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Get Funded for Unpaid Internships

Fund Your Passion! Have you found an opportunity or internship that needs funding? Let Stanford Career Education help.

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What is CareerEd Fellows?

CareerEd Fellows (formerly known as BEAM Fellows) is a program that provides funding for Stanford students who are participating in qualifying unpaid internships, externships, or short-term projects during Winter, Spring, or Summer quarters. These opportunities are great ways to apply what you are learning in class to real-world environments while exploring different industries and roles, learning new skills, and making professional connections.

CareerEd Fellows Eligibility

To qualify for the CareerEd Fellows program, you must meet the following requirements:

  • Be a Stanford undergraduate student (co-term/master’s/PhD students and postdoctoral scholars do not qualify)
  • Be in good academic standing (students on suspension, leave of absence, or gap year do not qualify)
  • Have already received an offer for an internship, externship, or short-term project when you apply for funding
  • Winter/Spring Only: Must be enrolled in Stanford undergraduate courses
  • Students with demonstrated financial need will be given priority
  • While students may apply for CareerEd Fellows more than once, the maximum total funding that a student can receive from this program over the course of their time at Stanford is limited to $10,000.

Additionally, your CareerEd Fellows internship, externship, or short-term project must meet the following requirements:

  • Include professional experience and skill development opportunities aligned with your interests
  • Be unpaid
  • Meet unpaid internship requirements outlined in Fair Labor Standards Act from the Department of Labor
  • Last 3 weeks or longer
  • Winter/Spring Only: Time commitment must be between 5 and 15 hours per week
  • Summer: Time commitment must be between 5 and 40 hours per week
  • Comply with Stanford travel policies
  • Organization may not be owned or run by you, a relative or close friend
  • Organization must complete an Employer Agreement form which you will email them directly after completing your application:
  • Organization must provide a supervisor/mentor who:
    • Confirms that the opportunity meets eligibility requirements
    • Provides you with guidance throughout the internship, externship or short-term project 
    • Certifies completion of opportunity and provides you with final written feedback and completes the Skill Survey assessment provided by Stanford CareerEd
    • Is a full-time professional employee at the organization and has at least two years of professional experience (volunteers and current college students do not qualify)
    • Is not a relative or friend of yours

Can I apply if I’m a...

  • Student athlete: Yes, but please confirm that accepting a CareerEd Fellows stipend would not impact your athletic scholarship eligibility.
  • International student: Yes, but please check with Bechtel International Center to confirm that accepting a CareerEd Fellows stipend would not impact your visa status.
  • Undocumented student: Yes, the CareerEd Fellows program has no citizenship requirements.
  • Graduating senior: We accept applications from graduating seniors, however during the summer they have lower priority for funding than continuing students.
  • Co-term/master’s/PhD student or postdoctoral scholar: No, you unfortunately do not qualify for CareerEd Fellows.
  • Student considering an overseas opportunity: Yes, eligible students participating in global opportunities that align with the Stanford International Travel Policy and meet all other eligibility requirements will be considered for funding.  Please be sure to provide adequate information about the organization and your supervisor so we are able to confirm that the opportunity meets all requirements.

Are there any opportunities that CareerEd Fellows does not fund?

  • University research-related opportunities: Research done on campus or at another university will not be considered for funding. For grants supporting research, please explore the grants offered through Undergraduate Research
  • Stanford-based opportunities: A goal of the CareerEd Fellows program is to help you explore career opportunities outside of the Stanford environment and begin to build your professional network. Opportunities based at Stanford do not qualify for CareerEd Fellows stipends.
  • Fees for placement/sending organizations: CareerEd Fellows Stipends will not be issued for opportunities that require fees from third-party placement organizations or volunteer sending organizations. 
  • Faith-based organizations: Working with a faith-based organization may be supported by CareerEd Fellows funding, but the organization must be inclusive in who they serve, non-proselytizing, and nonpartisan.
  • Political-related opportunities: CareerEd Fellows funding cannot be used for work with political campaigns or partisan organizations, including any official party work.
  • Previously funded opportunities: Students may be eligible to receive a second CareerEd Fellows stipend for a subsequent opportunity with the same organization if the second opportunity includes unique or expanded professional experience.

Application Process

How do I apply?

A complete application includes two parts:

  1. You must complete a CareerEd Fellows Student Application in SOLO:
  2. Your employer/organization must complete an Employer Agreement form, which you can email them directly after completing your application. Please note that you can not complete the Employer Agreement form on behalf of your employer and your application can not be considered without it.

