Applying for Houston Program Summer Internship Funding

Each year, the Houston Program awards full stipends to students who have accepted offers to complete unpaid summer internships and partial stipends to students completing low-paying summer internships. Read below for details regarding eligibility and the application process.  

Student Eligibility

Only students who have completed the following requirements are eligible for funding through the Houston Program:

• Attend at least one Houston Program sponsored workshop 
• Work with a Loeb Center advisor or Peer Career Advisor to produce a resume that complies with the Loeb Center Resume Review Checklist.  

Previous Houston Program members:  Students who were Houston Program Members (completed ALL enrollment steps) during the 2022-2023 academic year are eligible for funding and do NOT have to complete the above steps.

*Sophomores who participate in the Loeb Center’s Sophomore Summit (January 24, 25, & 26, 2024) will fulfill all requirements for Houston Program funding

Additionally, eligible students must be enrolled at Amherst the semester prior to the start of their summer internship and intend to be enrolled at the College the semester after. Students who are studying abroad may apply. Graduating seniors are ineligible. Students on leave during the spring 2024 semester are NOT eligible to apply to receive funding.

Application Process

Students may submit an application during one of the following application cycles:

Only complete applications submitted by an application cycle deadline will be reviewed by the committee.  Award decisions can take approximately 3 weeks to be released.

Completed applications include:

• Charles Hamilton Houston Internship Program Funding Application Form
• Most-recent copy of the resume that meets the Loeb Center Resume Review Checklist
• Sponsor confirmation form completed by a supervisor 

Applications that do not comply with the resume review checklist will receive low ratings during the application review process and may be at risk of being declined.  You are strongly encouraged to continue working with an advisor or PCA until your resume compiles with the checklist.

Internship Eligibility

In order to be considered for funding, an internship must:

• Take place during the Amherst College summer break (after the last day of spring semester classes and before the first day of fall semester classes)
• NOT take place on campus
• Be at least 180 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 Houston Program staff.  This can mean one of the following:
  • Has a working website with a legal name that matches the name on the student’s application
  • Has a social media account (Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) that has been updated within a month of the student’s application submission
  • Can be found in a database, such as the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search Tool or a Secretary of State website
• 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

The program DOES NOT fund:

• On campus internships or jobs
• Student’s own entrepreneurial or personal projects
• Startup incubator programs
• Skill-development programs or academic coursework
• Solely clinical shadowing experiences
• Language programs
• Fee-based, internship placement programs

Stipend Award Amounts

*Special note for students with “low-paying” internships

Students who are receiving a salary or other compensation from their internship host (this includes housing, transportation, and meals) may request partial stipends.  The total combination of the employer compensation plus the calculated partial stipend may not exceed the Houston Program maximum stipend award.

POST-INTERNSHIP REQUIREMENTS

Students are required to complete and submit a final report to the Loeb Center at the end of their internship.  Furthermore, they must participate in an activity where they share insights from their summer internship with other Amherst students (i.e. Summer Internship Mixer, blog post for website, etc.).