Internship Support Grants
To enhance student opportunities for internships in the College of Liberal Arts, the Office of the Dean will offer annually up to ten grants to defray the direct costs of participating in internships when such expenses would represent a particular financial challenge for students. The maximum grant will be $500.
Eligibility
These grants shall be open to any student enrolled in an unpaid internship for academic credit in the College of Liberal Arts at either the undergraduate or graduate level. Grants are only available during the semester in which the internship will be completed (grants are not retroactive). Grants are available only to students and shall be paid directly to their accounts (i.e. not to internship granting institutions or faculty advisors).
Application Procedure
To be considered for a grant, students shall
- Submit the application coversheet.
- Submit a one-page letter of application. The application letter will describe the internship for which they are requesting support, provide a specific statement indicating how they will use the funds, and provide a brief explanation of the need for financial assistance. The application will also include a short statement of support from their internship advisor.
Application forms will be posted on the CLA website, and announcements about due dates will be circulated regularly.
Direct costs may include transportation costs between the campus and the internship site, parking fees at the site, or other fees or costs immediately associated with the internship. Direct costs may not include any fee or contribution paid to the internship sponsor or personal items such as clothing. Consistent with financial regulations and procedures, students may need to submit receipts or expense statements for funds dispersed, if requested.
In some cases, students may need to know whether they will receive financial support before accepting an internship, and in others, they may need to begin the internship before fully recognizing its costs. Therefore, two due dates may be established for each semester as experience warrants (one before the semester begins and one two weeks into the semester).
Selection Procedure
Each year the dean, or his representative, shall convene a committee composed of three internship directors from CLA, one chair, and an ex-officio representative from the dean's office to evaluate applications and award the grants. The committee may consider the nature of the expenses described, demonstrated need, the significance of the internship in the student's academic program, and, when appropriate, wider institutional needs (such as the desire to develop a relationship with an internship site).
Grants are limited to one semester only, and students are limited to one CLA Internship
Support Grant during their careers at Towson.
Departmental Participation
Departments that are able to do so may contribute to the cost of internship awards for students from department funds held by the TU Foundation in order to extend the opportunities for internship awards more broadly.
Payment
University regulations require that any payment to a student that is not regarded as taxable income be distributed as a credit to the student's Towson account, following the process that is used for scholarships. The funds will be credited toward any outstanding obligations of the student or, if the account has been settled, the amount of the award will be reimbursed to the student by the Student & University Billing Office.