Internship Funding Opportunities

Internships provide valuable learning experiences, potential career paths, and endless networking opportunities. The high-level skills and knowledge you have earned during your graduate studies give you the flexibility to explore a variety of industries and organizations. 

What funding is available for me to pursue an internship?

Speaking with your supervisor

Having supervisor support is a necessary component of the program and navigating this conversation with your supervisor can be challenging. Some supervisors will be fully supportive of your decision to complete an internship, whereas others may require some convincing (especially if your supervisor assumes that you will be pursuing a career in academia).

Please use the following recommendations to help you with this task:

  • Speak early: speak to your supervisor early on about your plans for completing an internship and be open minded to their suggestions (they may know someone in the field and be able to connect you with them).
  • Be prepared: your supervisor may or may not know how a doctoral internship works, how it will affect your studies, how it will benefit you and your career opportunities after graduation. Knowing these details and others, such as time needed, fields of interest and how it will be funded, will help you make a stronger argument.
  • Supervisor's point of view: your supervisor might be seeing you leaving on an internship as a loss of time because you will not be focusing 100% on your work with them. Being understanding of their perspective and identifying ways to limit this unease will help make your case. For example, doing research in your spare time or completing a part-time internship which would allow for greater flexibility.

For more advice and examples for speaking with your supervisor, please read “Making the Case for an Internship” by Gina Shereda and Joseph Stanhope Cialdella from Inside Higher Ed, April 2021.

Career Development Resources

Some very helpful resources are available to you as a McGill student.

  • CaPS (Career planning Service): CV and cover letter writing, job search, interview preparation, etc.
  • myFuture: McGill University's portal for promoting job opportunities and career education.
  • SKILLSETS:  A suite of professional development workshops for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.
  • Graduate Career Month seminar recordings: Microsoft Stream
  • Teaching and Learning Services (TLS): Provides resources, support, recognition, and development opportunities for to instructors, students, and the broader McGill community.
  • Faculty and department advisors

Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International LicenseThis work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial 4.0 International License.
Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, McGill University.

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