coaching via video, email and workshops. 

You will also engage in additional interviews with our in-country internship coordinator and your potential host site supervisor.  The host site retains the final decision regarding placements, so it’s important that your interviews reflect your maturity, adaptability, curiosity, and commitment to both your career interests and the host organization.

Timeline Guarantee
Upon successfully completing your in-country internship coordinator interview, CEA guarantees you a placement that will support the personal, professional, and cross-cultural learning objectives you have identified in your career coaching process. All placements will be secured two weeks prior to arrival. 

If you have confirmed an internship placement through independent contacts, we can also support you in securing important logistics such as visas, housing, and credit. Contact an admissions counselor for more details.

Excursions

Get out and explore! Excursions are offered for most semester, year, and summer programs*. Semester students are typically offered between two to three excursions and summer study students are typically offered between one to two excursions. You'll receive a calendar of excursions during orientation; here are a few day and overnight excursions we've offered in the past.

Český Krumlov

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Join us on an overnight trip to Český Krumlov, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the banks of the Vltava River. One of the most popular destinations in the Czech Republic, Český Krumlov is an outstanding example of a Central European medieval town with an architectural heritage more than 500 years old. It’s easy to see the influence of several different cultures—Czech, Austrian, Bavarian, and Northern Italian—on this charming town near the Austrian border. Encircled by a bend in the river, the town features a 13th-century castle with Gothic, Renaissance, and Baroque elements. During this two-day, one-night trip, we also hike through a nearby forest to a ruined castle, forming a contrast with the perfectly maintained, picturesque center of Český Krumlov, and provide you with free time to explore on your own.

Karlovy Vary

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On this day trip, you’ll explore Karlovy Vary, the Czech Republic’s largest, most famous spa city. For centuries, Europeans have gone to spas for rehabilitation, usually staying for a month or two in a naturally beautiful location. Doctors today still prescribe spa stays as treatment. Situated in western Bohemia west of Prague, Karlovy Vary offers more than 300 hot springs and the warm-water Teplá river. Legend says that the town’s thermal springs were accidentally discovered in 1370 by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. In the 16th century, the spa enjoyed the favor of many noble families and wealthy townsmen; by the 19th century, it was a popular destination for celebrities like Beethoven and Goethe. Today, the city draws movie stars and fans who gather for the annual summer International Film Festival. You may recognize Karlovy Vary as the location for a number of films, including Casino Royale.

Terezín

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Spend a day exploring Terezín, an 18th-century fortress that was used as a concentration camp by the Germans during World War II. Terezín is a little-known but interesting example of the network of concentration camps in operation during that time. Most famous for its history as a gruesome prison, Terezín was a transit camp for Jews and other prisoners of the Nazis; most of those coming from the Czech lands who died in camps further to the west, such as Auschwitz-Birkenau, came through Terezín. Though the camp was used by the Germans for propaganda during the war—even managing to get the Red Cross to agree that the camps were not inhumane— the vast majority of those who went through Terezín did not survive. Inmates in Terezín are known for keeping cultural and artistic life alive and striving to make life as normal as possible for the children present. The on-site memorial details these efforts and illustrates Terezín’s terrible but enlightening history. Visiting such a site is an important historical and cultural experience during your study abroad stay in Central Europe.

Kutná Hora

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Imagine you’re standing in one of the world’s most important financial centers, a place that sits squarely in the middle of a global trade network and provides an entire region with its common currency of exchange. Where are you? London in 1844? New York in 1964? No, you’re in Kutná Hora in the 14th century. Larger than London at that time, Kutná Hora was the economic and geographic center of a trade network that spanned Europe and reached across the spice routes to the Middle and Far East. The silver deposits mined in Kutná Hora were minted into a currency called groschen (a later currency from the region, the tolar, was the origin of the word “dollar”). On this day trip to Kutná Hora, you’ll explore this beautiful, well-preserved medieval town, now protected as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Don a traditional white miner’s uniform to tour the old silver mines, visit the gothic-style Church of Saint Barbara with its flying buttresses, and see the nearby “bone church,” the 19th century Sedlec Ossuary decorated with elaborate arrangements of the bones of thousands of victims of the Black Death and Hussite religious wars.