For many LSA students, pursuing a spring/summer internship is an ideal way to gain valuable, hands-on experience in their field of interest. Combined with your degree from the College of LSA, a great internship experience can help you stand out from the crowd during your post-grad job search and arm you with the tools you need to succeed.
Thanks to generous donations from U-M alumni and supporters, the LSA Internship Scholarship can help make these life-changing opportunities a reality for all students, regardless of their background. Whether you're planning to intern in the United States or abroad, read on to learn more about the LSA Internship Scholarship program.
What does the scholarship cover?
The LSA Internship Scholarship supports LSA students pursuing a spring/summer internship experience. Scholarship funds can be used to assist with any reasonable expenses that a student incurs as a result of completing their internship.
Examples of eligible expenses include:
- Relocation to and from the city where the internship is located
- Travel between residence and internship on work days
- Housing
- Food
- Professional clothing
Examples of ineligible expenses include:
- Expenses incurred from personal travel or vacations
- Regular expenses that a student pays outside of their internship (e.g. car payments, auto insurance, long-term medical expenses, credit card bills, etc.)
- Entertainment expenses
If you aren’t sure whether an expense is eligible or not, go ahead and include it on your scholarship application. We evaluate each application individually and will make a determination based on the information you provide.
Amounts and Duration
LSA Internship Scholarship awards vary depending on factors like the cost of a student's internship experience and a student's level of financial need. Award amounts can range anywhere from $500 to $7,500. Higher award amounts are typically reserved for students with higher internship expenses such as those who are interning abroad.
Application Deadline
The LSA Internship Scholarship application is open January 1 – May 24. Completed scholarship applications will be placed in review rounds on the schedule listed below.
Scholarship applications are not placed in a review round until the student has registered their internship in the Opportunity Hub Network and the Hub has approved the student for funding consideration.
| Review Round | Hub Registration Deadline | Scholarship Application Deadline | Notification Date | Thank You Letter Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round One | February 23 | March 1 | March 20 | March 27 |
| Round Two | March 22 | March 29 | April 17 | April 24 |
| Round Three | April 19 | April 26 | May 15 | May 22 |
| Round Four | May 17 | May 24 | June 7 | June 14 |
NOTE: While the final application deadline is May 24, we advise all students to register their internship well ahead of this date as we cannot begin reviewing a student's scholarship application until their internship has been approved by the LSA Opportunity Hub.
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for the LSA Internship Scholarship, a student must:
- Be an undergraduate currently enrolled full-time and pursuing a degree program (or MDDP) in the College of LSA
- Be a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident (i.e. possess a green card)
- Apply for and receive need-based support through the Office of Financial Aid
- Have a FAFSA and CSS profile on file with the Office of Financial Aid (OFA) and must renew their FAFSA annually
- Not be enrolled in spring/summer classes or spring/summer study abroad.
- Return to LSA as an enrolled undergraduate student in the fall term following their internship.
In order to be considered for the LSA Internship Scholarship, your internship must:
- Meet minimum work requirements. If your internship lasts 4 weeks or longer, you must complete at least 60 hours of work over the course of your internship. If your internship lasts between 1 to 3 weeks, you must complete at least 20 hours of work per week.
- Provide you with the resources and equipment needed to do your work.
- Conclude no later than August 29, 2021.
Your internship may be domestic or international, paid or unpaid, for-credit or not-for-credit. If you’re not sure whether your experience qualifies for the LSA Internship Scholarship, you may contact the LSA Opportunity Hub to discuss.
Internship Registration
All applicants to the LSA Internship Scholarship must register their internship in the LSA Opportunity Network. This step must be completed before our team, LSA Scholarships, can review a student's LSA Internship Scholarship application.
