Summer Internship Scholarship

• Your Resume - We highly recommend visiting the University Career Center for a resume critique prior to submitting. You can make an appointment with your career advisor or receive a critique during drop-in hours. 
   
• Offer Letter - A critical part of your internship funding application is your letter of confirmation on the organization's letterhead, or an official email. If you choose the email option, please attach a pdf of the actual entire email, including all headings and signatures. This letter/email should be from the organization with whom you propose to intern in the summer.
  • This letter from the employer should confirm that you have been offered an internship position and it needs to include:
    • The organization's name, address, and phone number
    • The name of your supervisor, with their contact information (phone number and email address)
    • The number of weeks for the internship; and a brief description of the intern’s responsibilities
    • *Note: Without a confirmation letter/email, your application will not be given consideration.
• Funding Needs Proposal & Statement of Purpose - Your proposal must be a well-written and carefully-edited 2-page document (12-pt, double-spaced text, normal margins).  Please include your first and last name.
  • There are three main items that must be covered in your Funding Needs Proposal:
    • ​An overview of the organization that you will be working with and what your specific responsibilities/projects will be as an intern.
    • Describe the skills, knowledge, and experience you hope to develop/gain from this internship experience. How will this internship contribute to your post-graduation marketability and overall career goals? How will this internship complement your academic studies at UNC-Charlotte?
    • Budget.  Be sure to provide very specific details on the total cost of your internship participation:
      • What costs would an award from the Summer Internship Fund cover?
      • Be sure to identify whether each cost is a one-time cost (airfare, visa, passport, immunizations, supplies, etc.) or a recurring cost (bus/subway fare, housing, food, etc.) for the duration of the summer.
      • Additionally, you need to disclose any other scholarships or funding sources that will support your internship engagement. You will be ineligible for funding if you are receiving funding from other sources.
      • Fill out a budget template
    • ​*Note: We highly recommend visiting the University Career Center for feedback on your Funding Needs Proposal prior to submitting.

Each year funding is determined by need and budget. 

Some internship employers will not make a decision until late April or May, and these decisions will be too late to receive consideration for funding from the Career Center's Internship Scholarship Fund. 

However, if the sponsor is deciding in early April, and if the sponsor can indicate to you in writing that you are a finalist for the internship, you can submit this letter in your application in lieu of the employer's final confirmation. 

You will still need to submit their final offer as soon as it is extended, and prior to receiving funding from the Summer Internship Fund.

The Summer Internship Scholarship is restricted to supporting formal internships and research opportunities only.

Students need to have a 2.5 GPA and have a secured unpaid internship that is at least 15 hours a week.

Students selected for awards from the Summer Internship Scholarship Fund are required to participate in the following:
 

1. #NinersAtWork – All student recipients of funding from the Career Center Internship Fund will be required to submit a photo of themselves in action at their internship to feature on Career Center Social Media as a part of the #NinersAtWork campaign to encourage other students to engage in experiential learning.
2. Employer Evaluations – All employers will be required to submit an evaluation of intern’s performance at the of the internship experience.
3. Career Success Story  – All student recipients of funding from the Summer Internship Scholarship Fund will be interviewed and featured on the Career Center website as a Career Success Story. Students will provide a detailed account of their summer experiences to inspire fellow niners to pursue and engage in experiential learning opportunities. This may be used for print or media purposes.
4. Conduct –  Students are expected to act as a professional at all times during the internship experience and demonstrate ethical and appropriate behavior while on site.

Applications are not automatically funded.  The selection committee will determine if applicants receive funding based on the application process and guidelines.

At this time, the Summer Internship Fund is only able to support unpaid internships.

It depends on many factors, including the amount of funding available that particular year and the number of students applying for funding.  Award funds available are based on donations.  As a result, the number of scholarships awarded may vary from year to year.

No, students in all majors are eligible to receive internship funds.

No.

Yes, graduate students are eligible for funding.

All classification years are eligible to apply. You must have at least one semester left after the completion of your internship to be eligible for funding.  The selection committee does seriously consider the level and quality of the projects that you will be performing in your internship.

Immediately contact your Academic Advisor to discuss eligibility for earning academic credit for an internship.  Not all majors offer elective credit, if your major does not offer credit you may be eligible for elective credit through the University Career Center's Academic Credit Internship program. Visit https://internships.uncc.edu to determine if you qualify. 

It will be the student’s responsibility to pay back 100 percent of the funding if these circumstances occur.