Summer Experience Grant Applicant Resources

Thank you for your interest in applying for the Summer Experience Grant. There are a variety of resources to assist you during the application process.  We are available to provide you with the support needed for you to succeed.

Available Funding Options

The SEG application connects students to a variety of summer funding opportunities available to all undergraduate students and funding opportunities based on their primary college. By using one application, students can apply to a variety of funding sources. Please review details below.

  • Student Assembly Summer Experience Grant – The maximum award for Student Assembly is $5,000.
  • Summer Experience Grant – This award is open to undergraduates from all Colleges. Students may receive up to $5,000, due to the generosity of alumni donors.
  • The Dr. J.W. Landau Summer Experience Fund for Veterans – This award was created in 2021 to support veteran students pursuing unpaid or minimally paid summer experiences, such as internships and research. This award is available to undergraduates who have served at least one year of honorable service in one of the US military branches. Up to $3,600 will be awarded each summer.
  • Vicki Saporta Social Justice Internship Fund – This award is open to Cornell undergraduates who will work in nonprofit organizations, domestic or international, that pursue progressive agendas, including, but not limited to, women’s rights, women’s reproductive health and rights, human rights, workers’ rights, organized labor, immigrants’ rights, environmental conservation, gun control, animal welfare, and labor unions. The intern role itself should involve active engagement in the organization’s focus. Preference is given to ILR students. The fund was established by Vicki Saporta BSILR ’74.

Undergraduate students in the College of Arts & Sciences will be considered for A&S specific awards. A&S funds have a maximum award of $6,000/student. Students residing in university housing (at Cornell or elsewhere) and/or students on financial aid with high need may exceed the $6,000 limit. These applications will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. Students should ensure that their budget form and application are detailed and thorough.  

In addition to funding available for all eligible experiences there is funding available for:

  • students on financial aid
  • first-generation college students
  • Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) participants
  • students who are traveling internationally
  • experiences at Weill Cornell Medicine
  • experiences in the field of journalism/communication, with a preference for students from The Cornell Daily Sun
  • experiences in think tanks/government in Washington, DC (funded by the Berger Grant).

The ILR School provides funding to both BSILR and MILR students. While MILRs are not eligible for the university-wide undergraduate funds, they are eligible for the Marlene F. Blumin, Ph.D., Graduate Internship Support Fund and should apply directly with the ILR Office of Career Services by sending an email to ilrcareers@cornell.edu. BSILR students who apply to the SEG will be considered for all university-wide funding and for ILR alumni-funded awards. ILR undergraduates do not need to specify for which awards they wish to be considered, as staff reviewing the awards will consider them for any funding for which they meet the eligibility criteria.

Brooks School Student Opportunity Grants: This donor-sponsored funding is designed to give Brooks School students additional access to unpaid opportunities in the field of public policy and public affairs. Any current undergraduate or professional master’s student enrolled in the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy and in good academic standing is eligible to apply. Each funding opportunity will support multiple students across all programs. The total number of awards will depend on the size and nature of requests. Each student is eligible for only one internship grant and one research grant during their time at the Brooks School for Public Policy. To learn more, please visit: Brooks Student Opportunity Grants Page

The Dyson Summer Internship Funding is a collection of funding awards provided by alumni donors, which provide financial support for students to participate in summer unpaid or minimally paid career-related experiences.

The goal of our Dyson Summer Funding is to help financially offset the cost of participating in summer internships and transformative experiences. The funding supports students with living expenses (including security deposits), daily transportation, and food so that these essential career experiences are available to all Dyson students. We encourage any student who needs financial support to complete this application.

The maximum amount of funding available per student is $2,500 so that we can support multiple students. If you have extenuating circumstances and need additional funding, please provide additional documentation in your application.

The Human Ecology Alumni Sponsored Internship Funding is designed to aid students’ participation in unpaid or minimally paid career-related summer experiences. This does not apply to credit-bearing programs. The funding is meant to help students who would not otherwise be able to take on this type of opportunity. Deadline to apply is Saturday, March 14, 2026.

Please e-mail Andrea Poag at alp232@cornell.edu with any questions.

Due to the typical size of the applicant pool, Engineering students who have a Cornell-based summer research experience with a Cornell faculty member (either at the Ithaca campus or Cornell Tech) are highly encouraged to apply to the Office of Inclusive Excellence (OIE): Engineering Student Grants Program rather than the SEG to maximize your chances of being funded. Please note that this program has an earlier deadline than SEG.

Eligible Expenses

  • Living expenses (e.g., rent, utilities, food)
  • Moving to and from an experience location (e.g., bus, plane, or train ticket)
  • Daily transportation to experience site (e.g., public transportation fare, mileage)
  • Equipment and software necessary for the experience
  • Supplies necessary for field work or position/industry specific needs 
  • Professional clothing, lab attire, or other attire needed to complete the experience

Common Expenses

We have created a resource of common expenses that past applicants have found useful when considering a temporary summer relocation. This resource includes both general categories as well as place-specific resources.

You can review the common expenses resource here.

Ineligible Expenses

  • Travel to home address
  • Clothing other than a required uniform or professional attire
  • Insurance (auto, health, renters)
  • Personal travel
  • Medical expenses
  • Entertainment
  • Gym membership
  • Purchase/Lease of a vehicle
  • Rental car
  • Laptop/Desktop computer
  • Tuition
  • Savings for the next academic year
  • Emergency funding

Students who are awarded SEG funding will be asked to provide receipts of major expenses, such as rent, commuting costs, travel, etc., at the end of the summer.

Application Selection Details

The Selection Committee will evaluate applications based on the following criteria:

  • Financial need
  • Fit with career interests and goals
  • Benefit to student
  • Thoroughness of application
  • Strength of essays

We encourage all students to apply, however students with high financial need will be given preference. If you have extenuating circumstances contributing to your need, we encourage you to make that case in your application. When the selection committee reviews your application, they may make edits to the proposed budget section which may alter the original funding amount proposed. Applicants whose experience income is greater than their expenses will most likely not be considered for the Summer Experience Grant.

The Cornell Career Network provides the Summer Experience Grant, as well as other funding sources related to students’ professional development. Students are expected to follow the same professional protocols in applying to funding through the Cornell Career Network as they do when submitting a job or graduate school application. Falsifying, omitting, and/or misrepresenting information on an application or any materials for funding through Cornell Career Network will result in a denial of the application and/or repayment of funding. In addition, students will be ineligible to receive Cornell Career Network funding in the future.