OVERVIEW

There is one central application process for the Humanities@Work Summer Stipends, the Feldman Grants, and the Cramer Fellowships. Students who submit a complete application will automatically be considered for all of the opportunities for which they meet the eligibility requirements.

Eligibility

  • Each of these funds can be used to support humanities majors who are offered a meaningful summer internship that is unpaid or underpaid.
  • The eligibility, funding pool, and selection criteria vary for each award. Students wishing to apply should carefully review the guidelines for each funding opportunity so that they understand these criteria and expectations.
  • Please note that summer experiences which charge the student tuition and/or fees are not eligible for any of these awards.

The 2023 Summer Funding Application deadline is 12:00 pm on Thursday, April 27.


TO APPLY

The following materials are required of all applicants:

  1. The Online Cover Sheet
  2. The Application Essay (see guidelines below)
  3. A Copy of the internship offer from your employer,
    or a list of the internships to which you have applied*
  4. Your Budget
  5. Your Resume
  6. An unnofficial copy of your CWRU Transcript
  7. A Confidential Letter of Recommendation from your Humanities advisor**
Once you have filled out the online cover sheet and completed all of your application materials, combine them into a single pdf (items 2 – 6 above), then email that pdf document bakernord@case.edu.

*Students who have not yet received a firm internship offer should still apply for funding. Award recipients will have to provide a copy of the final offer letter prior to receiving the first disbursement of your stipend.

**Applications are not complete until we receive the advisor’s letter of recomendation, which can also be sent directly to bakernord@case.edu.


Guidelines for Writing Your Application Essay

The application essay should be a concise  description of the internship opportunity and why it is important to you. You should put consideWe recommend that you organize your essay into five paragraphs, as follows:

¶ 1

Key Details

  • What are the key details of your summer plans? Be sure to include:
    • the title or role for which you have received an offer
    • the name of the employer that you have received the offer from
    • the location of the internship (city, state, country)
    • the length of your internship, including the start and end dates for your position
    • the number of hours that you will work per week
¶ 2
The Position &
Summer Goals
  • What are the tasks and responsibilities that you will have as an intern?
  • What are the skills that you expect to learn this summer?
¶ 3
Longterm
Goals
  • How does the internship support your post-graduation plans, career goals, and/or passions?
    (Passions can be scholarly, community-driven, social justice, familial creative, etc.)

¶ 4
Preparedness

  • How have your major, coursework, and/or extracurricular activities at CWRU have prepared you for this work experience?

 

¶ 5
Budget &
Financial Need

  • A prose summary that justifies your summer budget and funding request, including:
    • How much funding are you requesting here?
    • Will your employer provide any form of financial compensation?
      (This includes stipends, wages, salary, travel reimbursements, tuition/fees, etc.)
    • How are you going to pay for expenses in excess of this summer funding award?
    • What is your family/household’s overall level of financial need?
      (As determined by the CWRU Office of Financial Aid)

 

 


AFTER THE APPLICATION

TIMELINE, REPORTING, & ACCEPTANCE REQUIREMENTS

April 26 All summer funding applications to the Baker-Nord Center are due.
May 12
Award decisions will be communicated to most students by this date.
June 1 Approximately the earliest you should expect to receive the first disbursement.
(This is usually equal to half of your total funding award.)
July 1 All funding recipients are required to write and submit a 1-page mid-summer report describing the first half (roughly) of their summer internship. Please be candid. We want to know if things aren’t going smoothly. We can help you strategize ways to improve the remaining weeks, and in some cases we might also be able to communicate directly with your supervisor/employer.
July 15 Approximately the earliest you should expect to receive the second disbursement.
(This is usually equal to half of your total funding award.)
August 15 All funding recipients are required to submit a 1-2 page final report.
Again, please be candid. The point of these reports is for us to learn about the full spectrum of joys and challenges that our award recipients face each summer. Even if we can’t do anything to improve your experience, your feedback will help us better prepare future students for their summer experiences and even to steer some of them towards/away from certain opportunities.
September
All funding recipients are required to attend a lunch celebration during the fall semester.
This is an opportunity to meet other award winners from accross the College of Arts and Sciences, so that you can share and learn from one another’s summer experiences. It is a fun and healthy lunch, and a once-a-year networking opportunity. Excused absences can be granted on a case-by-case basis.
The Next 5 Years… All recipients are required to acknowledge their summer funding award on their resume and/or CV.
This is a standard best practice. The alumni and donors who make these awards possible would also be grateful if you would share the name of your award on websites and social media, especially when/if you write or give interviews about your summer learning experiences.

 


ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

Here is a Sample Budget. Your own budget should demonstrate that you have thought through the financial responsibilities and rewards of your internship experience, as well as to communicate what expenses (if any) the Humanities@Work scholarship will be applied to. Please note that (i) your budget can include a salary or hourly-wage equivalent, and (ii) your total budget is not necessarily the same as the amount that you may want to request from the Humanities@Work Scholarship Funding.

Postgraduate Planning and Experiential Education has created the CWRU Career Search Guide. It is an excellent resource on a number of topics, including:

  • How to create your first resume
  • Writing cover letters
  • Preparing for interviews
  • And many more.