Internships
Things to Know
Projects and Time Commitments
Do you have a project in mind? Preference is given to projects with potential for significant community benefit and sustainable outcomes, and these typically require substantial time commitments. Otherwise we have several opportunities from community partners who already have a service need. Projects range from web-building to city revitalization to water sanitation to enhancing mobile communications.
We welcome applications that combine service projects with other work that you are undertaking — for instance, if you are studying abroad for a semester, you can combine this with an Internship or Fellowship project undertaken in your spare time.
For summer projects, we favor 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 projects, we favor full-time four-week projects, but will accept shorter projects If the scope of work is appropriate.
For local semester-time projects we favor a minimum of 5 hours a week and a maximum of 20 hours a week.
Funding
As part of the application, you must submit a budget outlining your financial needs for the project 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. Internship and Fellowship funding is intended primarily to support living and travel expenses.
Funding decisions will take into account the potential impact of the proposed work. We are unlikely to fund short-term projects with high expenses.
If you need to travel to your project sites, you may request a part of your funding in the form of travel tickets (purchased by the PSC from an MIT-approved travel agency). Other funding is made available by check in advance of the project.
If you find that a small amount of additional funding would enable you to add extra value to your project, you may apply for a Supplemental Grant to cover some expenses for items such as prototyping materials, printing and binding, etc. Grants requests must be submitted in advance of making any purchases. We will notconsider retrospective grant requests. You must not rely on this option, as you are not guaranteed a supplemental grant.
When you receive this funding you commit to the following as a minimum:
- carrying out your proposed project,
- reporting weekly to the PSC during the course of your project, and
- submitting any requested post-project reports, evaluations, photos, and presentations.
Please note that any student who receives Paul and Priscilla Gray Internship or Public Service Fellowship 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 and Fellows 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.
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 community organization to:
- Learn more about them and the opportunity
- Collaborate with them to develop your project and work plan
- Arrange for someone to be your supervisor
- Make sure your project will build capacity for the community you will be serving
- If you find a project through a formal internship or fellowship program, follow their systems to secure a position with the organization
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.
- 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 projects 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 project you propose
- If you are hoping to do an Internship or Fellowship 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 or Fellowship 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 travel and accommodation
During your project you will need to
- Check-in at least once a week with the Internship or Fellowship 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 or Fellowship, we will ask you to submit
- A short paragraph describing your project that we can post on the web
- A report 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 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.
