Summer Internship Program Provides Financial Support for Unpaid Summer Internships

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of finding a summer internship? Do you feel excited to apply what you’ve been learning in the classroom? Are you eager to gain hands-on experience and begin building connections in your field? Are you anxious about finding an opportunity that will allow you to grow your skills while being paid fairly for your work?  

While internships provide invaluable experience to individuals starting in their field, not every internship opportunity is paid. Luckily, you can apply for the Summer Internship Award Program, offered by the Burwell Center for Career Achievement, awarding students with funds ranging from $2,500-$3,400 for participating in unpaid internships. 

In the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CAHSS), we support internships as an increasingly important part of preparing students for life following graduation and strive to empower and support them in pursuing their career goals. With the Summer Internship Award Program, we can more effectively help our students achieve these goals by opening doors that would have otherwise been unavailable through financial aid. 

The Summer Internship Award Program is designed to enable students to take unpaid internship opportunities they would otherwise be unable to. CAHSS student Camille Cruz, who interned with a forensic anthropology team in 2024 at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, Hawaii, reflected on her experience as an award recipient and said, “Genuinely, without the award, I would not have been able to attend the internship.” 

According to a “LinkedIn News” article from 2024, college graduates who previously held internships were nearly 25% more likely to begin a full-time position within six months of graduating than students who did not intern before graduating. In some fields, like government administration, this figure jumps to 53%.

Internships equip students with skills they cannot learn in the classroom alone. Kenzie Claflin, another award recipient in CAHSS, who worked as a social media intern in 2024 at the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster, Colorado, said, “This internship increased my confidence in my creative capabilities and provided me with experience in a professional working environment. Every day, I was able to get hands-on experience photographing and filming their invertebrate animals and then editing that content into media for their social media platforms, advertisements, news publications and website.” 

According to “The Michigan Daily”, in 2024 roughly 35% of entry-level jobs required two to three years of relevant work experience, and internships offer students the opportunity to gain this requisite experience and expand their professional network. “This program is so wonderful because it allowed me to take unpaid opportunities, boost my resume and build life-long connections that will assist me post-graduation,” CAHSS award recipient Lily Baeza said. Baeza interned with the Cook County Department of Corrections in Chicago, Illinois, last year.  

For more information on the Summer Internship Award Program, and to apply before the deadline of April 11, 2025, at 5 p.m., visit here.