THE UNIVERSITY of Edinburgh has made more £1m from courses promising enrolled international exchange students a Holyrood internship, it was revealed today.

The Sunday Herald alleges that the University's Institute of Governance (IOG) has made £1.7m from its Parliamentary Internship Programme, which charges more than £5000 for a 15 week course which guarantees students an internship with an MSP. Figures disclosed via a Freedom of Information request show that the course has expanded considerably since its inception in 1999, with fees increasing from £3640 to £5560, the number of places growing five-fold from from 8 to 40 and the annual income from the scheme tripling from £69,160 to £222,400 per year.

In the first weeks of the programme, students on their year abroad from other universities enrol on three courses offered by the College of Humanities and Social Science, said to provide students with "a background in British Politics and the specific nature of Scottish politics, society and culture".

A fortnight transition period sees the coursework handed-in and preparations for the Parliamentary placement finalised.The courses are followed with an eight week internship with MSPs and a research project on a topic decided upon between the MSP, the intern and the Director of Studies is undertaken at the same time.· Students return to the IOG for a weekly one day compulsory session.

Since the first session of the Parliament in 1999, 300 students in twenty groups have completed the programme. Those enrolling in the programme have been mainly from the US, but some have also come from Germany, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands. More than half of the 129 MSPs in previous parliaments have participated.

Participating MSPs include independent Lothians MSP Margo MacDonald, former Scottish Labour leader Wendy Alexander and her deputy, Cathy Jamieson; potential Labour leadership contender Jackie Baillie; Conservative Education spokeswoman Elizabeth Smith; controversial tory Justice Committee Convener Bill Aitken; the SNP's Aileen Campbell and Bob Doris, and Liberal Democrats Jamie Stone - described as a "stalwart" of the scheme by the IOG - and the party's former leader, Tavish Scott.

Students appear to enrol on the course in the hope that it will provide a boost to their CVs, with one participant commenting, "The ability to watch and work with a politician…was an ideal experience. I would recommend the entire experience to any person who has an ounce of drive and desire to work or understand the Parliamentary system. This was not just an internship that will polish up my resumé, but a work experience that I will always be aiming to duplicate."

The IOG website reports that Bob Doris (SNP, Glasgow) harboured scepticism of the scheme at first, changing his mind after ten weeks with his intern and reporting that MSPs were "queuing up for interns".

His party colleague John Wilson (Central Scotland), however, slammed the University's role in the scheme, saying, "Edinburgh University has a lot of explaining to do, as it appears to be using its privileged position to profit from the Parliament. I would imagine there are many MSPs who do not know that these interns are paying for their places". An MSP who accepted an intern in the last session of Parliament said, "I knew nothing about the fee".

A Holyrood source said: "This scheme makes a mockery of the Parliament's founding principles of transparency and equal opportunities for all.· The new presiding officer needs to decide if she· is comfortable with an arrangement which allows money in return for providing access to MSPs and Parliament staff".

Ben Lyons, co-director of the pressure group Intern Aware also criticised the scheme, pointing out that, "If unpaid internships continue, 20 years down the line the country's political, cultural and business class will be made solely of those who could afford to work for free in 2011 - and in the case of MSPs, those who could afford to pay to work."

The scheme has confused some full-time Edinburgh students, who were disappointed to learn that the course is not open to students completing a degree at the University.

One student, who asked not to be named, spoke to their Director of Studies at the start of this academic year to ask whether they could enrol in the course and was told that it is not open to regular students because it would not allow them to complete the required courses needed to receive their degree.

"I thought the course would augment my degree, but it seems that the University would rather take foreign students on a junket than provide this course for home students," the student said.

"As a politics student, I was disappointed that I was not allowed to take the course, especially as I have since met some American students in the programme who seem to have little to no idea how the Scottish Parliament works or even a basic understanding of the party divisions."

The revelations come after it emerged that the Conservative party auctioned-off internships at leading financial institutions, PR companies and multinational companies for up to £3000 in order to raise party funds.· Coalition partner Nick Clegg subsequently went on the offensive over unpaid internships, saying "For too long, internships have been the almost exclusive preserve of the sharp-elbowed. Unfair, informal internships can rig the market in favour of thsoe who already have opportunities" and calling for competitive advertisement and "proper renumeration" as the solution. 

The IOG, EUSA and the Scottish Parliament have been contacted for comment.

The IOG website list the following MSPs as particpants:

SNP: Bill Kidd, Michael Matheson, Alasdair Allan, Jamie Hepburn, Rob Gibson, Aileen Campbell, Kenneth Gibson, Stuart McMillan, Nigel Don, Bob Doris.

Labour: Jackie Baillie, Frank McAveety, David Whitton, Helen Eadie, Margaret Curran, Michael McMahon, Cathy Jamieson, Wendy Alexander, David Stewart, Rhona Brankin, Marlyn Glen, Rhoda Grant, Richard Simpson.

Conservative: Ted Brocklebank, John Lamont, Mary Scanlon, Elizabeth Smith, Bill Aitken.

Liberal Democrat: Jamie Stone, Tavish Scott.

Independent: Margo MacDonald.