Internship Funding
Hamilton-sponsored grants are available to cover cost-of-living expenses for students who obtain unpaid internships or “gap” funding for minimally paid summer internships.
Summer 2025 Information & Policies
When can students apply?
Students must have a secured opportunity in order to apply for funding, but students who have not yet secured an opportunity should submit an intent to apply. An intent to apply is not required but is encouraged, so we have a sense of how many applicants we may have. Also, we will use your intent to apply to send you opportunities based on your interests and provide support to help you with your search.
Important Dates
Intents to apply need to be submitted by April 1. While there is no set deadline for securing an opportunity, we will review applications and award eligible students for as long as funds remain. A notice will be sent when we are unable to fund more students. No retroactive funding will be issued. Students must apply prior to starting the opportunity.
Opportunities (including remote) must take place after classes have ended and conclude by the time classes resume in August. The funding period will be between May 19 and August 15. You may be funded for a maximum of 10 weeks, and we will not approve or include weeks/hours that occur during the academic year. The committee will not accept applications or additional requests for funding after the funding period or once the internship has concluded.
Funding is available to first-years, sophomores, and juniors. We do not provide funding for graduating seniors.
Students are eligible to receive funding more than once during their time at Hamilton College as long as there are available funds. However, students who have not received funding will be prioritized.
Students cannot receive funding to work for a family business or be supervised by a family member or other person sharing a significant relationship with the student.
Students on financial aid may be eligible for an additional supplemental stipend. Those students will not need to submit any further documentation. The committee will review all eligible applicants. If awarded, the supplemental amount will be distributed when all required final reports are submitted at the end of the summer/opportunity.
Students are not eligible for funding while on personal leave from the college during the spring before or fall following the funding period. Students participating in college-approved off-campus study still qualify (e.g. abroad programs). If you are unsure, please email sif@hamilton.edu.
Funding cannot be provided for Hamilton College’s on-campus research projects or departmental positions. Additionally, students can only accept one form of funding. Example: A student who has accepted an Emerson grant or Levitt funding is not eligible to receive internship funding or participate in both opportunities.
Internship Funding is intended to assist students with unpaid or minimally paid internships. Examples of minimally paid internships include stipends or hourly wages that do not sufficiently cover cost-of-living expenses (e.g. housing, food, transportation, moving expenses, internet, utilities, required uniform). It is not intended to provide an income. Wages, stipends, or other forms of compensation must be included in your application and will be verified with your internship contact. The committee may deduct any compensation from the potential award.
While we do not require students to provide a detailed budget or receipts, students are expected to use their funding to offset their cost-of-living expenses throughout their experience. Tips: get a roommate, pack your lunch, carpool/rideshare, etc. Awarded students can use this budget form as a resource for determining how to best utilize the funds. You can also talk to your career advisor about budgeting options.
Proposals to participate in a tuition-based or fee-based program will be considered only if there is an internship component to the program that meets our hourly requirements. Summer Internship Funding can be offered to cover those expenses related to the internship component of such a program, including transportation, training, housing, and food.
The organization must provide supervision and training, and provide exposure to a career field of interest.
All applicants are required to provide an employer confirmation form from their internship contact. The Google form is included in the application. No funds will be distributed without the appropriate confirmation. This form must be submitted by the employer. Any forms completed by the student will be rejected.
International location restrictions: If you are considering international opportunities, please know the college does not allow travel to State Department Level 4 destinations. Additionally, please note that the SIF Committee may not approve opportunities requiring travel to State Department Level 3 destinations to mitigate personal and financial risk should there be any escalation in terrorism, civil unrest, or health concerns (e.g. COVID-19).
Requirements for opportunities that are remote or commuting from home:
- The organization must provide supervision and training.
- The minimum number of hours for remote opportunities or commuting from home is 240 hours over a minimum of 6 weeks.
- Total stipends can range from $1200-$2400 depending on the number of weeks/hours and if there is compensation.
Requirements for opportunities away from home/in a location that requires moving to another city or not commutable from your home address:
- The organization must provide supervision and training.
- The minimum number of hours for opportunities away from home is 240 hours. Opportunities can be arranged in a variety of ways:
- A combination of 2 or more internships.
- Work fewer hours per week for a greater number of weeks
- Work more hours per week for a shorter period
- Total stipends can range from $3000-$6000 depending on the number of weeks/hours and whether you receive a stipend or compensation for your work.
Available Funds
- The Joseph F. Anderson '44 Internship Fund
- The Hamilton College Internship Fund
- The Class of 1965 Career Center Innovation Fund
- Summer Internship Support Fund: The recipient(s) must be on financial aid.
