This past summer, 202 students received funding for internships, research fellowships, and other programs through the Career Exploration and Development Center’s new Internship+ program. Internship+, which was announced in fall 2021 and went into effect this year, allows third-years to receive up to $5,000 for unpaid or low-paid internships and other summer programs. 

Over half of these students took part in conventional internships at workplaces including Goldman Sachs, Columbia Records, and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Thirty-eight students used funding for research fellowships, and 50 Conservatory students financed performance opportunities at venues such as the Aspen Music Festival and Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute. Six students used funding for immersive academic programs, such as the Shakespeare in Italy summer course offered through the English department.

In total, the CED provided over $961,000 of funding to students for internships, research fellowships, and other summer experiences through a number of programs. The total is almost double the $493,000 awarded in 2023, and it went to 303 students compared to 197 last year. Most of this funding came through Internship+, which awarded $767,000.

Anthony Pernell-McGee, CED executive director and pre-law advisor, explained that the primary purpose of Internship+ is to provide students equitable access to internships.

“It levels the playing field for students … who cannot afford to take on an internship without any pay,” he said. “This will allow students who may be first-[generation] students or marginalized students the opportunity to take an internship with a non-profit [where] there’s no pay but the experience is very helpful.”

Internship+ is funded through the College’s general operating fund, though it also gets some money from donations and grants. Pernell-McGee said that the CED had a goal of dispersing a million dollars — a benchmark they came close to meeting.

Oberlin has offered funding for internships and other experiences during previous summers through programs such as Summer Experience Funding and Summer on the Cuyahoga, both of which still exist, and the Junior Practicum Program, which was replaced by Internship+. Summer Experience Funding is now primarily directed toward rising second- and third-years, according to Pernell-McGee. Summer on the Cuyahoga specifically places students in internships in the Cleveland area.

College fourth-year Riley Eaton worked as a research assistant for a small biotech company over the summer and received funding through Internship+. She said the program made her summer experience possible.

“The fact that I was able to actually devote pretty much full-time hours to this internship and not get another job that paid was really, really awesome for me, because otherwise I would’ve just had to go and probably get a restaurant job or something,” she said. “The fact that I got to do this scientific internship to begin with … was definitely in part because of the Internship+ funding.”

Eaton said that Internship+ allowed her to contact the company and offer to work for no pay, which led them to create an internship position specifically for her. The internship was mostly remote, but did require a trip to the company’s offices in Boston for a quarterly meeting. Internship+ provided funding for travel and staying in the city.

Director of Musical Studies and Senior Lecturer Kathryn Metz, who also serves as administrative coordinator for the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship, wrote in an email to the Review about how Internship+ makes it easier for students to pursue research opportunities.

“Financial restraints that make it difficult for students in research fellowships are pretty typical — college and life are prohibitively expensive for many,” she wrote. “Moreover, the [Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship] requires that students devote 40 hours each week for eight weeks of the summer to research, which means that they can’t work a job as well. The additional funds from the CED’s Internship+ program enabled students to live a little bit more comfortably and save a bit more of their funds.”

Pernell-McGee said he was very happy with how the first summer of Internship+ had gone. He said he had heard positive reports about student interns from employers. Next year, he said, he aims to get at least 300 students involved.