Career Design Center Internship Support + Emergency Fund

Modeled after the UB Student Emergency Fund, the Internship Support + Emergency Fund is designed to provide limited, one-time financial support for students experiencing unexpected or exceptional financial need directly related to a current experiential learning opportunity—or one they are actively in the process of committing to. These opportunities may include, but are not limited to, internships, on-campus jobs, research assistantships, and education/study abroad.

Please note that the Internship Support + Emergency Fund is not intended to serve as income replacement for unpaid opportunities. Eligible expenses must represent clear barriers to participation and may include, but are not limited to, relocation/temporary housing, transportation, childcare, essential supplies, or emergencies that arise during the experience. Ineligible expenses include tuition + related fees, rent, car payments, and other ongoing living costs unrelated to your experiential learning opportunity.

Requests must demonstrate a specific financial need directly tied to the experiential learning opportunity and be supported with documentation, if necessary. Funding is awarded on a case-by-case basis and is subject to availability.

Please also note that we are unable to provide retroactive funding; expenses incurred prior to application submission unfortunately will not be considered. Furthermore, we cannot provide funding for past experiential learning experiences.

Additional Eligibility Criteria:
- Student must be currently enrolled at the University at Buffalo
- Must be currently participating in or actively pursuing an experiential learning opportunity.
- Student has not previously received emergency funding from UB for the same reason
- Students must have a Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) as awards are considered taxable income

Additional Program Information:
- Applicants can expect to receive outreach via their UB email within 7 business days of submission. Emergency requests will be prioritized and addressed as quickly as possible.
- Final funding decisions are typically made within 3-4 weeks of application submission

For any questions, please email jobs@buffalo.edu, and someone from the Career Design Center will be in touch.

Award
Most awards range from $500-$1,500
Departments
Career Design Center
Deadline
Supplemental Questions
  1. What is the current status of your experiential learning opportunity?
  2. What type of experiential learning opportunity is this?
  3. Where is your experiential learning opportunity taking place? Please provide both the organization name AND geographic location.
  4. When did this experiential learning opportunity begin? If it has not begun, what is the anticipated start date?
  5. When will this experiential learning opportunity end? If you are not sure, please provide an estimated date.
  6. How many hours have you already completed for this experiential learning opportunity?
  7. How many hours do you still have remaining for this experiential learning opportunity?
  8. What is the modality of your experiential learning opportunity?
  9. In at least 3-5 sentences, please describe the nature of this experience and your responsibilities, providing specific examples or details where possible. If you selected "Other" for type of experiential learning opportunity, please also describe the opportunity here.
  10. In at least 3-5 sentences, please explain how this experiential learning opportunity benefits your long-term career goals.
  11. Are you receiving academic credit for this opportunity?
  12. Name of experiential learning opportunity supervisor and contact information (email + phone number):
  13. Please provide the website affiliated with your experiential learning opportunity.
  14. Please upload proof of your experiential learning opportunity here.
  15. How much are you being paid for this experience? If this experience is unpaid, simply put "unpaid."
  16. Award amounts typically range from $500-$1500. Given this, how much total funding are you requesting?
  17. Which expense categories will directly affect your ability to participate in your experiential learning opportunity? Please select all that apply.
  18. Have you already paid for these expenses?
  19. Please provide an itemized breakdown of the selected expenses for which you are requesting support, including dollar amounts and purpose for each expense.
  20. In detail, how are the selected expenses impacting your ability to fully participate in your experiential learning opportunity?
  21. Please provide any relevant documentation (up to three documents) to further articulate your financial need.
    • Supporting Documentation #1
    • Supporting Documentation #2
    • Supporting Documentation #3
  22. How were you referred to the Internship Support + Emergency Fund? If a person referred you, please include their name and title/role.
  23. Have you previously received UB emergency funds OR funding from the Career Design Center? If yes, please list the specific funding source, when you received the funding, and how much funding you received.
  24. Do you have a Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)?
  25. If selected for funding, we will issue your award through a U.S. Bank Expense Card-- which will be considered taxable income. Please upload the appropriate tax document as outlined below.
  26. If selected for funding, awardees located in western New York are asked to pick up expense cards in person from 259 Capen Hall. If you do not live in WNY, please provide your current mailing address below.
  27. I understand that the Internship Support + Emergency Fund is unable to financially support wage replacement, tuition, UB fees, health insurance, textbooks, rent, car payments, and other ongoing living costs unrelated to your experiential learning opportunity.
  28. I confirm that I am submitting this application for an ongoing experiential learning opportunity or one that will begin within 60 days in which funding is needed. Applications for opportunities beginning in more than 60 days should wait to be submitted. If your situation does not meet this criteria but you would still like to be considered, please reach out directly.
  29. Once this application is submitted, someone from the Career Design Center will reach out via UB email in 7 business days. We aim to make a final funding decision and offer funding to accepted applicants within 20 business days. This includes scheduling a conversation with you if needed, requesting supplemental budget information, reviewing application materials, and working with our finance team to deliver approved funding via US Bank expense card.
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