Students can pursue meaningful summer internships or independent projects that involve work with non-profit or other community-based agencies either in the United States or abroad. Projects should entail hands-on experience, be people-oriented, and provide fellows with the opportunity to have a marked impact on the communities in which they work or function, both during the summer experience and in a broader context. Learn more about the Burnam Fellowship.

Fill out the Burnam application

Deadline:

April 15

Eligibility criteria:

• Current first-year, sophomore, or junior at Vassar.
• Secured internship with a non-profit/social justice-oriented organization; internships should be full-time (30–40 hours/week) for at least 6 weeks; alternatively, applicants may apply with a well-developed proposal for an independent project that will take place over a comparable period of time (ie, 180 hours).
• Internships/projects should be hands-on, people-oriented, and have a minimal administrative component, if any.
• Internships may be paid or unpaid; applicants with unpaid or low-paid experiences will receive priority consideration.
• Previous recipients are not eligible to apply.

Awards:

Typical awards are $3000–6000. Students who receive financial aid at Vassar may receive an additional $2450 toward their summer earnings requirement applied as a credit to their fall/spring bill.

Application Process:

• Application components include the following: information about your confirmed internship or proposed project, employer confirmation (if an internship), budget, resume, cover letter, transcript, and one letter of recommendation, in addition to a series of short-answer questions.
• Applicants will be notified in early May.

Expectations:

Recipients will be expected to:

• Provide employer confirmation (for internships) and communicate with the CCE regarding any status changes.
• Attend 2–3 cohort meetings.
• Complete a Learning Contract.
• Complete a brief mid-summer check-in.
• Write a final report at the end of the summer to be shared with the donor (recommended: include a photo of you and/or your internship/project).

Recipients may also be invited to serve on student panels to share more about their experiences.

Additional notes:

Awards are contingent upon the continued availability of the proposed experience and compliance with the College Policy on Student Travel.

This fund is made possible through the generous support of Marcia Garbus Burnam ’49 and her daughter, Beth Burnam ’77.

View a list of past Burnam Fellowship recipients.