Language Requirement: None
Academic Standing by Program Start: Freshman or Above
Location: Asia, Vietnam
GPA: 2.75

Program Overview

Location Overview:

Ho Chi Minh City, sometimes still called Saigon, is a flourishing modern metropolis intertwined with historical landmarks, street food, and market stalls. Alongside hip coffee bars selling locally-grown coffee and high-fashion boutiques, students will find family-run food stalls selling authentic, affordable dishes and textile market stalls where haggling is the norm. It’s a beautiful, chaotic city that’s also classically Vietnamese.

Over the past several decades, Ho Chi Minh City has built its reputation as the economic hub of Vietnam, with new shopping malls, public transportation, and a vibrant entrepreneurial spirit. Every industry, from tourism to fashion to finance to tech can be found here.

What is GlobalWorks?

GlobalWorks internships are personalized internship programs that bring you out of the country, and into the workplace. We connect academic study with real-world experiences by providing full-time international internship opportunities to UO students in various career fields. Working with local professional internship providers in locations around the world, we provide individualized placements for UO students. Students earn UO credits and life-changing work experience in a different culture. Immerse yourself in a new city, earn UO course credits, and gain professional experience with a GlobalWorks internship.

Internship Career Fields:

  • Art + Design
  • Business + Accounting
  • Computer Science and Information Technology
  • Education
  • Environment + Sustainability
  • Journalism + Communications
  • NGO + Nonprofit
  • Social Science
  • STEM + Healthcare

If you would like to combine the Nongovernmental Organizations of Southeast Asia study abroad program with a GlobalWorks internship afterward, you need to complete both the GEO study abroad application and the GlobalWorks internship application by January 15. In your GlobalWorks application, please indicate that you are participating in the Nongovernmental Organizations of Southeast Asia program and thus need a later internship start date.


Study Abroad opportunity for UO Students (Summer 2025 ONLY): 

If you would like to combine the Catalysts for Impact: Nonprofits in Southeast Asia study abroad program with a GlobalWorks internship afterward, you need to complete both the GEO study abroad application and the GlobalWorks internship application by January 15. In your GlobalWorks application, please indicate that you are participating in the Catalysts for Impact: Nonprofits in Southeast Asia program and thus need a customized internship start date. Speak with your GEO advisor Jericho Westendorf or UO GlobalWorks advisor for additional information. 

 

Dates and Deadlines

TermYearDeadlineArrival DateDeparture Date
Fall202405/15/202409/19/202411/13/2024
Winter202509/01/202401/09/202503/07/2025
Spring202512/01/202404/17/202506/14/2025
Summer202501/15/202506/26/202508/20/2025

Apply to the UO GlobalWorks program by completing the online application. You can open an application to view all the materials you’ll need before you submit. Late applications may be accepted based on position availability, but note that for some terms and locations the program can be very competitive. After provisional acceptance by the UO, students will need to interview with our third party provider for final acceptance.

To intern abroad in this location, note that a visa will be required. This is an additional cost that is outside of the program fees and will also require additional steps to apply and may impact timelines and travel prior to program start. Your individual provider will offer more instructions and next steps but students will be responsible for applying and submitting documents on time for the visa

If you are not a US Citizen: Notify your GlobalWorks Advisor. Students who are not US citizens should contact the consulate in their country of residence about visa requirements, no matter the duration of the program of study.


Applying for a GlobalWorks International Internship is pretty simple if you follow these steps. Once you are accepted, GlobalWorks typically guarantees placement in your preferred location and career field(s). The approval and interview process takes roughly 3-4 months from when you apply to when you are notified of your internship placement.

1. UO APPLICATION

Apply to the UO GlobalWorks program by completing the online application. You can open an application to view all the materials you’ll need before you submit. Late applications may be accepted based on position availability.

What You’ll Need:

  • Online application form
  • Cover letter
  • Resume
  • Contact info for one reference (for scholarship applicants)

2. INTERVIEW + ACCEPTANCE

Once you’ve applied, you will receive an email from a GlobalWorks program coordinator at the UO if you have submitted all application materials. You will typically meet or interview with our third-party provider for your location. The goal of the interview with the provider is for them to ensure they can accept you, and to give them a sense of your interests and career goals so they can place you with the company that will provide the best fit. If offered acceptance, you will then confirm your acceptance by signing a deposit agreement form after carefully reading through the cancellation policy. Although we can typically guarantee placement in students’ preferred location and career field, students don’t know their specific placement when they sign the deposit and cancellation agreement.

3. PRE-DEPARTURE 

Once you’ve been accepted, you will complete onboarding documentation and forms within the GEO portal and will attend a UO pre-departure orientation. Your site-specific provider may also have a portal or onboarding documents. If you do not already have a passport, make sure to apply for one ASAP. Some locations may require a visa, please check with your program coordinator if you are unsure.

You may also need to schedule health evaluation appointments. You can now make travel arrangements as well.

You don’t need to register for the two required courses (we will register you).

4. INTERNSHIP INTERVIEWS

Your internship provider will work to match you with businesses or organizations within your career field. You will then interview with host companies that the provider has matched you with. You usually don’t get to choose a company from multiple choices; you will interview with one at a time. The majority of students will have one to three interviews before being placed.

5. INTERNSHIP PLACEMENT

You will be notified of your final internship placement! Students are typically placed with their internship a month or two before departure, individual timelines may vary.

Hear from Our Students

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Opportunities for growth in Vietnam


Returning to the U.S. or the University of Oregon isn't my immediate concern, as I've already graduated and plan to spend the next month traveling through Vietnam and Japan. This extended time abroad… read more
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Reflecting on my internship in Vietnam


My Time Abroad: An Overview My time abroad in Vietnam has been a fascinating journey filled with both expected and unexpected experiences. As a recent finance graduate, I was eager to immerse myself… read more
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Challenges and surprises in Vietnam


Introduction and Identities My name is Pierre Tran, and I am a recent finance graduate currently interning in Vietnam. As someone deeply interested in finance and eager to immerse myself in… read more

Discount for Pell Recipients

To expand access to study abroad, GEO is offering a $500 discount for this program to UO students who currently have the Pell Grant as part of their federal financial aid (FAFSA).

Course Equivalencies

UO students: please refer to the UO Course Equivalency Process and the UO Office of the Registrar Course Equivalency Database.

Non-UO students: Actual credit awarded is determined by the relevant department at your university in consultation with the study abroad office. Check with your study abroad advisor for more information.