CareerEd Fellows Student Application Deadlines

Application Process

  • After we receive your completed Student Application in SOLO and the Employer Agreement completed by your supervisor, we will review it to determine whether you meet CareerEd Fellows eligibility requirements.
  • If we have any follow up questions, we will schedule a brief interview with you.
  • Once all applications have been reviewed, we will share the outcome of your application and, if applicable, the stipend amount will be transferred to you by the Financial Aid office.
  • We are unable to provide outcomes or likelihood of funding prior to reviewing all applications. Timing for outcomes will be dependent on the number of applications received, however the earliest outcomes will be shared is late April.

Stipend Amounts

How much can I receive in funding?

  • The maximum stipend you can receive for a part-time opportunity during the academic year (Winter and Spring quarters 2023) is $2,325.
  • The maximum stipend you can receive for a full-time opportunity during the summer is $6,500.  There is the potential for an additional cost-of-living stipend dependent on the location of the opportunity.

Are there any limits to CareerEd Fellows funding?

We recommend that students work no more than 15 hours per week during the academic year and 40 hours per week during the Summer. Although you may work in excess of these recommendations, CareerEd Fellows has the following limits on funding:

  • Academic Year: CareerEd Fellows will provide funding for between 5 and 15 hours of work per week during the ten-week academic quarter up to a maximum stipend of $2,325 (funding will not be provided for work that falls outside the quarter.) This 15-hour maximum complies with the recommendations in the Stanford Administrative Guide.
  • Summer: CareerEd Fellows will provide funding for between 5 and 40 hours of work per week during the summer up to a maximum stipend of $6,500.  Funding will only be provided for work that takes place between June 19th and September 22nd.

FAQs

How competitive is the CareerEd Fellows application process?

Internships, externships, and short-term projects are an important part of gaining experience and test-driving your academic and professional interests; and we want these opportunities to be open to all students, regardless of their financial circumstances. Therefore, our goal is to fund as many qualifying students as possible. However, if we do not have enough funding to support all students who apply, we prioritize applications based upon the following:

  • Student financial need
  • Previous participation in the CareerEd Fellows program (formerly known as BEAM Fellows)
  • Receipt of another full-time funded opportunity from Stanford during the past academic year
  • Summer only: Returning undergraduate student status (i.e., not graduating seniors)
  • Application date

Can I have another job during the quarter I’m completing a CareerEd Fellows opportunity?

Full-Time Opportunities:

You may work at an additional part-time internship, job, or volunteer position for up to 10 hours per week.

You are not permitted to engage in another full-time internship, job, or volunteer opportunity (whether funded by Stanford or otherwise), including but not limited to:

  • Major Grant
  • Chappell Lougee Scholarship
  • Beagle II
  • Haas Summer Fellowship/Cardinal Quarter
  • Stanford Seed
  • Departmental Grant-supported summer research position
  • Faculty Grant-supported summer research position
  • Other full-time summer fellowship or internship sponsored either by Stanford or an outside organization

These opportunities require significant time commitments and are each intended to require full-time efforts.

Part-Time Opportunities

You may work at an additional internship, job, or volunteer position, provided that it does not conflict with or prevent you from completing your CareerEd Fellows opportunity or your Stanford courses.

When you review my application, what are you evaluating?

Our review of your opportunity will be limited to the merits of your CareerEd Fellows Student Application in SOLO and the Employer Agreement submitted by the employer/organization where you will work. Stanford Career Education staff do not necessarily have direct experience with, nor do we professionally endorse, organizations/employers. Among other things, Stanford is not in the position to evaluate, and therefore has not evaluated, whether the opportunity will further your academic or professional goals, or whether the project will take place in a safe and secure environment. Stanford cannot warrant the safety or convenience of the circumstances under which you will be traveling, living or working. You are solely responsible for evaluating the safety of the environment in which you will be traveling and/or working and for taking appropriate precautions to safeguard your health and personal belongings.

What happens if I violate CareerEd Fellows policies?

Violations of the CareerEd Fellows stipend program policies are also violations of the Fundamental Standard and may be referred to the Office of Community Standards. If you fail to abide by the policies set forth by this program; Stanford Career Education; and/or Stanford University, you may not be eligible for future Stanford Career Education funding opportunities and programs. Stanford Career Education reserves the right to rescind funding at any given point and time should we be apprised of any policy violations as outlined above, including failure to complete the opportunity as outlined in the Employer Agreement Form.

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What if I have additional questions? We’ve designed this website to address your most pressing questions, so please review it carefully. If we’ve missed your question, please reach out to us.