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The Scale Project Internship Equity Award was created predominately for first-generation, low-income students at Bard. There is an inherent class privilege that comes with accepting unpaid or low-pay internships, excluding low-income students from pursuing such opportunities and acquiring work experience in their discipline. This award provides financial support for unpaid interns within any field or industry to compensate students for their labor while also taking into consideration the myriad of costs involved with working an internship (cost of living, WiFi, various software and technology, transportation, etc.).
The SIEA will allow students to gain valuable experience, skills, knowledge, and connections within their chosen fields without the burden of having to financially support themselves due to the lack of, or insufficient amount of, payment.
Summer 2025 Award
Summer 2025 Award
Last Updated 3.10.25
Last Updated 3.10.25
The application will close Monday, April 21st.
Applicants will be contact early the week of April 20th to schedule an interview with a member of the selection committee. We want to reassure you that this interview is to get to know you better and to provide the space to express any other aspects of yourself that might not be reflected in your application.
Stay tuned for more details through updates on this website and the SCALE Project Instagram!
More Information
More Information
Requirements:
Requirements:
Must self-identify as a low-income or first-generation college student
Internships must span a minimum of 6 weeks, with at least 8 hours of work per week
Stipend Details
Stipend Details
In previous award cycles, the SIEA typically awards stipends of $2,000-$2,500 for the summer.
Most summers stipends are distributed in two installments, likely one in mid-late June and one in early July. Please find more details about what an award cycle looks like below:
"What does the process look like if I get the award?"
See below to get a glimpse at what will happen at the end of the spring semester and during the summer if you end up receiving the SIEA!
End of Spring Semester:
End of Spring Semester:
Award Decisions are typically released late April-early May
Recipients have around one week to verbally accept the award (usually just an email confirming you will accept the award).
After accepting the award, the following onboarding tasks are required:
Confirmation of Summer Internship
Supervisor Form (A short google form your internship's supervisor will fill out to confirm that you are working with them that summer).
Liability form for recipient (outlines specific guidelines for what the award is/is not responsible for)
Payroll information/Logistics for award distribution (most recpients opt to recieve their stipends through Bard payroll, the same way all student employment at Bard is paid.
Once all of the infomation is confirmed and payroll is set up, the recipient is set with the award! From there, a SCALE team member will communicate with recipients about the dates the stipend will come out.
Summer:
Summer:
The SIEA includes 2-3 required check-ins with a SCALE team member. Since the SCALE team is connected with Bard staff and career development, we use these informal check-ins to make sure that participants are supported throughout the summer.
These are informal and intended to be student-centered by centering the needs of each recipient.
Examples include:
Checking-in about and/or support with working conditions
Basic needs that can be supported better through adjustments of award details (such as stipend distribution dates)
career/networking peer support to make the most out of their summer internships.
At the end of the summer, the SCALE team gauges recipient experiences to see if there are any adjustments that can be made. We ask participants for feedback in order to structure the program around directly supporting recipients.
Internship Resources:
Internship Resources:
More Funding Opportunities for Unpaid or Low-paying internships:
More Funding Opportunities for Unpaid or Low-paying internships:
Bard has several opportunities for stipends meant to compensate unpaid or low-paying internships. While some awards require students to have internships in specific field, no student is limited to applying to just one internship award. Other stipend opportunities include:
Civic Engagement Center & Career Development Office: Community Action Award (application opening on website March 1, 2025).
Community Action Awards (CAA) fund community-facting and public-oriented internships. "CAAs provide funding for participation in unpaid (or underpaid, depending on the applicant pool) internships that address issues impacting traditionally underserved populations around the world. Each award application is reviewed by a Selection Committee composed of faculty and staff members. Typically, awards range from $1,500 to $4,000 (depending on availability of funding) to support student efforts to engage with communities locally, nationally, and internationally."
"This money is meant to support a non-paid internship in violence, trauma, rape crisis, mental health, or advocacy. Your internship period must be a minimum of four weeks or eight weeks (respectively) in duration and MUST be supervised."
*If you are aware of any funding opportunities for Internships that are not listed here, please reach out to scaleprojectbard@gmail.com!*
Finding an Internship
Finding an Internship
Applying to internships can feel like an abyss, with many students applying to mass amount of jobs and often not getting an email back. Many students have been successful with finding jobs that are vetted by other students or local in the Bard area. Oftentimes, sites looking for interns are connected with the Career Development Office, the Bard Civic Engagement Center, or any Bard office, staff, or faculty. Here are a few resources/tip for getting connected to an internship:
The CDO has career advisors whose aim is to connect students to potential jobs. On the student end, you can meet with an advisor for things like resume and cover letter review, mock interviews. What many students miss, howver, is that on the other end CDO advisors are connecting with job sites, alumni, and more potential connections between students and prospective jobs. This means that not only are they great to learn networking from, they also may know exactly the people you want to hire you.
A great time to take advantage of this is the Spring Internship Fair. Typically in April, the internship fair consists of a myriad of organizations looking to hire summer interns.
The above link leads to the CDO website, however, you can also find their Handshake page here which includes many additional direct resources, which you can also find below in the Direct Application Resources Section:
On-Campus Summer Jobs:
On-Campus Summer Jobs:
Bard offers several consistent jobs over the summer. Job opportunities typically include:
Civic Engagement Center
Fischer Center/SummerScape
Bard Summer Research Institute (BSRI)
Ask a professor in your department if they have any research you could help them with or if they know any internships you could apply for! With the many stipend opportunities, doing things like research with a professor become possible. Oftentimes, departments may have funing they can use as well. It is always worth it to speak with teachers, staff, and mentors in the community for jobs of interest.
This is where you will find the majority of internships, especially on campus (though it also includes off-campus opportunities)
On-Campus Jobs for the summer are typically posted around January, and hiring processes typically take place around March (this is general, for some - not all, positions near Bard. It is best to be in the practice of checking handshake for the positions you have in mind!).
Direct Resources
Direct Resources
CDO Resource Guides:
CDO Resource Guides:
General Guide to Finding Internships and Jobs
Includes links to a ton of resources for different career paths and opportunities!
Pre-Professional Resource Guides
Email Templates:
Email Templates:
How to Give a Two Weeks' Notice (w/ examples)
Tips for Follow-Up Email after Interview (w/ examples)
Dos and Don'ts for Asking Professors for Research Opportunities
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