Fund Unpaid Summer Internships

We aim to support as many students as possible, but funding is limited, so awards are made through a competitive review process. We encourage you to have a backup plan in case you don’t receive funding.

All applications are reviewed after the deadline. Funding decisions are typically shared by email about one month later (late April/early May).

What makes a strong application?

Strong applications clearly explain why this internship is a great fit for you and how it supports your goals. In your essay, be sure to:

• Describe what you hope to learn and the skills you’ll gain
• Connect the experience to your academic interests, values, and future plans
• Show that you’ve thoughtfully planned your internship

Start early. Don’t wait until the last minute. Taking time to reflect and write a clear, focused essay makes a big difference.

Résumé approval is required.

All applicants must have their résumé approved by a Peer Career Advisor (PCA) at Quick Questions before submitting their application in MiddApply. We strongly recommend doing this before you start applying for internships to give yourself the best chance of success. Résumés approved last year are still valid as long as you’ve added new experiences.

What the committee considers

Applications tend to be more competitive when students:

• Demonstrate financial need or receive financial aid
• Have longer internships (typically 8 weeks or more)
• Are juniors or seniors
• Submit a clear, compelling essay
• Have met with a CCI or CTLR advisor to discuss their plans

Any combination of these factors can strengthen your application.

Please note: internships should be one continuous experience, not multiple short experiences combined into one application.

Not receiving funding is not a judgment on the value of your internship. The committee makes difficult decisions due to limited funds. Applications focused primarily on offsetting lost summer wages (rather than supporting unpaid or low-paid internships) are generally less competitive.

Remote, hybrid, and in-person internships are all eligible for funding.

International internships are allowed for College-funded or College-sponsored experiences, but they require advance approval by the Global Operations Committee and travel registration, even if you’re traveling to your home country or doing a remote internship while abroad.

Below is what you need to do, step by step.

Step 1: Get travel approval (if required)

If you are traveling outside the U.S. (including to your home country), your destination’s U.S. State Department Travel Advisory level determines what approval is needed.

Check your destination’s travel advisory on the State Department website.

• Level 2 country with a Middlebury School Abroad
  → No additional review required
• Level 2 country without a Middlebury School Abroad
  → International Activity Review Form required and check the State Department Travel Advisory page
• Level 3 or Level 4 country (including your home country, whether your internship is in-person or remote)
  → International Activity Review Form required and check the State Department Travel Advisory page
  → Funding may be denied based on a College risk assessment

Important:
Submit the International Activity Review Form at the same time as (or earlier than) your funding application so the Global Operations Committee has time to review your request.

Step 2: Register your travel (required for all students)

If you are traveling outside the 48 contiguous U.S. states, including international locations, Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico, you must complete the MANDATORY Travel Registration Form.

This allows Middlebury to:

• Know where students are located
• Communicate with you in an emergency
• Provide assistance if needed

Review 4 Simple Steps for Safer Travel for guidance.

Additional things to plan for

Plan ahead

International internships often take more time to arrange, especially if:

• A visa is required
• You’re coordinating travel after a study abroad experience

These internships can be a great way to explore careers in international development, business, teaching, languages, and more, but early planning is key.

Health, insurance, and registration requirements

If you receive internship funding and your internship is outside the U.S., you must:

• Register your travel online
• Have health, medical evacuation, and repatriation insurance

Insurance details:

• If you don’t already have coverage, you must enroll (approx. $75/month)
• International students interning in their home country do not need to purchase the insurance, but must still register their travel

You’ll receive specific instructions with your funding award notification.

Health & safety reminders

• Check CDC travel guidance
• Consult Parton Health Center and/or your health care provider about recommended vaccinations

If you’re unsure where your destination falls or want help planning next steps, reach out early, we’re here to help you navigate the process.

International students should stay up to date on ISSS Travel, Regulatory, and Information Updates, as changes to immigration or travel guidance may affect your summer plans.

Below is an overview of what to know, especially if you are in F-1 status.

Students on an F-1 visa may participate in paid or unpaid summer internships. If the internship is unpaid, you may apply to receive internship funding from the College. If participating in a paid or unpaid internship in the US or with a US employer, you will apply for Curricular Practical Training (CPT). To be eligible for CPT, you must have been lawfully enrolled as an F-1 student for a minimum of one full academic year,  the internship must be related to your major (or intended major), and you must also enroll in the field work course through the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey to earn credit that will allow you to be eligible to apply for CPT. Please see scenarios below to evaluate whether you need to apply for CPT and visit ISSS’ web site for more information about CPT.

