Sixty-five students will receive University internship funding for this summer, the Career Development Center announced earlier this month. But as the number of students applying for CDC's two internship assistance programs rises, the number of awards actually given is struggling to keep up.
Forty students will receive $2,500 stipends through the Brown Internship Award Program, which helps undergraduates take internships with little or no pay. Twenty-five students were accepted into the Aided Internship Program, which waives summer earnings requirements for students on financial aid.
There was a 29 percent increase in the number of BIAPs awarded since last year, CDC Senior Associate Director Barbara Peoples wrote in an e-mail. While 40 students received BIAPs this year, 31 did so in 2007. But 35 students were awarded BIAPs in 2006, so over the last two years there has been a 14 percent net increase in the number of awards.
At the same time, more students are applying to the program. There was an 18 percent increase in BIAP applicants this year, with 182 applying - up from 154 applicants a year ago and 150 in 2006, Peoples wrote.
Thus, over the last two years, the number of BIAP applicants is up 21 percent.
According to Peoples, the number of awards depends on funding from "alumni, parent and employer gifts and endowments."
"It is always our goal to increase the number of awards, but some of the funding is dependent upon annual gifts and revenue from endowments," she wrote. According to the CDC's Web site, BIAP applicants must be "strongly considered" to secure an internship that requires at least 240 hours or six weeks of full-time work, with earnings of $1,000 or less, to qualify for the award. The AIP awards waive the summer earnings requirement that is part of financial aid packages for students who qualify for University scholarships.
The two awards have a common application and students on financial aid can apply for both awards, Peoples wrote. The AIP waives up to $2,650 of the summer earnings requirement. Students who receive funding from University departments or Undergraduate Teaching and Research Awards are not eligible for BIAP awards.
Peoples added that alumni now working at Lehman Brothers, a global financial services firm, donated six $2,500 BIAP awards, contributing to the increase in the number of awards from past years.
Peoples said the CDC has not released the names of this year's winners but will probably publish the list in coming months. She also said the center does not have information on the breakdown of winners by class years or the industries they will be entering.
BIAP awards are known for their competitiveness since so few awards are given relative to the number of students in need. Peter McElroy '09.5 applied for but did not receive a BIAP award to fund his internship this summer at WRNI Radio, the National Public Radio affiliate in Providence. McElroy said he thought the application was fairly easy to complete, even though the deadline was earlier than most people ever found out about internships.
"The application process was straightforward, and I thought it was perfectly reasonable," McElroy said. "I didn't think it was really clear what the criteria was for choosing the winners, but I also think that's their prerogative."
McElroy will be cutting his hours in half at his internship to get a part-time job to cover his summer expenses.
Peoples wrote that the CDC does not offer any other sources of funding and can only direct unsuccessful students to other sources.
"We know of funding available through (the) Swearer Center (for Public Service) and (the) Watson (Institute for International Studies)," Peoples wrote. "Other funding sources may be available elsewhere on campus."
