Funding for Unpaid and Underfunded Student Experiences (F.U.S.E.)
Career Center Student Internship Fund - Managed by the Office of Career Development & Professional Engagement
The priority deadline to apply for Summer 2025 F.U.S.E. funding is April 15 and the final deadline is April 30. The experience must be at least 160 hours over at least 4 weeks between May 14 - August 22.
With the help of generous donors, including Julie Dobson, Chet Thaker, Martha and Daniel Lehman, and a $1-million leadership gift from Darpan Kapadia, the Office of Career Development & Professional Engagement can offer funding for unpaid or underfunded internship opportunities. Student veterans will also be considered for The Cameron S. Williams Veteran Internship Fund, which was created by Curtis and Ardine Williams to bridge the gap between military service and civilian careers by facilitating invaluable internship opportunities for student veterans.
The Career Center Student Internship Fund will award up to $5,000, throughout their time at William & Mary, to qualified undergraduate students who will be completing unpaid or underfunded internships.
All awards are based on a budget model for living expenses, to cover food, housing and transportation, so a student may participate in an unpaid or underfunded internship experience. F.U.S.E. funds are not intended to act as compensation for the experience.
To be eligible for summer funding, applicants must be enrolled as an undergraduate student through William & Mary's main campus, St. Andrews, or study abroad programs for the following fall semester. Students must have secured an unpaid or underfunded internship that is at one organization over at least 4 weeks, with a minimum of 160 hours worked during the summer, or a minimum of 100 hours during the fall, winter, or spring terms. Multiple internship experiences cannot be used to meet the 4-week duration and/or total hours requirements and all hours must fall within a single funding term. Funding cannot be applied retroactively toward any internship hours that were completed prior to the funding term.
International Experiences - Consult the international travel policy and travel alerts page for the country in which you are interested for any international internship.
- If the country is on the university’s travel advisory list, please complete a petition which will be reviewed by the W&M International Travel Review Committee. Approval must be granted prior to being awarded funding with documentation submitted to the F.U.S.E. committee (internships@wm.edu).
- Undergraduate students are prohibited from traveling to countries that are on the Restricted Destinations list.
For additional information, including qualifications and eligibility, please see our frequently asked questions.
Prior to accepting F.U.S.E. funding managed through the Office of Career Development & Professional Engagement, you must have completed one of three prerequisites:
- My Active Career Exploration (MACE) (all 6 sessions).
- Career Readiness Foundations (all 4 modules) - Participants will learn about the following topics through Blackboard: resumes, cover letters, interviewing, and LinkedIn. The four-week program is designed for participants to focus on one topic per week and receive feedback on drafts submitted.
- SCHEV Developing Career Readiness Skills modules (Course Foundations and any 3 additional modules. Course Foundations must be completed before proceeding to additional modules).
- If you have previously received F.U.S.E. funding and completed the SCHEV Developing Career Readiness Skills modules as your prerequisite, you will need to complete SCHEV Internship Toolkit modules (Getting Started and Modules 6-8).
If you have not already completed MACE or Career Readiness Foundations, you must complete the SCHEV Developing Career Readiness Skills modules.
To apply, a student must submit the following 5 documents:
- Internship posting or position description.
- Up-to-date resume (max. 2 pages). You may wish to view resume resources on the Office of Career Development & Professional Engagement website. Students can schedule a career advising appointment** through TribeCareers or drop in for Quick Advising (Monday-Thursday, 2-4 p.m., Cohen Career Center Atrium when classes are in session) to meet with someone to review documents, including resumes. ** Lisa Randolph, Owen Marino, and Phil Heavilin aren't able to meet with students to review F.U.S.E. application materials, as they are on the review committee.
- Budget (demonstrating the intended use of internship funds). Please utilize this Summer 2025 budget worksheet and make sure everything on the worksheet can be read when saving it as a PDF to submit. Provide as many details as possible for your requests.
- Statement of interest (no more than 800 words total) addressing the following points:
- What is the connection between this internship and your career goals? How do you hope to benefit from the internship?
- How has your academic coursework prepared you for this internship?
- In what way would funding help enable you to pursue an internship? Please explain your funding requests here if there isn’t ample space on the budget worksheet.
- List any other sources of funding that you have applied for and/or received whether from William & Mary or external sources. Please note the amount of the funding and when you anticipate hearing about whether you will receive it.
- If you've completed one of the pre-requisites for the internship course (MACE, Career Readiness Foundations, or the SCHEV modules (foundation and 3 additional modules)), please indicate that in your statement. This does not need to be done in advance to be considered.
- Please indicate whether or not you are a veteran.
- Proof of the internship offer, such as an offer letter or email, written in English, including the following components:
- the employer’s contact information.
- confirmation that the internship has been offered.
- start and end dates for the internship.
- the total number of hours to be worked.
- modality (in-person, hybrid, or remote), with a schedule of on-site and remote days if it's hybrid.
- that it is unpaid (or the pay if it is underfunded).
If the internship is unpaid, the employer also must complete an online verification form to certify that they have reviewed and will abide by the Department of Labor criteria established in the FLSA, which will route directly to the Internships & Applied Learning Team.
