Applied Externships

• Current Juniors and Seniors
• Students must meet Career Center Success-Ready Résumé standards to apply for an applied externship experience. Please schedule a 1:1 résumé meeting with a professional career coach or a student career assistant before applying to your externship experience.
• Students must write a cover letter for each position they apply to, reflecting on why the role is important to them and how it relates to their career interests.
• International students who receive an unpaid externship offer AND externship funding from the Career Center do not need to apply for work authorization.
• All other international students need to use Curricular Practical Training (CPT). Students are obligated to contact International Student Life to arrange for CPT.

There is a limit of four (4) positions that a student can apply for. If you submit more than four applications, you will be asked to withdraw applications until you have only four left.

• Attend the full externship experience as scheduled.
• Maintain professional behavior, communication, and responsiveness with the host.
• Abide by any confidentiality, workplace, or site-specific expectations.
• Submit at least 2–3 photos of the externship experience (selfies, on-site environments, appropriate team/work moments) with host permission.
• Complete your post-externship survey and reflection activity

• Externs are responsible for all costs associated with travel, housing, and food.
• Remote applied externships will not be funded.
• Students eligible for financial assistance from the college and international students may apply for financial support for an externship. Exceptions may be made on an individual basis.
• Funding can be used to support expenses for meals, transportation, and commuting.
  Funding is not to be used for wage replacement.
• Housing expenses will not be considered. Please refer to the Externship Housing Directory for housing support.
• Eligible students may apply for support up to $500. Grant determinations will be based on students’ demonstrated need and program-related budget.

The funding application is part of the student application, which is due Thursday, October 2 at 11:59:00 p.m. CST. Funding decisions will be communicated by Tuesday, October 21, 2025.

Housing

• Step 1: Ask personal and family networks to explore options and secure housing accommodations. 
• Step 2: Search the Externship Housing Directory for possible housing accommodations. Reach out to contacts listed after accepting an externship offer.
• Step 3: Explore the Carleton Alumni Directory and contact alumni geographically near the externship site (or accessible by public transportation).
• TIP: If you are subleasing a rental, read through this guide to understand what to be aware of.
• TIP: Use these email templates to reach out to request housing assistance.

Travel

• Consider booking travel as soon as dates are agreed upon with the externship site. Travel during break can be expensive and planning ahead can save money. 

If you are hosting an applied extern for the 2026 program, please complete the registration form below. Reach out to externships@carleton.edu for questions.

Testimonials from Site Hosts

“Serving as an extern host is a way to try to pay it forward, to show gratitude for what I have received myself. The students I host continue to teach me, too, which I think of as a particularly Carleton kind of thing.” — Bruce Manning ’96, P’27 (Minnesota Judicial Branch).

“…is a great opportunity for me and my group to get students excited about what’s becoming possible in biomedical research. Even a short experience can have a profound impact on how students think about their future, and it gives me great pleasure to have the opportunity to have such a positive influence.” — Todd Golub ’85 (Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard).

“I enjoy helping others find their path. My hope is that our students’ personal and professional growth has been enriched by our 2-week ‘school of life,’ helping them see the challenges and rewards of medicine.” — Judy Becher P’27 (Multnomah County Health Department).

“We have found Carleton students to be curious, bright, articulate, personable, mature, and an overall bright spot in our winter season.” — Jody Kahn (Brandt & Hochman Literary Agents, Inc.).

• Review the expectations for site hosts and consider whether you are able to meet the expectations.
  • If any of the expectations feel unrealistic, please take advantage of the host information sessions so we can work with you to find a solution. 
• Plan a successful externship.
  • Tips for Hosting Applied Externs
  • Suggested Externship Activities (with sample itineraries)
  • Creating Effective Externship Postings (with sample externship position descriptions)
• Register your experience (link above).

• Provide a detailed job description of the applied externship
• Review applications, must conduct interviews, and submit candidate rankings
• Designate an employee to serve as the externship supervisor
• Ensure the experience meets the Applied Externship components listed above
• Coordinate, encourage, and support the extern’s learning objectives
• Provide a safe working environment in both physical and virtual environments
• Communicate with the Career Center about any changes in the site’s or extern’s experiences
• Complete a post-externship evaluation of extern(s) and the overall program experience

Thank you for your interest in supporting your winter extern. While financial compensation is not a requirement of our externship program, we are increasingly seeing site hosts — particularly those offering in-person experiences — choosing to provide compensation in recognition of the time and contributions of their externs.

In 2024, compensation varied across programs. Some hosts offered stipends ranging from $500 to $1,500 per week, while others provided a flat stipend of $1,000 for the full three-week experience. Hourly pay rates ranged from $10 to $25 per hour. All of these compensated opportunities were in-person and ran for the full three-week duration.

We encourage hosts to consider providing financial support where possible, as the cost of participation can be a barrier for some students. Your support can make a meaningful difference in ensuring broader access to these valuable learning experiences.

1. Hosts review application materials (cover letter and résumé) from all candidates. Hosts can choose to conduct interviews or have less formal conversations with the candidates to gain additional insights about the candidates’ interests and qualifications.
2. After the review, hosts will submit rankings for all candidates who applied. (Candidates who would not be a satisfactory choice will receive a null ranking.)
3. The Career Center will take the rankings and use an automated system to make offers to the candidates on behalf of the hosts.
4. Candidates may receive multiple offers at once and can only accept one externship. First offers will be released simultaneously to all of the top-ranked candidates.
5. Candidates and hosts will be connected via email after a candidate officially accepts an offer.

If you are interested in hosting an extern in your home for the 2026 program, please complete the housing registration form below.

• Offer a safe, comfortable, free living space for an extern for 1-3 weeks. At a minimum, this should include a sleeping area, access to a full bathroom, and access to an equipped kitchen.
• Provide an accurate description of housing space, amenities, and expectations of guests.
• Respond to outreach from students (potential guests).
• Invite students to stay only upon mutual agreement of expectations and other arrangements.
• Communicate any changes in desired involvement with the Carleton Career Center.

1. Housing hosts register their homes to be included in the Externship Housing Directory. Housing hosts will share details of accommodations they are able to provide to students (dates available, amenities, access to public transportation, etc.).
2. The Career Center will share the Externship Housing Directory with students in need of housing. 
3. Students will reach out directly to housing hosts if accommodations appear to meet their needs. 
4. Housing hosts should set expectations and arrangements with each student individually.
5. Housing hosts are not required to offer to house a student who reaches out, and should inform the student of their decision.
6. Once confirmed, students will inform the Career Center of places filled and update the Externship Housing Directory.