Career Services logo at the top with

Career Services Summer Stipend

Career Services is piloting a program for summer internship funding where students can apply for a stipend to support living expenses associated with pursuing an unpaid opportunity that they have been offered and intend to accept for the Summer of 2024. 

Summer stipend of $6000 to work or volunteer for an unpaid opportunity.  Traditionally, Swarthmore Career Services does not endorse unpaid internships for our students; however, we understand that there are a number or organizations and/or industries (i.e. nonprofit, government, arts/museums, film/media/music, pro-bono work, law/legal work for undergrads, etc.) that are unable to obtain the funding for meaningful opportunities. The goal of this stipend would be to support those opportunities. Students are not eligible to apply for funding to subsidize summer courses or other immersive learning opportunities including self-directed project based opportunities and fee-based internship programs.

Important note: At this time, we are not offering partial funding as an option. Students are only eligible for the max stipend award from Swarthmore College which is $6000. Students cannot commit to more than one funding source for summer stipends. 

Timeline & Process

  1. Students apply by February 16, 2024 via Handshake. Note that ALL application materials must be included by the application deadline in order to be considered.
  2. Committee review of applications to be completed by March 1, 2024. Note that the review will be a blind review of applicants.
  3. Interviews of selected candidates (if needed) between March 1 – 15, 2024
  4. Offers awarded by March 15, 2024
  5. Students confirm acceptance or decline offer by April 1,  2024
Apply for the Summer Stipend

  • Students graduating between June 2025 and June 2027 who are fully enrolled at Swarthmore College and plan to be enrolled in the Fall of 2024.
  • All Swarthmore students regardless of immigration status; however, prior to applying, students are encouraged to connect with appropriate campus offices to make sure the opportunities they have secured comply with all immigration/visa guidelines.
  • Students who have been offered and accepted or plan to accept an unpaid opportunity or volunteer opportunity for Summer 2024
  • Position obtained must be 8-10 weeks between May – August with 35-40 hours worked per week or 350-400 hours of work in total.

  • Resume
  • Letter of interest/Cover letter stating how this stipend will positively impact your summer experience and how this unpaid opportunity aligns with your current and future goals.
  • Experience description including details of expectations and responsibilities or duties.
  • Verification of offer for an unpaid position for Summer 2024, ideally with a start and end date. This can be a screenshot of an email between you and your future supervisor or a formal offer letter.
    • Students selected for this summer funding opportunity will also need to provide documentation showing their acceptance of the opportunity when they accept their funding.
  • Contact information of your direct supervisor – Full Name, Email Address and Phone Number. (Note: we may reach out to them for more information.)

If you accept this summer stipend, you will be required to:

  1. Commit to attend “pre-departure” meeting with one of our Career Services staff members
  2. Participate in a “check-in” meeting with Career Services staff over the summer virtually.
  3. Establish learning goals with your supervisor and complete Learning Goals Exercise. Completed and submitted by Fri, Sept 13. Email or upload to Google Drive.
  4. Complete Common Exit Inventory through WizeHive – this is required for students who receive funding from the College.
  5. Write a blog post and submit a picture, about your summer experience.

The following criteria will be used by the Review Committee to evaluate applications and allot funding.

  • Funding preference goes to students based on the quality of the internship proposal and the personal statement. Well-written applications that reflect how their chosen opportunity and the work they will be doing aligns with their career goals and what they hope to learn from it. Poorly written materials can be grounds for denying funding, even if the student has proposed a good internship.
  • Impact of funding – students should indicate how this funding will positively support their summer experience.
  • Preference goes to proposals that clearly articulate roles and responsibilities of the position, as well as expectations.
  • Funding preference would go to the student who had never before received any College summer funding.

For questions or concerns regarding the application process, please email Kelly Dougherty (kdoughe3@swarthmore.edu) in Career Services.