The Summer Funding Programs provide funding to Columbia College and Columbia Engineering undergraduate students participating in unpaid or low-paid summer internships related to their career pursuits and/or academic studies.
This spring, our In the Know blog features a series of posts designed to help you navigate the application process and put your best foot forward.
The Summer Funding Programs help cover expenses while students are pursuing unpaid or low-paid internships, research opportunities, and volunteer initiatives. These stipends, payable between $500 and $6,500, aim to alleviate the financial burden of these expenses; they are not meant to be in lieu of a student’s income.
In this regard, when you submit your application for the Summer Funding Programs, you will be asked to submit a budget of your expenses for the summer. Consider all necessary living expenses when developing your budget.
If you have never created a budget before, this is an important exercise in thinking through your daily expenses and other costs that you will incur during the summer.
Unless you will be living with family or in a similar arrangement, typically, the largest expense is housing. Your budget figure should include rent for the period during which you will be at your summer opportunity.
The next largest expense is frequently food. In calculating your food bill, you should estimate a reasonable amount to be spent on groceries each week and multiply that by the number of weeks you are participating in your opportunity.
Often, your travel costs will include two separate items: recurring travel costs and one-time travel costs.
Your recurring travel costs include daily commuting costs such as taking the bus, train, or subway from your residence to your place of work. For example, if you will be going to the office daily, this might look like round-trip bus fare multiplied by five days per week multiplied by the number of weeks of your internship. Be sure to calculate the cost for the full duration of your opportunity.
Your one-time travel costs include the expenses necessary for you to travel to and from your opportunity location. For example, if you are traveling from the United States to another country for your opportunity, this would include round-trip airfare. Not everyone will have this expense.
You might have additional expenses not addressed above which you can include in the Other category when completing your budget. However, please keep in mind that your budget should not include items outside of your necessary living expenses. For example, expenses related to cultural or entertainment activities should not be included in your budget, as they are not necessary living expenses. In addition, most medical or health-related expenses are not considered part of your budget for the Summer Funding Programs because they are not specific to your participation in this particular opportunity; if they are regular expenses, you would incur them regardless of your participation in this summer opportunity.
We encourage you to fully consider all of your needs and to avoid underestimating costs. However, consider what is reasonable; if you budget for a meal out every night, your application is unlikely to get accepted. This funding is intended to fully cover your basic living expenses while you engage in an opportunity that supports your career journey and/or academic interests.
Please note: The maximum award amount is $6,500, which is paid out as a stipend at the end of May. Awardees are strongly encouraged to set up direct deposit through their SSOL account to ensure a smooth delivery of their funds. (If you are also applying for and receive a Work Exemption Program grant, this grant is received as a credit on your tuition bill for the Fall or Spring semester.)
Key Steps and Reminders:
- Summer Funding Program stipends range between $500 and $6,500, so your budget should fall within that range.
- When building your budget consider all necessary living expenses including:
- Housing
- Food
- Travel costs (recurring and one-time)
- Stipends are paid out at the end of May. If you are awarded a grant, we strongly recommend that you set up a direct deposit through your SSOL account to ensure smooth delivery of funds.
Find out more about applying to the Summer Funding Programs at these other In the Know posts: