Community- and Project-Based Learning (CPBL) Internship Scholarships

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 your scholarship application, you must clearly describe the project(s) on which you will be working during your internship.

When applying, it is also essential that you be able to articulate the connection between your project and the work of the community organization for whom you are interning.

Your project should be designed to be responsive to the needs of the internship site, not only your personal or professional interests. Ideally, the project will unite the needs of the organization with your skills and goals. In this way, it will allow you not only to contribute directly to the work of the organization, but to deepen your understanding of that organization’s mission, constituencies, and/or challenges.

Please be aware that that the committee may ask for additional information on the project if it is not clearly described.

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, your contribution to the project should require your independent or creative effort, and result in something over which you 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 you work collaboratively with a number of people at your internship site on all aspects of the project. Others may be more independent, in which you work on aspects of a larger project to which many individuals are contributing, or they may be entirely independent, something for which you alone are 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, your project should provide you with the opportunity to develop and improve your 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 internship is project-based, please first contact your faculty sponsor and 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.

You are eligible to apply if you meet the following requirements:

• You are a currently enrolled rising sophomore, junior, senior, or Master's student 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 eligible.)
• You are in good academic and disciplinary standing with the University.
• You have not received another scholarship for this internship (internships for which you are receiving wages from the internship site are eligible).
• You are committed to an internship of at least 10 weeks in length. (Please do not apply if you cannot make this 10-week committment.)
• You have made arrangements with a faculty member in the College of LAS to act as your Faculty Sponsor and to fill out a Faculty Sponsor Validation Form on your behalf. (This form is not a letter of recommendation, but instead a brief form seeking the faculty's input in support of your internship. We will send the form to your sponsor upon receipt of your application.)
  

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

• Your internship will allow you to work on a project or projects related to your academic skills or interests, designed in collaboration with the internship site, for the benefit of the community or organization.
• Your internship will take place at a domestic or international non-profit, non-governmental organization, or government entity.

No internship with a DePaul office, center, or affiliated project is eligible for the CPBL scholarship. However, students are allowed to work within DePaul while holding an internship external to DePaul.

No, students may not apply for a scholarship to support an internship at their current place of employment.

Internships during the regular academic year must be credit bearing, though the amount of credit earned through the associated course is up to the student and their academic or internship advisor to determine. Associated courses may be formal internship courses, independent studies, or content courses, as appropriate to the student's degree program.

*Summer internships are not required to be credit-bearing. However, if students would like credit, they may opt to obtain credit in the spring, summer or fall quarter. The application will direct students on how best to select their credit option. For summer only, applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis so that students may make early decisions on their placement.

• Internship sites must commit to providing the student with the opportunity to work on a project that is related to their academic skills and interests.
• Internship sites must commit to providing the student's faculty sponsor with feedback on the work of the student, as per the site agreement or unit requirements, as well as compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) guidelines (U.S. sites only).

• Fully confirmed internships will be prioritized over those still being developed. We will accept applications for internships still in the development stage, but a large part of our assessment will focus on the quality and relevance of the specific site/experience being proposed and whether the position has been confirmed. Scholarships may be awarded contingently to students whose internship is still in development, but funds will not be disbursed until confirmation of placement has ben submitted.
• All things being equal, students at later stages of their college or graduate careers will receive preference.
• All things being equal, students who have never had an internship will receive preference.
• Potential impact of the internship on your studies and career. All internships are valuable, but we aim to fund those most likely to give you the opportunity to apply your knowledge and skills in ways that enhance and expand your learning at DePaul and help you build a portfolio of experiences and projects within your areas of interest.
• Care and quality of application preparation will also be taken into consideration.
• Please be aware that that the committee may ask for additional information on the project if it is not clearly described.

Applicants for CPBL scholarships must complete our online scholarship application with DePaul Scholarship Connect, as follows:

1. Name, contact information, demographic information, emergency contacts, safety waiver, degree program details, name of internship site, and inclusive dates (confirmed or proposed) of internship.
2. Description of Internship Activities:
• Describe your internship site (or intended site) and its mission.
• Describe your internship role and anticipated responsibilities, including the project(s) that you will be working on, as you understand them now.
• How will this internship relate to your academic interests or skills, and what do you hope to learn that will enhance your education?
• How does this internship fit with what you have already done, and what you hope to do in the future? How will this internship facilitate your exploration of a career/vocation?
• Why should you be selected for funding?
• If this is an international internship, describe your plans for travel, housing, and general safety/support. International internships may not be in countries on the U.S. State Department Restricted Travel Warning List. NOTE: If your internship is international, you must be registered with the Office of Global Engagement 90 days prior to departure. You must also purchase DePaul University's travel health and accident insurance plan provided by Cultural Insurance Services International, CISI. Further information will be provided upon selection and failure to register will revoke your internship funding.
3. An unofficial transcript.
4. The name, title, and department/program of your faculty sponsor.

Once you have submitted your application, your faculty sponsor will be contacted by us to complete the Internship Validation Form. It is essential that you have spoken with and received the consent of a faculty member to act as your sponsor, and that your sponsor is willing to oversee and endorse your internship placement.

Students who are awarded scholarships will be asked to complete the following, in addition to any written or oral reporting or assignments required by your faculty sponsor, degree program, and/or internship site:

• intake and exit survey for the College of LAS;
• a brief (2-page) report describing the project(s) on which you worked during your internship.

Apply through the DePaul Scholarship Connect tool.

• Log into DePaul Scholarship Connect using your Campus Connect ID and password.
• Complete and submit the General Application. Your General Application will be marked with a green checkmark to indicate that it has been completed and submitted successfully. If it is gray, the application was not submitted successfully; try again.
• After submitting the General Application, you will be automatically routed to opportunities for which you qualify. You may also search for “Community- and Project-Based Learning.”
• Apply by clicking on the blue “Apply” button beside each scholarship.

The General Application must be completed every academic year starting July 1st. If you complete the General Application for other DePaul scholarships, then you may immediately search for the CPBL internship scholarship.