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International Office

J-1 Student Internship For Foreign Ph.D. Students*

A foreign national who is a Ph.D. student currently enrolled full-time in an accredited academic institution outside the United States may be eligible to perform a Ph.D. student internship at Scripps Research for up to twelve (12) months. The J-1 Student Intern visa has seven (7) main components:

1. FULL TIME Ph.D. STUDENT. The Ph.D. Student Intern must be currently enrolled full-time in a Ph.D. program for at least one full academic year at an accredited academic institution outside the United States. The prospective intern must provide documentation from the registrar's office confirming full-time enrollment and their start date in the institution's Ph.D. program. Foreign Ph.D. programs must meet U.S. Ph.D. graduate level standards.

2. INTERNSHIP REQUIRED BY Ph.D. PROGRAM. The internship must be directly related to completing the requirements of his/her Ph.D. program. The Ph.D. Student Intern must provide a letter from his/her Institution's academic officer addressed specifically to The Scripps Research Institute indicating how the internship at Scripps is a required component of the student's academic program.

3. SCRIPPS P.I. MUST HOST INTERN. A Scripps Principal Investigator (P.I.) must agree to host the Ph.D. student intern with the primary objective of helping the student complete the internship program. At no time should a student internship program be used as employment or to provide services to the P.I.

4. WRITTEN TRAINING PLAN. The P.I. and Ph.D. Student Intern must complete a written Internship Plan (DOS form DS-7002). An acceptable Internship Plan should cover a definite period of time and should consist of definite phases of training or tasks performed with a specific objective for each phase. The plan must also contain information on how the intern will accomplish those objectives (i.e. individual instruction, shadowing, classes/seminars, etc.). Each phase must build upon the previous phase to show a progression in the internship.

5. ENGLISH PROFICIENCY. The Ph.D. Student Intern must provide evidence of English language proficiency confirming that he/she possesses adequate English language skills to participate in the internship program as evidenced by a videoconference with the applicant and the International Office. This requirement is waived if the foreign national's home country is English speaking or if the foreign national is currently studying at an English speaking academic institution.

6. MINIMUM FUNDING. The minimum amount of funding is $2,400 per month (pending), for up to twelve (12) months. Proof of funding must be submitted and verified before the International Office can issue visa eligibility documents. Funding for a Ph.D. Student Intern can come from any combination of the following sources providing the total is at least $2,400 per month:
a. The Ph.D. student's academic institution; and/or
b. A fellowship/scholarship/stipend from a formally/legally recognized funding organization; and/or
c. The Scripps Research Institute

NOTE: Personal / family funds or bank loans cannot be used toward meeting the minimum monthly requirement of $2,400.

7. INSURANCE. Ph.D. student interns are required to have insurance that covers (a) sickness and/or accidents during the intern's stay in the United States. In addition, the intern is required to have (b) medical evacuation and repatriation insurance:
a. Sickness/accident insurance must include medical benefits of at least $50,000 per accident or illness and a deductible not to exceed $500 per accident or illness.
b. Medical evacuation / repatriation insurance must include coverage of at least $10,000 for expenses associated with medical evacuation and at least $7,500 for repatriation of remains.

*Students currently enrolled in an accredited Doctor of Medicine degree may qualify. Please contact the International Office for further details.

Contact the Host P.I. at Scripps directly to confirm availability of proposed internship. If the internship is available, you may click here to apply.