- The Class of 2006 Internship Fund
- Scott Stephen Morris '86 Internship Fund
- The Allen Family Internship Fund
- Class of 1964 Internship Fund
- Christie Bell Vilsack K '72 Internship Award
- Jeffrey H. Long '05 Internship Award
- The Teles Family and Goldman Sach Gives Internship Fund
- The Jerome Gottlieb '64 Internship Fund: Sports and entertainment industry
- The Jeffery Fund Science Internship
- The Monica Odening ‘05 Student Internship & Research Fund in Mathematics
- George & Martha Darcy Internship Support Fund: Communications, advertising, PR, writing
- Kevin W. Kennedy '70 Internship Fund for the Arts
- Katharine C. Eckman ’09 Internship Fund: Public policy or animal welfare or Children/child psychology
- Eleanor Walsh Wertimer Internship Fund: Non-profit
- Sandra Solomon Summer Internship Fund: Medical
- The COOP Summer Internship Fund: Summer internship in the local community. This fund is coordinated through the COOP Service office.
- Diversity & Social Justice Project Fund
- The Richard and Patsy Couper Grant: Museums and libraries.
- The Frank K. Lorenz Career Exploration Fund: Writing and journalism, broadly defined.
- The David K. Nichols '77 NYC Internship Fund
- The Castelblanco Engelhardt Internship Fund: Arts, cross-culture
Additional funding offered and administered through other departments:
Funding FAQs
Funds are distributed via Accounts Payable direct deposit (different from payroll direct deposit). Instructions can be found on the Accounts Payable webpage. Students do not have to re-register if they have received funds in the past.
You can expect to see the direct deposit around two weeks after we receive the signed contract.
Note: A paper check will be mailed to your home address on record if you do not register for Accounts Payable direct deposit.
The funding you are receiving is to assist you in pursuing your summer internship with the primary purpose to further your personal education and training. The funding is not part of the regular curriculum and is not associated with obtaining your degree from Hamilton College.
This funding may be considered taxable income if you are a U.S. Citizen or Resident Alien. This funding is excluded from gross income only if you are a candidate for a degree at an eligible educational institution and if the funds are used for qualified tuition and related expenses (not including room and board).
If you are a U.S. Citizen or Resident Alien, Hamilton College will not report your funding on a Form 1099 or a Form W-2, nor withhold any amount towards the payment of federal, state, or local income taxes. You may or may not have taxes due depending on your other income, tax withholding, and filing status. For more information, U.S. Citizens and Resident Aliens may wish to refer to IRS Publication 970 “Tax Benefits for Education” which is available at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p970.pdf.
If you are a Nonresident Alien for tax purposes, Hamilton College is required to report your funding on Form 1042-S. Unless you are eligible for tax treaty benefits and claim them using the College’s Glacier tax software, the College is required to withhold 14% of your scholarship/fellowship payment and forward to the IRS as your tax payment. Nonresident Aliens are required to report such scholarship/fellowship on a 1040-NR. More information is available by reviewing IRS Publication 519 “U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens” available at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p519.pdf.
Any questions regarding tax information should be referred to the business office:
Non-Resident Aliens should contact Amanda Gleasman at agleasma@hamilton.edu
US Citizens & Resident Aliens should contact Gary Carrock at gcarrock@hamilton.edu
All recipients are required to complete a contract, submit a mid-way progress report, end of internship self-reflection report, and supervisor report. These reports are intended for the student to reflect and set goals for their opportunity. We find the reports are just as valuable to a student to assess the things they did not like about an industry or internship as much as what they enjoyed. The supervisor report form must be forwarded to your internship contact. We use the report to confirm that the internship was completed as anticipated and address any concerns, if any.
In the final reflection report at the end of the summer, students will write a thank-you message to the donor of the assigned fund they received.
No. Since the funding is a cost-of-living stipend (not based on an hourly wage), students are not required to submit receipts or other budgetary documentation. The funding is calculated in order for students to manage expenses such as food costs, transportation, rent, utilities, etc.
Awarded students can use this budget form as a resource for determining how to best utilize the funds. You can also talk to your career advisor about budgeting options.
If you feel the amount of the award is not enough to sufficiently cover cost-of-living expenses, please contact the committee immediately so we can properly review your award. We perform an annual review of standard cost-of-living expenses, inflation, and other factors to be sure we are offering sufficient awards. Our goal is to fund as many students as possible.
Many students have not had to create a budget before. Students can use this budget form as a resource for determining how to best utilize the funds. Your assigned career advisor can also assist with budgeting resources and advice.
While uncommon, students occasionally experience difficult work environments, personal issues, or even fraudulent situations during their experiences. We strongly encourage any student who is not sure how to manage a particular experience to reach out to the funding committee or to their assigned career advisor.
Remember, the Career Center will never share your personal or Hamilton email credentials with an outside company. Never provide information such as your birthdate, social security number or banking information with any outside source. If you receive an email or think you may be involved in fraudulent activity that you just are not quite sure about, report it immediately to the Career Center and to the Hamilton College LITS department at helpdesk@hamilton.edu.
Recipients will be matched to the appropriate funds by the selection committee. A list of available funds is listed below. The assigned fund will be indicated on the recipient's contract and recipients will be able to write a thank-you message in the final reflection report at the end of the summer.
