Internships

Things to Know

start things to know

Time Commitments

Preference is given to projects with potential for significant community benefit and sustainable outcomes, and these typically require substantial time commitments.

We welcome applications that combine service projects with other work that students are undertaking — for instance, a student studying abroad for a semester can combine this with an internship project undertaken in their spare time.

For summer internships, we expect a minimum of 6 weeks full-time or 8 weeks part-time work, and a maximum of 12 weeks full-time or part-time work.

For IAP internships, we expect a minimum of 100 hours work, but preference is given to full-time four-week projects. The maximum length of an IAP project is 4 weeks.

For local semester-time internships, we expect a minimum of 5 hours a week and a maximum of 20 hours a week.

Funding

Internship funding is intended primarily to support the living and travel expenses of the students involved.

All applicants must submit a budget outlining their financial needs for the internship and any other secured or potential sources of funding. The selection committee will determine the amount of funding provided on a case by case basis – there is no set funding amount.

Funding decisions will take into account the potential impact of the proposed work. We are unlikely to fund short-term projects with high expenses.

Students who need to travel to their internship sites may request part of their funding in the form of travel tickets purchased by the PSC from an MIT-approved travel agency. Other Value-Added Internship funding is made available by check in advance of the project. Students receiving this funding commit to carrying out their proposed project, reporting weekly to the PSC during the course of their Internships, and submitting any requested post-Internships reports, evaluations, photos, and presentations. Any student who receives Value-Added Internship funding but does not complete these requirements may be asked to repay a portion of their funding and will be barred from future funding by the PSC.

The aim is for interns to be resourceful and do as much as they can with the equipment and supplies that are available through their host organizations or the communities they are serving. If additional supplies are needed for interns’ capacity-building projects, they may apply for PSC Grants to cover some expenses for items such as prototyping materials, ground transportation, printing and binding, etc. Grants requests must be submitted in advance of making any purchases. Will we not consider retrospective grant requests.

How to be a competitive applicant

Start early! Once you have found an opportunity that interests you, and before submitting your application, you MUST contact the internship organization to:

  • Learn more about them and the opportunity
  • Secure an internship position with the organization and ensure that someone in the organization is assigned to supervise your work

You also need to:

  • Make sure your plans are feasible given the time you have available, and the skills and knowledge you can provide
  • Communicate well with your community partner - be sure not to promise anything you cannot deliver, and make sure they understand that you may not be awarded funding from MIT. Also make sure they understand that we expect you develop a capacity-building project for their organization or the community they are serving as part of your internship
  • Leave plenty of time to get letters of recommendation from your community partner and an MIT faculty or staff member
The Rules
  • All registered full-time MIT and CME students are eligible to apply. Note that we have very limited funds available for graduating students and can only fund Internships for graduating students for up to three months after their graduation.
  • You can submit as many applications as you like. You will need a separate application for each internship project you propose
  • If you are hoping to do an internship with a friend, you each need to submit a separate application. It should be clear from your applications who you intend to work with and you should explain why you think a joint project is advantageous. Indicate whether you would consider doing the project alone if only one person is accepted
  • If you are planning an international internship, check the MIT travel policy and travel warnings to find out if there are any restrictions on MIT-funded travel to your intended destination: http://informit.mit.edu/epr/3.0travel.html
Just so you know…

Before your internship you will need to

  • Sign a contract, liability waiver, and MIT travel forms. Minors will also need the signature of a parent or guardian on their forms
  • Submit a spreadsheet of personal and contact information
  • Arrange for all necessary health, safety, and legal needs: e.g. passport and visa if needed, health insurance, vaccinations, etc
  • Arrange your own internship travel and accommodation

During your internship you will need to

  • Check-in at least once a week with the internships staff, sending us a few paragraphs describing your work so far, your plans for the next week, and reflections on your experiences
  • Ensure that your community supervisor oversees your work and checks-in regularly with the fellowship staff (by phone or email) to report hours and project progress

After your internship, we will ask you to submit

  • A short paragraph describing your internship that we can post on the web
  • Two short articles describing your experiences and reflecting on their effects (we suggest you keep a journal to help with this)
  • An evaluation form
  • Photographs with captions.

We may ask you to give a presentation for the MIT community on your internship experiences.

Pictures

If you take any pictures, please pass them along to us for publicity use. Make sure you read the PSC Digital Photo Library Details PDF document available at the PSC before you set out. Also, download our publicity release form here.

Questions? Contact Alison Hynd at psc-internships-staff@mit.edu, phone 617 258 0691, or stop by the Public Service Center in 4-104 or Alison's office in W20-549