Summer Internship Fellowship

The Summer Internship Fellowship program is designed to be a partnership between the Graduate School and campus doctoral programs. The Fellowship stipend of $5,000 is shared on a $2,500 / $2,500 basis by the Graduate School and the program making a nomination. A nomination from a program will signify commitment to the cost-sharing agreement.

These summer fellowships are awarded to specific students and are not transferable to other students. Should the awarded student decline the award, the Graduate School will return its portion of unused funding to the fellowship pool and graduate programs will retain their portion of unused funding.

Eligible candidates are University of Maryland doctoral students who are at “mid-career,” that is, in the period approximately before, during, or after achievement of candidacy.

The Summer Internship Fellowships provide full support for students to be an unpaid intern for an entity outside of the university and would perform duties and responsibilities associated with the internship. Therefore, students who receive the Summer Internship Fellowship must be relieved of their graduate assistantship over the summer.

Students may receive the Summer Internship Fellowship only once. Fellowships may not be deferred. The Summer Internship Fellowships carry no tuition remission.

 A student may not be nominated concurrently for the Summer Research Fellowship and the Summer Internship Fellowship in the same award year. Separate nominations for separate years are permitted.

Eligible students will have excellent qualifications, will be making demonstrable progress through their program, and will be able to show that an unpaid internship will help prepare them for a non-academic career path.

All University of Maryland Ph.D. programs are eligible to nominate up to two (2) candidates for the Summer Internship Fellowships.  Please note, specializations and/or concentration areas within a degree program are not considered to be separate programs.

Summer Internship Fellowship Nomination Packages

1. Nominee Cover Sheet

2. A student written proposal (2 pages, max). The proposal should be written for a non-specialist and l should include:

         a. the proposed place(s) of internship. (Must be external to university);

         b. how the internship will advance the student’s graduate education;

         c. how the internship will advance the student’s career goals; and

         d. how a summer internship fits within the program’s timetable for completing graduation requirements.

3. The student’s curriculum vitae (no more than two pages).

4. A letter from the student’s advisor or the major professor that addresses the student’s qualifications, how the internship will significantly advance the student’s professional development and career goals, and the student’s timely progress through the program.

5. The DGS Questionnaire - PDF /  Word: We ask the Director of Graduate Studies to complete the DGS Questionnaire in order to better inform the committee about disciplinary and programmatic differences. (If the student’s advisor is also the Director of Graduate Studies, the Program/Department Chair should complete the questionnaire).

Programs must gather the above materials, then submit the five (5) files to the Graduate School by the deadline.  (Do not combine the files.)  Please submit nomination to the Awards Portal at terpengage.umd.edu/gsawards/s/.

The Graduate School’s Fellowship Selection Committee, representing academic disciplines from across the campus, will evaluate the nominations. 

Selection decisions will be reached on the basis of the student’s outstanding qualifications, the significance of the professional development opportunity, how the proposed internship will help advance the student’s career goals, and the student’s timely progress through the program.

Students holding F1/J1 status should consult with ISSS regarding authorization for off campus internships. Unpaid internships for international students require work authorization.

At the end of the summer, awarded students will be asked to submit an overview of their internship experience, and how it helped them advance their professional development or how it helped them prepare for an alternative career path.

Please direct questions to Program Director Robyn Kotzker in the Office of Funding Opportunities (rkotzker@umd.edu / 5-0281).