Individual Internship FAQ
This page contains answers to some of the important questions that people ask about internships.
1. What immunizations do I need to get for my internship?
LEAPNOW doesn't give medical advice to our students or interns. Most counties in the U.S. have a local health clinic where you can get information that is relevant to your travel plans, as well as recommended immunizations and health precautions. One of your best sources of information is the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website which has health-related recommendations for each country or region of the world.
2. Will I need a visa to do an internship abroad?
In most cases, you will need a tourist visa to work as a volunteer in your country of choice. Many countries allow Americans to travel for up to 90 days on a tourist visa that you get upon arrival at your port of entry. Many other countries require you to apply for a tourist visa while you are still here in the U.S. It is generally much more involved, more difficult, and much more bureaucratic to get a non-tourist (student or work) visa - so we strongly recommend that you don't go this route for an unpaid volunteer stint abroad. Your best source for visa requirements for Americans traveling abroad is the U.S. State Department website.
3. I want to do an internship that isn't on the list of 40 available to individuals. How can I get access to LEAPNOW's full internship database?
there are three ways to get full access to LEAPNOW's internship database - LEAPNOW's full database of internship options numbers over 6,000 internships and volunteer opportunities throughout the world. The full database is available to people doing the LEAPYEAR and Deeper Waters programs. A summary of what's available in the database can be found on the Deeper Waters home page. We have a sister organization, The Center for INTERIM Programs, that sets up internships for individuals using the same database. They charge a flat fee of $2100, which gives you access to placements from this database for a lifetime.