Career Services
McGill Lawrence Internship Information and Instructions
The McGill Lawrence Internship Award offers Reed students the opportunity to complement their academic studies with a summer internship in the public or non-profit sectors. This fund was originally made available by a donation to help cultivate an environment of understanding and respect for multi-cultural issues at Reed. The endowment for this grant has increased during the past years with generous college and Reed student body contributions. At least 50% of the awards fund proposals that bring students in contact with ethnically and culturally diverse issues and populations. Award amounts for all 2012 recipients will be $4,000 for a minimum of 8 weeks of full time engagement.
Proposals will be judged by their relevance to your field of study or professional goals, quality of design, the ability of the sponsoring organization to support your learning, and letters of recommendation from faculty. Please follow the guidelines carefully. For your reference, applications from previous awardees are available in hard copy in career services (Greywood). You may not photocopy or remove the materials, however you are most welcome to view them in the office. We strongly encourage you to meet with career services or SEEDS staff during the planning stages of your proposal.
Submission deadline: Monday, March 5, 2012 12 p.m.
Grant applications are available online at https://iris.reed.edu/career_grants Click McGill Lawrence Internship Award.
There are four elements to the online form you must complete to be able to submit your McGill Lawrence application (in addition to your name, and so on). Please note that number five is a requirement too, if you receive funding.
1. One confidential letter of support from a Reed faculty or staff member who can speak to your qualifications. Encourage the faculty or staff member to upload the letter to the IRIS application page. They may also give you the letter or deliver it directly to career services via e-mail or in person. lf it is provided to you in a sealed envelope, do not open a sealed envelope. Please ask career services for a handout on requesting letters of recommendation if you would like additional support. If you are intending to split the McGill Lawrence award with someone else, you must each provide a letter of support.
2. One resume summarizing each of your submitter's work and volunteer experiences.
3. Project Description. Provide details about the internship experience you plan. The description should include information in the follwing categories and must be NO MORE than a total of 2,400 words combined. Provide details about the internship experience you plan by answering the following questions:
a. A one-paragraph introduction that succinctly summarizes your proposed internship and the benefits that you, the community you intend to serve, and possibly Reed will derive as a result of your work.
b. What is the mission or purpose of your host organization? Please describe your internship and how it supports the mission or the organization and serves the community.
c. How have you been preparing for your internship project?
d. What are the desired educational outcomes of this experience and how do they apply to your short or long-term career?
e. Name(s), telephone number(s), and e-mail addresses (if they have e-mail) of your contact(s).
f. By what date do you expect to have a firm commitment from your internship site to host you for the summer?
4. Detailed budget of your expenses. This should include direct costs for living: travel, lodging, food, and savings needed to contribute to your education (for recipients of financial aid). List other funding sources that you will use, including any pay you may receive from your internship sponsor. (This will not affect the amount of your award). Please explain how you will cover any expenses that exceed the award amount.
5. Prior to receiving funding, a letter of acknowledgement by the organization agreeing to provide the proposed internship is required. Important: Recipients of the award will be asked to share their learning with the Reed community in the fall of 2011. This will include an oral presentation. Recipients will also be asked to participate in next year’s applicant review process. If you do not plan to return to campus for fall of 2011, explain in your application how you will fulfill these obligations. A committee of students, staff, and faculty evaluate the applications. Applicants will be contacted regarding the funding decisions that were made of these awards by early April, 2011.
Previous year recipients
To read about last year's McGill Lawrence Summer Internship Award recipients, visit this page.