International students in F-1 status:  Please see scenarios below that will indicate whether you need to apply for Curricular Practical Training (CPT) authorization. If applicable, follow the steps to obtain CPT as outlined below.

Internship scenarios and the need for CPT:

• International students who are inside the U.S. and have an internship with a U.S.-based organization need CPT authorization.
• International students who are outside the U.S. and have an internship with a U.S.-based organization might need CPT authorization (the organization would make this determination) *Consult with ISSS.
• International students who are inside the U.S. and have an internship with an organization based outside the U.S. are advised to obtain a letter from the organization confirming that no compensation is being provided. (CPT will not be issued in this situation.) *Consult with ISSS, if needed.
• International students who are outside the U.S. and who have an internship with an organization based outside the U.S. do not need CPT, which is a U.S.-based authorization. (Students should follow guidelines of the host country.)

Please see here for more information about the summer credit option.  

Please see instructions in previous FAQ (#2 in the list) about international internships if you plan to do an internship in your home country or anywhere outside of the US.  

A First-Year Explore Grant supports students who want to explore a career interest or field through a summer experience with an organization. Students receive a $1,000 grant from CCI to help support their internship.

Program basics

• Grant amount: $1,000
• Length: At least 4 weeks
• Time commitment: Minimum of 25 hours per week
• Format: Remote, in-person, or hybrid internships are allowed

Who is eligible?

• First-Years and First-Year Febs
  → Eligible for the $1,000 First-Year Explore Grant
  → Not eligible for the $4,000 competitive grants
• Sophomore Febs
  → May apply for either a First-Year Explore Grant or a $4,000 grant
• All First-Years and Sophomore Febs
  → Eligible to apply for CCI-Select or cohort internships (including MiddWorks for VT internships), which come with guaranteed funding

Required advising before you apply

Before submitting a First-Year Explore Grant application, you must complete both of the following:

1. Meet with a Peer Career Advisor (PCA)
   • Attend Quick Questions to have your résumé approved
   • Required: have your résumé reviewed and approved, before applying to positions
   • PCAs can help you create a résumé or strengthen one you already have
2. Meet with an advisor
   • Schedule an appointment with a CCI advisor via Handshake
   • For Health Professions or Science Research experiences, email Mary Lothrop or Hannah Benz at CTLR to schedule an appointment

After you’re awarded

• Students who receive a First-Year Explore Grant are required to attend a pre-internship training meeting in early May (date TBD)

If you’re not sure which funding option fits your class year or goals, CCI advisors are happy to help you think it through. 

Generally, no.

CCI does not fund self-directed projects or independent research where you are working on your own rather than for or with an organization.

If you’re pursuing one of these options, check out:

• The Innovation Hub for funding related to self-directed summer projects
• CTLR’s website for funding related to research experiences

Exception: Medical shadowing (limited cases)

In some cases, CCI may fund a medical shadowing experience if all of the following criteria are met:

• The experience meets internship length requirements:
  • 8 weeks at 30 hours/week, or
  • 4 weeks at 25 hours/week (Explore Grant)
• You have one physician or healthcare provider who:
  • Serves as your primary supervisor
  • Agrees to oversee your learning for the entire experience
• You can provide a compelling reason why:
  • The experience cannot be completed on your own time
  • You need funding to participate
    (Note: saving time to study for the MCAT does not qualify as a compelling reason)

Before applying for funding:
Once you have secured a shadowing experience, schedule an appointment with Hannah Benz, Pre-Health Advisor, to discuss whether your experience may be eligible.

If you’re unsure whether your experience counts as self-directed or organization-based, reach out early. We’re happy to help you figure out your best funding options.

Yes. You must have:

• Received an internship offer
• Accepted the offer
• Committed to completing that internship

You should only apply for funding for an internship you are confident you want to do.

Professional expectations

CCI expects students to conduct themselves professionally during the internship search. Once you have accepted an internship offer, you should:

• Withdraw applications from other employers or organizations
• Avoid continuing to interview for other positions

If you later change your mind:

• You cannot revise your funding application or submit a new one
• You will need to forfeit your funding

Exception:
An exception may be granted if an employer rescinds your internship offer.

