Grants & Fellowships > For Stanford Students

Monica Miller Walsh Undergraduate Summer Internship Grants

Application Criteria

These awards of up to $3,000 are available to Stanford students wishing to undertake an independent internship in Latin America. A limited number of additional summer savings offsets are available upon special application for students with demonstrated financial need.

Timing

Grants are generally dispensed for summer projects, but will be considered for alternative timing as well.

Eligibility

Students must be undergraduates in good standing at Stanford with well-defined internship proposals with an organization or business in Latin America.

Students are eligible to receive funding only if they will be enrolling as undergraduates or coterminal students at Stanford campus for at least one quarter after they return from abroad. Priority will be given to undergraduate applicants.

Internships must be for at least six weeks.

Independent internships preferred: LAS favors applicants who seek out employment with a foreign-based organization, rather than using the services of a large international internship company.

This funding is not for independent research projects. If your project is strictly research-oriented and does not involve meeting the needs of an organization or business in Latin America, you should apply for funding through Undergraduate Research Programs.

Language Prerequisite

Working knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese (depending on destination country) required.

Application Process

Applicants should submit the following materials:

A statement of purpose or proposal outlining the internship to be undertaken; please include: your background/interest in Latin America,
Itemized budget showing an outline of how funds will be used and disclosing if any other ouside funding is sought (if applicable)
A completed application form
Two recommendation letters
An unofficial transcript of Stanford courses
Evidence of formal arrangements with an organization (e-mail is okay from organization's director/manager)

Grant Reporting Responsibilities

Recipients of the grant must attend an orientation meeting before traveling abroad, must complete a short report (2-3 pages) midway through their experience abroad, must complete a final narrative report (5-7 pages) and final financial report (1-2 pages) after they return to the United States, and must participate in a public presentation regarding their internship.

Selection Criteria

Applications are reviewed by an interdisciplinary committee of faculty members affiliated with the Center for Latin American Studies.

Apply by: Friday - April 4, 2008

*These awards are made possible by the Monica Miller Walsh Undergraduate Summer Internship Fund.

Volunteer and Internship Opportunities in Latin America

2007 Grant Recipient comments:

"This was the best summer of my life."

"My [Spanish] vocabulary grew almost by the hour."

"My experience this summer allowed me to learn and grow as a student, a world citizen, and as a person."

"I didn’t realize how much experience and knowledge I would gain after just six weeks."

"Living [abroad] changed my whole view of development, how to help others, and where I want to go with my life."

2007 Grant Recipients

Devyn Brown
BA 2007 in Psychology, Health and Development
Internship: coordinating summer programs and curricula for orphaned and underprivileged children with Luz Del Mundo in Bolivia

Elena Fuetsch
BA 2010
Internships: health education to women with WINGS in Guatemala; and participatory development projects with Behrhorst Partners for Development in Guatemala

Daniel Karp
BA 2009 in Biological Sciences
Internship: research on the effects of Rainforest Expedition’s ecotourism on hoatzin behavior and population density

Alex Markham and Chelsea Barabas
BA 2009 in Earth Systems (Alex); BA 2009 in Sociology (Chelsea)
Internship: research on the possibility of sustainable ornamental fish export at the Wasai Lodge in Peru

Bailey McRae
BA 2009 in Political Science
Internship: teaching English in Sinaloa with Learning Enterprises in Mexico

Melissa Morales
BA 2009 in International Relations
Internship: women’s rights advocacy with Semillas in Mexico

Lauren Peate
BA 2009 in Human Biology
Internship: assist with health provision at Centro de Salud Monimbo in Nicaragua through the Foundation for Sustainable Development