Once registered in the network, the LSA Opportunity Hub will assess whether your internship:
- Includes a formal job description with the qualifications the employer is seeking
- Develops skills that you can use in other employment settings
- Offers clearly defined learning objectives related to your professional goals
- Will be supervised by a professional with expertise and educational and/or professional background in the field
- Provides you with routine feedback from your supervisor
We advise all LSA Internship Scholarship applicants register their internship in the network as soon as they secure it. While students can complete their LSA Internship Scholarship application at the same time, our review will not begin until the Hub has approved the internship. If you have any questions about registering your internship, you may contact the LSA Opportunity Hub for assistance.
Scholarship Requirements
Some of these activities must be completed before our office will disburse scholarship funding to recipients. Others will be required of students either during or after their internship experience.
Health and Safety Requirements—INTERNATIONAL ONLY
All scholarship recipients interning abroad must complete U-M mandated health and safety requirements via the M-Compass Internship/Work Registry, including purchasing (and providing proof of enrollment for) GeoBlue U-M Travel Abroad Health Insurance for the entire duration of the internship.
After accepting their scholarship, recipients will receive an email from the LSA Travel Office outlining their next steps in this process. These steps must be completed before our office will disburse scholarship funds.
Writing a Thank You Letter
After accepting their scholarship award within the application portal, some students will receive a prompt from the system asking them to complete an additional form. This form serves as a thank you letter that will be shared with the donor of the scholarship. If a student is selected to write a thank you letter, this form must be completed before our office will disburse any scholarship funds to the student.
If a scholarship recipient is not prompted to complete this form after accepting their award, that means a thank you letter is not required.
Notification of Additional Internship Funding
LSA Internship Scholarship recipients who receive additional funding (grants, scholarships, etc.) towards their internship must inform the LSA Scholarships Office immediately. LSA Internship Scholarships are tied to an assessment of a student's financial need and failure to disclose anticipated changes to a financial aid package may result in negative impacts to a student's overall aid.
Informing us in advance of any anticipated aid you might receive will help us ensure our scholarship award does not exceed the funding allowed by your financial aid package, preventing unexpected charges on your student account.
How do I apply?
The application process has three steps.
Step one: Register your internship in the LSA Opportunity Network. Guidance for this process can be found through the LSA Opportunity Hub.
Step two: Click the button below to access the LSA Scholarships application portal and complete the general application. When asked which scholarship program you are applying to, click the box for "LSA Internship Scholarship."
Note: If you have already completed the general application—this is common for students who apply for multiple scholarships each year—simply check the box for the LSA Internship Scholarship and save your application. Do not uncheck any of the other boxes or change any of your previous responses, as doing so may impact other active applications you currently have in the portal.
Step three: Once the general application has been completed and submitted, you will then be directed to complete the LSA Internship Scholarship application. Submit this application for full consideration.
Frequently Asked Questions
When will my scholarship disburse?
Scholarship funds are disbursed once a student accepts their award in the application portal and completes the necessary requirements listed above.
If, after you have accepted your award and completed all pre-disbursement requirements, you have specific questions about when your scholarship funds will be disbursed, you may contact our office.
If I am taking spring/summer classes or study abroad, can I still apply for the LSA Internship Scholarship?
Due to recent changes to the university's spring/summer enrollment requirements, students are not eligible for the LSA Internship Scholarship if they are also pursuing classes or a study abroad during any part of the spring/summer 16-week term. This is because the scholarship would have a negative impact on any financial aid received for the other spring/summer experience.
Students considering multiple spring/summer experiences will need to make a choice to either pursue internship funding or to participate in credit-bearing courses whether that be on-campus or through a study abroad program.
If you have questions around the topic of funding multiple spring/summer experiences, please contact us or make an appointment to discuss.
What if I do not qualify for this scholarship? Is there anywhere else I could look for support?
If you do not meet the qualifications for the LSA Internship Scholarship, we encourage you to check out the Opportunity Hub's list of additional funding sources. If you have declared a major, we recommend checking in with your home department to see if they have any funding options. The U-M Library's Funding Guide may also have additional resources.
