Carleton is committed to ensuring every Carl has the opportunity to pursue a meaningful internship experience, regardless of financial constraints. The Career Center actively cultivates and expands relationships with employers, leveraging our vibrant alumni and parent network. We further empower students through individual appointments, workshops, and online resources, guiding them through the internship search, application, and acceptance process. Once students secure an unpaid or underpaid internship, they can apply for funding from our office to offset their expenses.
Program Director for Experiential Learning
In 2023, Carleton awarded over $920,000, supporting 230 students’ internship journeys across the globe. These funds supported travel and accommodation costs during the internship. We are currently accepting applications for funding support for summer 2024 internships. Continuing students can submit applications on a rolling basis until the end of May. The application requires confirmation of an accepted internship, a résumé, an estimated budget, and an essay outlining learning goals and their alignment with future aspirations.
The essay prompts seamlessly transition into the learning and reflection program that all funded interns participate in throughout their internship journey. The program commences with online orientation activities, preparing students for professional work environments and helping them define their desired skill development and knowledge acquisition. Throughout the internship, interns engage in weekly reflection prompts, sharing their experiences and insights with fellow funded Carleton interns. Mid-summer and at the conclusion, feedback conversations and evaluations are conducted with supervisors, focusing on goal attainment and potential growth areas.
To solidify their learning journey, students conclude with a final reflection essay summarizing their summer experiences. You can explore diverse perspectives through the Funded Intern Reflection Essays collection. Finally, students present their experiences to the campus community through the Undergraduate Research and Internship Symposium and our Five in Five Internship Presentations, sharing valuable knowledge and insights.
These activities exemplify strategies that encourage critical reflection, enabling students to extract meaning from their internships and connect them to future plans. Recognizing the well-documented benefits of internships, we are dedicated to providing financial and mental support to empower Carls in their pursuit of transformative internship experiences.