Because we expect a large number of applicants, CCI generally does not accept late funding applications. Planning ahead and starting your internship search early is essential.

What you can do before the deadline

If you are applying to internships with later hiring timelines, consider the following:

• Let employers know you have the opportunity to apply for internship funding with an April 2 deadline
• Ask whether:
  • You might receive a decision by April 2, or
  • They can indicate whether you are a strong candidate

If you don’t have an internship by April 2

If you need funding and do not have a confirmed internship by April 2, you should plan for alternative options, which may include securing a paid position.

Limited exception for late applications

This exception is very limited.

If you are reading this after April 2, 2026 and expect to receive a confirmed internship offer by April 21, you may submit one late funding application only after your internship is secured.

Important details:

• No applications will be accepted after April 21
• Late applications will be placed in pending status
• Applications will be reviewed only if funding remains available (no guarantees)
• You will be notified of a decision by mid-May
• Late applications may be reviewed on a rolling basis, depending on remaining funds
• The process is more competitive than the original application round
• If awarded, funding will be deposited mid–to–late June

Before submitting:
Be sure your résumé has been approved prior to submitting your application.

For questions about late applications, contact Jillian MacArthur.

If you’re unsure about your timing or want help strategizing, connect with a CCI advisor as early as possible.

Except for Arts Grants, CCI typically does not fund classes, trainings, or experiences with organizations that charge a fee for participation, e.g. third party internship providers, yoga retreats, etc. We may make exceptions if the majority of the experience is an internship and the internship portion itself, without the curricular portion, meets the minimum time requirements for funding (8 weeks long and 30 hours per week) or if the fee is charged mainly to pay for housing.  

CCI does not fund on-campus summer undergraduate research positions with Middlebury faculty because these positions are funded by Middlebury’s Undergraduate Research Office in the CTLR.  

We do not fund paid internships unless it is a very low-paid internship (i.e. less than $4000 for an eight-week experience or more). In this case, we may choose to provide a supplement grant to bump you up to the equivalent of $4000 (not available for Explore Grants).  For instance, if you are receiving a $2000 from your employer, you may apply for CCI funding and if you are selected for funding, we might award you a $2000 supplement grant so that your total compensation for the summer would equal what other students are receiving from CCI. Students in this position should use the $4000 grant application form and explain your situation and financial compensation in your narrative. If you are receiving any compensation from your employer such a housing or transportation stipend, or from an organization that supports you such as Posse, you can expect that CCI will deduct that amount of money from your internship grant in order to make your award consistent with what other students are receiving.  Contact Cheryl Whitney Lower at clower@middlebury.edu if you have questions about a low paid internship. 

CCI does not generally fund students who receive funding by another Middlebury program or office. The exception is if you are taking part in an intercultural experience that benefits the community, it is possible to combine a CCI grant with a Cross-Cultural Community Engagement grant through the Center for Community Engagement. 

CCI does not fund experiences where a family member is serving as your supervisor.

An affiliation agreement is a written contract detailing the legal obligations of both the school and the experiential learning site to facilitate experiential learning for students. Middlebury College does not enter into such agreements, meaning you would not be able to accept an internship that requires an affiliation agreement for participation. 

CCI will not require a budget to be submitted as part of your funding application but we do recommend using our Budget Template (see next question) to plan out your expenses and costs for the summer to make sure you can afford to do this experience with the grant amount for which you are applying (typically $4000 or $1000). Some students may use CCI’s budget planning template and decide an unpaid internship is not realistic for them at this time and decide to pursue a paid internship or job instead. 

The set grant amounts give you decision-making power over your own summer experience. Your costs may be substantially higher than the grant, in which case you will need to assess your plans. Consider these grants support from CCI to help cover the costs associated with your internship. You may need to obtain a part-time job to finance the whole experience. On the other hand, if your costs are low (i.e. you decide to live at home or you are participating in a remote internship) and the set grant amount exceeds your budget, the grant can be used to offset lost summer wages. Applications from students not on financial aid who are applying mainly to off-set lost wages are less competitive.

Creating a budget and thinking carefully about how much money you need for your experience can be a great learning experience. Use this Budget Template to plan your summer. 

