does “US accredited university/college” mean a university within the US for internship applications?

8 comments

1. It means the University is recognized by an accreditation body as legitimate. Cambridge is almost certainly on the list.

2. You should be fine. They’re trying to weed out people who go to fake diploma mills. They will know what Cambridge is and that it’s legit.

3. Accreditation is where a regional and/or industry-specific nongovernmental organization overseen by the Department of Education ensures that a school or program meets acceptable standards for education. As it only applies to US schools, Cambridge would not be accredited and would thus not meet their requirements. That being said, University of Cambridge is a globally well-regarded school, and a business or organization might bend the rules if they think you’re worth it. Of course, if it’s a pretty long paid internship, and they want you, you’ll have to look at getting a J1 Visa.

4. I do think that means accredited universities within the U.S.

   But frankly, I’d apply anyway. Cambridge is one of the very few non-U.S. universities with wide name recognition here, and is extremely highly respected. Nobody’s going to look at your application and toss it out because you’re at Cambridge. My guess is that they’re trying to exclude non-accredited universities within the U.S., not top-level universities from elsewhere.

5. Is it a paid internship? If so they probably won’t care, but if it’s an unpaid internship where they’re trying to offer academic credit in lieu of pay then it might be restricted to only students of US universities.

6. University employee here. Accredited means the university has undergone rigorous review to ensure it’s offering students an appropriate education. The application wants to make sure you aren’t enrolled in some Mickey Mouse online university.

   You go to Cambridge, so I feel like you’re good. It MAY apply to only US universities but it won’t hurt to apply.

   In most cases, there should be a “for assistance” email somewhere that you can drop a quick line to.

7. It means that the school or program is assessed by a US Organization to meet a certain standard. It would surprise me if Cambridge is not US accredited, but since accreditation sometimes requires audits and adjustments it’s possible they didn’t feel the need to keep up with it.

   In any case “US Accredited” does not necessarily mean “inside the US”.

8. That would normally mean a college or university that has been “regionally accredited”, which is the standard for legitimate academic accreditation for a school in the US.

   Anyone can open a school and offer a degree, there are no Federal rules against it and most states only lightly regulate the practice at best. . .and if you call your school a religious school then our religious freedom protections means there’s very little anyone can do to stop you. (There are many unaccredited “bible colleges” of little academic rigor that churn out preachers lacking any kind of serious theological education)

   So, to define what are generally seen as legitimate academic institutions, the United States Department of Education recognizes a number of regional accreditation agencies with the authority to grant recognition to schools for meeting basic standards of academic quality.

   A school has to be regionally accredited to be eligible for Federal educational money (like student loan benefits, military educational benefits) or for that degree to count for educational requirements for government jobs.

   In practice, a school that lacks regional accreditation is often seen as shady (at best).

   If you find a school that seems like you may be interested in attending, check to see if they’re Regionally Accredited by an accreditation agency recognized by the U.S. Dept. of Education.

   [https://www.ed.gov/accreditation](https://www.ed.gov/accreditation)

   [https://www.chea.org/directories](https://www.chea.org/directories)