The Brown Internship Award Program will double the number of recipients this year and increase the maximum award amount from $2,500 to $3,000.
"Through the generosity of an anonymous donor, we will be able to give twice as many summer internship awards this year than we have been able to give in past years," Dean of the College Katherine Bergeron wrote in an email to The Herald.
The program has also been renamed the "Brown LINK Award — Linking Internships and Knowledge." LINK awards provide up to $3,000 each to undergraduate students, mostly rising juniors and seniors, who are seeking funding for unpaid internships or internships that pay less than $1,000. The maximum amount awarded in previous years was $2,500. Students are required to have already received an internship position at the time of application, according to the CareerLAB website.
"Given the current job market, taking unpaid internships is something you have to do, but it can be prohibitive for a lot of people," said Gregory Cohan '14. Cohan used his award last summer to work with a non-governmental organization in Nicaragua. "They're willing to fund a diverse array of things," he said.
Stephanie Vasquez '13 received funding from the program to work at a children's hospital in California last summer. "It's very valuable because it allows students to participate in internships they may otherwise overlook due to the amount they're paid," she said.
The program should consider "building more of a community" between the students who receive funding, said Priya Gaur '13, who worked with the Environmental Justice League of Rhode Island last summer.
Though Vasquez said she thought the program was "solid," she said it could increase its presence on campus and provide funding for winter internships.
