Internship & Service Grant

The Graduate Internship & Service Grant supports graduate students who have independently arranged summer internships or volunteer opportunities in Europe. The grant funds a variety of foreign-language and English-speaking opportunities that allow students to build their professional experience while simultaneously sharpening their knowledge of European languages and cultures. Internship and service experiences should have an essential rather than accidental relationship to their setting in Europe. Graduate research grants are available to all graduate students in satisfactory academic standing with at least a 3.0 GPA and those not enrolled beyond the degree completion limits set by the graduate school. Internship and service funding can be used toward travel, lodging, and modest living expenses during the internship or service project. Maximum award: $6,000.

Apply for Graduate Grant

How to apply

Students applying for a Graduate Internship & Service Grant must submit the following documents:

• 2-3 page proposal outlining the internship or service project, host organization, qualifications and overall rationale behind the project. Students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Institute’s research priorities and articulate how their work aligns with or contributes to these goals.
• Placement confirmation: students are required to submit placement documentation including materials from the employing organization that confirm its acceptance of the student as an intern or volunteer. If the internship or volunteer arrangement has not been made official before the application deadline, students may note this in their application and the Institute may issue an award letter contingent on proof of placement documentation.
• Current CV.
• Detailed budget: for budgeting guidelines and restrictions please see effective budgeting.
• Faculty letter of recommendation: the letter should be from a faculty member at Notre Dame who is familiar with the student’s professional aspirations and the details of the specific internship or service project being proposed. An effective faculty letter will explicitly reflect upon the importance and viability of the internship or service project. Faculty letters that do not evince a familiarity with the student’s proposal will greatly disadvantage the student’s chances for receiving funding from the Institute. Faculty will be prompted to submit their letters after the student application has been submitted, but may send it directly to Anna Dolezal, student programs assistant director, if they prefer.

Award Expectations and Requirements

Grant recipients are required to obtain the proper permissions for international travel from Notre Dame International prior to payment of the stipend. Once awarded, the funding must be used to complete the proposed internship or service by the beginning of the next academic year.

Combined funding from this grant and other sources may not exceed the proposed budget total, and applicants must promptly inform the Nanovic Institute of additional funding received at any point from application submission through completion of the internship. Recipients must return any paid funds if they cancel the scheduled internship and must repay any non-refundable expenses incurred by the Nanovic Institute (i.e. airfare directly paid) if cancellation is not due to documented illness or another justifying circumstance.

After completing the internship or service opportunity, grant recipients must provide the Nanovic Institute with a 500-1000 word report about the experience and its outcome, as well as at least three photos from the internship or project. Reports and photographs must be submitted through the online portal according to the directions in the grant award packet by the deadline communicated at the time of award. Unless permission is expressly denied, the Nanovic Institute retains permission to share these reports and photographs.