Accessing Your Meiklejohn Fellows Program Internship Stipend

Fellows must complete all steps of the process to receive their stipend. Please read all the details outlined below before you begin filling out your forms.

Eligibility for Stipend

First-Time Meiklejohn Fellows (Enrolled Fall 2026)

To request a stipend, a first-time Meiklejohn Fellow MUST:

Previous Enrolled Meiklejohn Fellows (Enrolled Fall 2024/Spring 2025)

To request a stipend, a previously enrolled Meiklejohn Fellow MUST:

  • Have been a Meiklejohn Fellow during the 2024 – 2025 academic year
  • Have accepted an internship for the summer (May-August 2026)
  • Be approaching their first or second summer of enrollment at Amherst
  • Not have received a Meiklejohn Fellows stipend in the past
  • Have completed all Meiklejohn Fellows Program requirements prior to applying for a stipend

Qualifying Internships

Eligible students may receive their stipend if their internship is:

  • Entirely unpaid or has a total compensation of less than the maximum qualifying stipend amount (see below chart)
  • With a non-Amherst College employer
  • Be at least 150 total hours and offer no less than 25 hours per week and no more than 40 hours per week.
  • Be hosted by an organization or company that can be verified as legitimate by Meiklejohn Fellows Program staff. This can mean one of the following:
  • Have an individual identified as a supervisor who is available to answer the intern’s questions and provide regular performance feedback
  • Allow the intern to spend the majority of scheduled work hours completing assignments that are meaningful to the organization AND are appropriately challenging for the experience level of the intern

While qualifying internships can be in any industry, the following types of opportunities CANNOT be funded:

  • Student’s own entrepreneurial or personal projects
  • Startup incubator programs
  • Skill-development programs or coursework
  • Academic programs
  • Solely clinical shadowing experiences
  • Language programs
  • Fee-based internship placement programs

Stipend Amounts

Your stipend depends on how long your internship lasts and any pay or benefits you receive from your internship site. The total compensation (internship pay + stipend) cannot exceed:

Maximum Amount
150 – 239 total work hours $3,875
240+ total work hours$5,000

How to Calculate Your Hours:

Multiply your weekly hours by the number of weeks you’ll be working.

Example:
6-week internship x 25 weekly hours= 150 total work hours
6-week internship x 40 weekly hours= 240 total work hours

Compensation can include:

  • Salary
  • Housing ($1,000 value)
  • Transportation/Parking ($100 value)
  • Meals ($200 value)

Process for Requesting Stipend

The Summer 2026 Meiklejohn Fellows Application will open in March 2026.

While the stipend is guaranteed, Fellows must submit an application for review before awarding funds. Please note that applications may be declined if:

  • The internship doesn’t qualify
  • The Fellow doesn’t meet eligibility requirements
  • The application is incomplete or poor quality
  • There are serious concerns about the internship site

Application materials must be submitted before the application will be reviewed. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, and award decisions are typically communicated 10-15 business days after an application is submitted. 

The final deadline for submitting an application is May 29th. Stipend checks are processed after students attend the required pre-departure meeting on May 6th, 2026. For students who did not attend the in-person pre-departure, please email us at internships@amherst.edu to request the asynchronous option.

If you are completing a local off-campus or remote internship and wish to apply to live on-campus for the summer, complete the summer housing application form through the Office of Students Affairs (OSA). Please note that if you choose on-campus housing, your student account will be billed for housing and meal costs (about $200 per week), and you should factor that into the overall budget your stipend provides.

Application Instructions

  1. Accept an internship offer from an organization or company.  Have a conversation with your supervisor to discuss the details of your internship.
  2. Review the application short essay questions found on this handout. We encourage you to finalize your responses to each essay question on a separate document before working on the application.
  3. Complete the Meiklejohn Fellows Program Funding Application.
    • This application is housed on the SurveyMonkey Apply platform.  If you have not used the platform before, you must create a new account first.
    • After completing each section, click the green “Mark as Complete” button.  You cannot submit your application until you have done this step. 
    • Download the PDF copy of the sponsor confirmation form, send it to your supervisor to complete, and upload the completed form to the application.  There is a link to download the form within the application, or you can download it here.
  4. Upload a PDF version of your most recent resume to the application where requested. Ensure it complies with the Loeb Center’s Resume Best Practices.
  5. Complete and sign the acknowledgment form at the end of the application and then click “Submit.”

After Stipend Award

Fellows will receive an award letter from the Loeb Center that includes instructions on the required forms and processes to complete before a stipend can be requested, including an internship agreement and, if required, instructions for completing a Travel Petition and/or Minor Safety Certification.

Summer and Post-Summer Requirements

All Fellows are required to complete a final reflection at the end of the summer. Please note that students do not have to keep track of receipts and may use their stipends however they see fit.