RACHEL EPSTEIN

News Editor

The Center for Career Exploration recently raised the amount of stipend funding for students who earn an unpaid internship or low paying job from $2,500 to $4,000 for use across their four years at Denison.

The stipends are available for all grade levels and majors.

Dean of Career Preparation, Richard Berman, mentioned that the rise in funding is part of the Center for Career Exploration’s new strategic initiative to ensure that as many students are being reached who need financial support in order to pursue career opportunities like internships.

Berman said, “Our aspiration is that no student is excluded from pursuing pre-professional summer internships solely on the basis of financial limitations. The $4,000 cap is expected to remain in place through the year 2020, though we hope funds raised over time will position us to respond to any rises in national cost of living indexes.”

Students who apply through the Handshake system are asked to upload a letter of application, resume and budget worksheet to be considered and most students receive their decision from the stipend committee after two weeks of deliberation.

The letter of application should detail how the internship will contribute to the student’s career goals, what the student expects to learn, how the experience will contribute to their time back at Denison and how Denison has prepared them to succeed in their chosen placement.

Financial need is also an important  factor in the committee’s decision.  Students who did not receive the requested funding may appeal the decision if they are able to resubmit their application before the May 1 deadline. Those who submit  their first application after May 1 are ineligible to appeal a decision. 

All internships or low-paying jobs must be registered and confirmed with the Center for Career Exploration before any check is issued, but this holds the advantage of also receiving transcript notation after the internship is completed.

All internships must be at least 100 hours of work and meet the requirements of the Career Center.

In addition to an increase in individual funding, the center is also expecting a rise in the number of awards given to students, “Last year, 80 students were funded at or under $2,500,” Berman said.

Our goal this year is to fund between 225-250 students, though this will include 100 or so students funded for academic research opportunities. Thereby, we are targeting a net increase of 45-70 awards.”

Those who receive stipend funding will be asked to write a thank-you note to their donor and present a poster at a public review when they return to campus in the fall.

Berman hopes Denison students understand the true value of the awards they receive and that they do not belong to the students, Denison, or the Center for Career Exploration. Instead, the funding belongs to the experience gained and the success of the student in exploring career opportunities to.

“We will all, together, merely be the ‘stewards’ of these funds gifted or granted to Denison and its students as investments in their futures and in the future of the University,” Berman said.

Interested students should type “stipend” into the search bar of Handshake to access the application for funding.