What is the purpose of Career Services Summer Funding?
Career Services has funds to allow some select students to pursue unfunded or under-funded summer opportunities. Awards are intended to cover travel expenses, living expenses, and/or other expenses related to the summer experience, up to $5,000. Funds are for the students‘ needs only, distributed directly to the student, and are not intended to replace any salary or stipend your organization may be able to provide.
Please note that No Documentation is Required to Apply. Applicants can be U.S. citizens, permanent residents, international students, DACAmented students, or undocumented students.
What do students need from me, or from my organization, in order to apply for summer funding?
Students must have confirmation of an offer of their summer experience in order to apply for Career Services Summer Funding. This confirmation can be a formal offer letter or an email confirmation of the summer experience from their direct supervisor or human resources department.
*UPDATE ON RESEARCH EXPERIENCES*
Students must apply through the Common Research Application at CURF if the research is conducted with a Penn faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania or Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Non-Penn research opportunities are eligible for consideration of funding through Career Services.
Are students guaranteed funding?
No, students are not guaranteed funding, even when they meet all the eligibility criteria. Applying for Career Services Summer Funding is a competitive process, and not all applicants will be awarded funding.
What types of experiences are eligible for funding?
Internships or research opportunities must be at least 8 weeks in length, and at least 30 hours per week to be eligible for funding.
Fee-based internship programs are NOT eligible for funding, and funds are not to apply to future savings or costs. Career Services Summer Funding awards can only be applied to costs associated with summer professional experiences.
What is the timeline for students to apply, and to learn if their experience will be funded?
We encourage students to apply for the earliest round that they are eligible for so that they can have their funding disbursed to them before the summer begins. Note that these are not rolling deadlines, and applications will be reviewed all at once following each deadline.
| Round #1 | Round #2 | Round #3 | |
| Application Deadline | Sunday, February 23, 2025 at 11:00pm EST | Sunday, March 23, 2025 at 11:00pm EST | Sunday, April 13, 2025 at 11:00pm EST |
| Decisions Emailed | Friday, March 14, 2025 by 5:00pm EST | Friday, April 11, 2025 by 5:00pm EST | Friday, May 2, 2025 by 5:00pm EST |
| Deadline to Accept Award | Friday, March 21, 2025 at 12:00pm EST | Friday, April 18, 2025 at 12:00pm EST | Friday, May 9, 2025 at 12:00pm EST |
| **Estimated** Award Disbursement | Friday, April 4, 2025 by 5:00pm EST | Friday, May 2, 2025 by 5:00pm EST | Friday, May 30, 2025 by 5:00pm EST |
Please note that the above dates of award disbursement are estimated; while Career Services will make all efforts to pay selected students by the designated dates, delays may occur.
What is the typical summer funding grant amount from Career Services?
Award amounts vary per awardee, up to $5,000. In 2024, awards ranged from $500 – $5,000, which was the maximum possible award. The average award for 2024 was $4,113.
