CPBL Internship Scholarship Faculty Sponsor FAQs

The LAS Community- and Project-Based Learning Internship Scholarship supports student interns as they work on clearly-defined projects for non-profit, non-governmental, or governmental organizations. Project-based learning is an approach to education that allows students to apply their classroom experiences and learning to projects that address “real world problems.”

In their scholarship applications, students must clearly describe the project(s) on which they will be working during their internship. They can often benefit from faculty assistance and advising on this point, so faculty should be sure to inquire about this aspect of a student’s internship and scholarship application.

When applying, it is also essential that students be able to articulate the connection between their project and the work of the community organization for whom they are interning. Please be aware that that the committee may ask for additional information on the project if it is not clearly described.

Faculty sponsors should be able to explain how the students’ project is both responsive to the needs of the internship site and the students’ skills and goals. Projects should contribute directly to the work of the organization, but also deepen student understanding of the organization’s mission, constituencies, and/or challenges.

Eligible projects are activities that result in a tangible product of some kind. There are many different types of projects that result in all kinds of products (products are sometimes called deliverables). In addition, student contribution to the project should require their independent or creative effort, and result in something over which they can rightly claim at least partial ownership.

Projects are thus not the same thing as a list of tasks, nor are they the same thing as a job description.

Some projects may be team-based, in which students work collaboratively with a number of people at your internship site on all aspects of the project. Others may be more independent, in which students work on aspects of a larger project to which many individuals are contributing, or they may be entirely independent, something for which a student alone is responsible.

Some projects may be started and completed within the time frame of your internship, but others may have begun before you join the effort, and continue beyond the tenure of your internship.

Regardless, student projects should provide them with the opportunity to develop and improve their skills in critical thinking, written and/or oral communication, and collaboration. In other words, the project should be a vehicle for independent learning and growth.

Some examples of project-based activities include (but are not limited to):

• developing tutoring plans or curricula
• developing new processes or protocols
• developing training modules or manuals
• developing and/or designing statistical models, maps, or surveys
• designing and/or conducting research
• developing and/or producing specialty materials
• designing and/or mounting exhibits, performances, or events
• creating and/or supporting the creation of an archive
• planning and/or writing white papers, newsletters, or other texts
• designing and/or creating websites or multi-media presentations
• designing and/or conducting program evaluations.

Non-project-based internships are dominated by regular, repeated tasks for the site, or by clinical or educational interactions that do not result in a deliverable. These types of internships can provide great learning experiences, but they are not generally consistent with project-based learning.

Examples of non-project-based activities:

• routine clerical tasks
• routine intake or distribution processes
• tutoring
• learning only through observation of processes others are executing
• maintaining or updating records that are part of day-to-day business.

If you have questions about whether your student’s internship is project-based, please first contact your contact at the internship site to discuss. Internship sites are often willing to work with interns and their faculty sponsors to co-design a project, if one does not already exist.

Questions can also be directed to Associate Dean Margaret Storey in the College of LAS at mstorey@depaul.edu.

Currently enrolled rising sophomore, junior, senior, or Master's students in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. Students whose home college is not LAS, but who have a double major or minor in a program within LAS, are also eligible. The student must be in good academic and disciplinary standing. For further details, please reference the Community- and Project-Based Learning Internship Scholarships page.

If your student is paid:

• Students who are in a student employment position or internship with DePaul, and are paid by DePaul, may not apply. Therefore, the C & D job levels (considered internships at DePaul) are not eligible for this offering.

If your student is not paid:

• Students who are in a non-paid DePaul affiliated position, may apply. However, consideration is up to the discretion of the Selection Committee and if selected, must be approved by student-employment prior to being awarded.

Academic Year 2023-2024 Awards:
Undergraduate: $3,032
Graduate: $3,032

Financial need is not a requirement, but it must be assessed as a part of this award. Students must have a FAFSA on file, but are not required to accept any loans. Students may file a FAFSA at any time. If students have quetions about to do so, they may contact Financial Aid.

If a student cannot file a FAFSA for any reason, but wishes to be considered for this scholarship or any other scholarship requiring need, direct them to contact Financial Aid and/or DePaul Central for options. Student may visit them on either campus (SAC 101 or DePaul Center 9001) or contact them via phone (312-362-8610) or email (dpcl@depaul.edu). This should be done prior to applying.

Students may find their internships through any of the normal processes, though we encourage them to use Handshake, Indeed.com, LinkedInJobs.com, or Google.jobs.

It is also the case that the intership may be arranged through their departmental internship coordinator or faculty member.

To be eligible for a scholarship, an internship must simply be with a non-profit, non-governmental, or governmental organization and allow a student to work on a project using skills or knowledge related to the area of academic interest.

Students who do their internships during the academic year must earn academic credit while doing so, through the University Internship Program, a departmental or program internship course, or independent study. The number of credit hours earned is dependent on the nature of the course taken, per faculty advisor guidance.

Student who complete their internships over the summer are not required to earn academic credit while doing so, though they may if they wish.

As a faculty sponsor for a student applying for or receiving a CPBL scholarship, you have three main areas of responsibility.

Pre-Award
First, you are responsible for advising the student about the academic components or requirements of the internship, as well as any implications of the internship for the student's degree progress. It is expected that you will also have some expertise in the academic areas relevant to the student's work at the internship site.

Second, you are responsible for confirming that the student’s internship includes a clearly-defined project, as outlined above, and that the student is able to describe that project clearly in their application materials. Please be aware that that the committee may ask for additional information on the project if it is not clearly described.

Third, you are responsible for submitting the Internship Validation Form, in which you explain the specifics of the internship, the project, and your recommendation that the student be considered for a CPBL scholarship. You will receive a prompt with the link to submit the form once the student's scholarship application has been submitted.

Note: Internship Validation Forms may only be submitted via the DePaul Scholarship Connect tool.

Post-Award
Finally, once the student is actively placed in the internship, you are responsible for maintaining regular communication with the student, and the internship site coordinator, to monitor the student's progress in the internship and the status of the project on which the student is working.

Student apply through the DePaul Scholarship Connect tool. Please direct them to these step-by-step instructions for further assistance.