A typical food budget will vary depending on where you live, but we advise using a figure of approximately $75 - $125 per week.

Housing can be tricky. If you choose to stay in a university-based internship housing program (e.g., NYU in New York City), your entire internship funding allocation will likely be eaten up by that cost—and then some! But you don’t want to spend your summer sleeping on someone’s floor either. Start your search early, check out resources such as Airbnb, look for house-sitting opportunities, and enlist your various networks (such as the Middlebury Alumni Communities in various cities). Housing costs can vary widely (typically $800-$2000) depending on your location. 

When planning out your summer budget, you will also want to include transportation to and from your internship site, as well as transportation costs such as subway fare, commuting by train, gas and tolls, etc.

It is okay if your internship site wants to provide minimal financial assistance such as a subway pass, help with housing, or daily lunch passes. You do need to indicate these funding sources in your application.

If you have read all the information on this page and have completed all the steps in the Quick Guide: CCI Competitive Summer Funding including having your résumé approved, writing your essay, and completing additional paperwork if your internship is outside the U.S. and necessitates review by the Global Operations Committee (see FAQ on international internships), then you are ready to apply! Find all the forms and templates you need on this page.

Submit an application for funding in MiddApply! 
1. Login with your Middlebury username and password.
2. Click on CCI Application for Funding/Credit.
3. Answer all required questions and copy and paste your Essay into the application. Upload your CCI-Approved Résumé into the funding application.
4. Read the Internship Funding Agreement form in the application in entirety before signing it as there are
important conditions that you must adhere to when accepting funding from Middlebury College.

All communications will be sent through email so students must check email, clutter, SPAM and junk email folders daily. Failure to respond to email will result in application being declined.

Funding notifications will be sent by Handshake email by end of day on (TBD). You may need to monitor your Middlebury spam, junk, and clutter email folders (as sometimes Midd Apply emails get sent there via Middlebury’s filtering process). 

If you are awarded funding and have entered your direct deposit information correctly and completed all steps outlined in your award letter by the deadlines, you can expect your money in your account in early to mid-June. Since you may not receive your money until mid-June, be sure to make your summer plans accordingly; you may need to arrange to start your internship later to accommodate the payment schedule. 

Students who have not entered their direct deposit information correctly will have their money withheld. If you do not see the money in your account by early to mid-June, please contact the Accounts Payable Office directly at ap@gmhec.org to resolve the issue.  

Please note that international students may have taxes withheld ahead of time so the amount of the grant you receive may be less than stated in your award letter. 

All funded interns must attend a mandatory pre-internship training meeting in early May (date and location TBD). Attendance will be taken, and any student who has not attended the meeting risks losing their funding or sponsorship. Contact Cheryl Whitney Lower at clower@middlebury.edu ahead of time with any extenuating circumstances, such as study abroad.

The grant requirements are outlined in the Internship Funding Agreementform. You will be asked in your funding application to read the Internship Funding Agreement thoroughly and agree to its terms.

If you are selected for a CCI-Select, MiddWorks for Vermont, or other CCI Cohort internship (all posted in Handshake), this means your internship comes with funding from CCI, contingent on submitting your application for funding in MiddApply, completing all required paperwork, and passing eligibility criteria: you must be in good academic and judicial standing, be an enrolled student Spring ‘26 and Fall ‘26, have one semester left of college after the summer, and be not be planning to transfer in the Fall.  Funding will be deposited in your account by approximately June 6 after a final eligibility check with class deans and other administrators. 

You will be sent an award email via internships@middlebury.edu with instructions on how to submit your application for funding. Please wait for your award letter or reach out to internships@middlebury.edu with questions.   

Only MiddWorks for Vermont Cohort interns working in-person or hybrid with Vermont-based organizations may request Middlebury campus housing or Burlington-based housing once they have accepted their internship offer. Vermont Business Strategy and Consulting Cohort interns are also eligible for on-campus housing. More information on 2026 summer housing fees and dining plans will be posted here. Please note that CCI provides Residential Life with a list of confirmed funded students approved for summer housing.  

You will also have requirements to attend the required pre-internship training meeting, complete a mid-internship reflection, submit final evaluations, a Career Readiness Inventory, and submit a photo and a donor update letter. MiddWorks for VT and diiVe interns may have additional required meetings.