Career Design Center Internship Equity Fund

The Summer 2026 Internship Equity Fund, supported by the State University of New York (SUNY), provides funding to actively enrolled University at Buffalo students who are pursuing unpaid summer internships with non-profit or government organizations and have a demonstrated financial need.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) defines an internship as a form of experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional workplace setting (across in-person, remote or hybrid modalities). While research can be a component of the internship, strictly research internships with not be considered for Internship Equity Funding.

To be eligible, you must:
- Be a UB student who will not graduate before August 2026
- Have a minimum 2.0 GPA and remain in good academic standing
- Intern for at least 100 internship hours during the Summer 2026 semester
- Be supervised by an employee at the host organization
- Have CPT authorization if you are an international student on an F-1 visa and participating in an off-campus internship
- Complete this student application and have your site supervisor submit the Site Supervisor Verification Form by the deadlines below

Important:
- Students who have previously received this award once are eligible to apply again; however, priority is given to students who have not previously received this award. Students who have previously received the Internship Equity Fund twice are not eligible.
- Students completing more than one unpaid internship during the same semester may apply for funding at ONE internship only. Hours completed across multiple internships cannot be combined or considered when determining eligibility.
- Your student application will not be reviewed until your Site Supervisor Verification Form has been submitted.

Key Deadlines
April 23, 2026:
- Deadline to submit for consideration under the priority review window (BOTH student application + site supervisor form must be submitted in order to be considered)
May 5, 2026:
- The committee will notify all applicants who applied by April 23 of funding decisions (via email).

May 21, 2026:
- Final deadline for applications (all student applications AND site supervisor forms must be submitted)
June 1, 2026:
- All other applicants notified of committee’s funding decision (via email)

Program Requirements (if selected)
- Attend a virtual Internship Equity Fund Orientation
- Complete reflection assignment(s) (information provided during orientation)
- Submit a final evaluation (both student and supervisor)

Award Details
Disbursed via U.S. Bank Expense Card in two halves.
- First half: early June for priority review window awardees, late June for other awardees
- Second half: mid-August for all awardees

Award
Awards range from $2000-$3000
Departments
Career Design Center, Financial Need
Deadline
05/21/2026
Supplemental Questions
  1. Have you secured an unpaid internship with a non-profit or government organization?
  2. How did you learn about this internship?
  3. Organization Details
    • 1. Name of Organization
    • 2. Physical Address of Organization
    • 3. Sector of Organization
    • 4. Organization Website
    • 5. Between May 26, 2026 and August 14, 2026, how many total hours will you intern with this organization? PLEASE DO NOT INCLUDE HOURS OUTSIDE OF THIS TIMEFRAME.
  4. Site Supervisor Information
    • 1. Name of site supervisor
    • 2. Title of site supervisor
    • 3. Email address of site supervisor
  5. Internship Details
    • 1. Title of position
    • 2. Format
    • 3. Describe what you will be doing on a typical day at your internship. Include specific tasks, responsibilities, and any larger projects you expect to work on. (Avoid general statements—be as specific as possible.)
    • 4. How will you make the most of this internship experience? Describe specific steps you plan to take to actively learn, contribute, and develop professionally.
    • 5. What professional connections do you expect to build through this internship? Describe who you hope to connect with, how you will build those relationships, and how they may support your future goals.
    • 6. How will this internship impact your career goals and future employment? Be specific about how this experience will shape, confirm, or refine your career path.
  6. Credit or Non-Credit Bearing
    • 1. Are you enrolled in an internship course for academic credit related to this opportunity?
    • 2. If you are receiving academic credit for this internship, please provide the specific course name. If you aren't receiving credit, please indicate, "N/A"
    • 3. If you aren't receiving credit for this internship, please select the reason(s) why.
    • 4. You've confirmed that this is an unpaid opportunity. How many paid internships did you apply to?
  7. Please describe your current financial situation and explain why this funding would be essential for your ability to participate in an unpaid internship. You may include details such as family income, financial aid status, work obligations, or any other relevant financial responsibilities or constraints.
  8. Mailing Address for May - July 2026
    • 1. Street Address
    • 2. Locality or City
    • 3. State
    • 4. Zip or Postal Code
  9. As Internship Equity Fund awards are considered taxable income, International Students must upload a completed copy of the W-8BEN (SSN or ITIN required), while all other students will upload a completed copy of the W-9.
  10. Eligibility Acknowledgements
    • I acknowledge that the Site Supervisor Verification Form must be completed by my site supervisor and that my application will not be considered complete until this verification form is submitted. It is my responsibility to share the verification form (linked below) with my supervisor and ensure it is completed.
    • I confirm that my uploaded W-8BEN or W-9 has been completely filled out, including my SSN/ITIN, signature and date.
    • If selected, I acknowledge that additional communication will come to my UB email and that timely responses are imperative to receiving funding.
    • If selected, I acknowledge that my funding may be forfeited at any time if it is determined that I am being financially compensated, Internship Equity Fund program requirements are not completed, or internship obligations are not fulfilled.
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