A committee will consider the following factors when assessing funding applications: academic standing, disciplinary status, nature of the internship, quality of application materials, and the connection between the internship and the applicant's career interests. Keep in mind that the application process is competitive and all application materials should be well-written and free of errors. You can schedule a career advising appointment** through TribeCareers or drop into Quick Advising (Monday-Thursday, 2-4 p.m., Cohen Career Center Atrium) to meet with someone to review your application documents. Incomplete applications or applications received after the deadline will not be considered.
** Lisa Randolph, Owen Marino, and Phil Heavilin aren't able to meet with students to review F.U.S.E. application materials, as they are on the review committee.
Expectations of awardees:
- Register for a 0- or 1-credit internship course. Information about registration will be shared after award notification and acceptance.
- Complete an evaluation reflecting on the internship’s impact on their academic and career goals.
- Supervisor evaluation must submit an evaluation of the intern’s performance including verification that the required hours were completed during the award term. If the supervisor evaluation form is not returned at the conclusion of the experience, the internship is considered incomplete, and students will be expected to repay all funds awarded.
- Produce a deliverable (a PowerPoint slide and 3-minute presentation) and participate in an internship showcase.
- Write a thank you note to donors and participate as requested, if available, in activities such as information sessions and donor-recognition events.
Questions about F.U.S.E. funding through the Office of Career Development & Professional Engagement can be directed to the Internships & Applied Learning team at [[internships]] or to Owen Marino at 757-221-3282.
Summer F.U.S.E. Funding Managed by William & Mary Campus Partners
H Stewart Dunn, Jr. Civil Liberties FellowshipThe H. Stewart Dunn, Jr. Civil Liberties Fellowships exists thanks to the generous donation by Timothy P. Dunn and Ellen R. Stofan. The Project funds several summer internships for William & Mary undergraduates who secure low-paying or unpaid civil liberties internships at organizations of their choice. Dunn Fellowships are available for civil liberties internships of personal interest to the applicant, regardless of political affiliation or subject, so long as that organization seeks to preserve and protect civil liberties afforded Americans by the U.S. Constitution. Internships with organizations protecting First Amendment rights are particularly encouraged. In most cases, internships with public defenders’ offices are not eligible for funding. Most fellowships range from $2000 to $3000, depending on student need. To be eligible, applicants may be from any field of study, but they must be continuing undergraduate students. The internships must last a minimum of five full-time weeks. To apply, a student must submit the following 5 documents. Keep in mind that the application process is competitive and all application materials should be well-written.
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Public Policy Fellowship Program for Internships(Please note: The requirements of this fellowship program differ in some important respects from FUSE programs managed by the Office of Career Development & Professional Engagement and other William & Mary community partners. Please be sure to follow the policies and procedures as detailed on the Public Policy Program website.) Selected public policy students receiving funding under the Public Policy/Schroeder Center Fellowship Program will receive as much as $5,000 to support eligible, unpaid or low-paid summer public policy internships. For complete details on the policies and procedures related to this program (including eligibility and application requirements), please visit the Public Policy Program’s website. Please contact Elaine McBeth (mcbeth@wm.edu; 757-221-2386) if you should have any questions about this Fellowship Program. Application materials must be submitted online. If you have any questions about the application process, please contact April Greener (algreener@wm.edu). |
Schroeder Center for Health Policy Fellowship Program for InternshipsNote, the requirements of this fellowship program differ in some important respects from FUSE programs managed by the Office of Career Development & Professional Engagement and other William & Mary community partners. Please be sure to follow the policies and procedures as detailed on the Schroeder Center for Health Policy’s website. Selected public policy students receiving funding under the Public Policy/Schroeder Center Fellowship Program will receive as much as $5,000 to support eligible, unpaid or low-paid summer public policy internships. For complete details on the policies and procedures related to this program (including eligibility and application requirements), please visit the Schroeder Center for Health Policy’s website. Application materials must be submitted online. If you have any questions about the application process, please contact April Greener (algreener@wm.edu). |
Whole of Government Center of Excellence National Security Internship FundingThe W&M Whole of Government Center of Excellence (WGC) oversees the university’s National Security Internship Program (NSIP). WGC works with federal stakeholders and students to create transformative opportunities to serve the nation and Commonwealth of Virginia. Expanding pathways for students to gain valuable experiences with the U.S. government, including the military services and intelligence communities, WGC supports students accepted into national security internships with funds appropriated by the Virginia General Assembly or awarded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education. In partnership with the Office of Career Development & Professional Engagement and other campus units, WGC provides guidance to receive Summer 2025 NSIP funding through the Funding for Unpaid and Underfunded Student Experiences (F.U.S.E.) process in TribeCareers. Students can apply for multiple F.U.S.E. funds. While some NSIP funding is designated for students selected for specific sponsored programs, such as U.S. Department of Defense Combatant Command internships, additional NSIP funding is available for students selected for other national security internships. Please reach out to wgc@wm.edu with any questions about the NSIP F.U.S.E. funding. Information about the Summer 2025 NSIP F.U.S.E. funding eligibility and requirements may be found in TribeCareers. Please contact wgc@wm.edu or Parin Shah Finch (psfinch@wm.edu; 757-221-4055) with any questions regarding the National Security Internship Program. |