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Fellowships

Vassar College

Burnam Summer Fellowship

For first years, sophomores and juniors, supporting internships and projects that involve work with non-profit or other community-based agencies either in the United States or abroad.

Application Deadline: April 15

Access the application here. The application includes short answers, a transcript, resume, budget, and one letter of recommendation.

View a list of past recipients and their internships/projects.

About the Burnam Fellowship

This fellowship, established in 1998 through a generous gift from Marcia Garbus Burnam ’49 and her daughter, Beth Burnam ’77, seeks to provide opportunities to students that will enable them to appreciate differences in the human demographic and condition, and that will broaden and deepen the students' own perspectives on the world.

Through this fellowship, students can pursue meaningful summer internships or independent projects that involve work with non-profit or other community-based agencies either in the United States or abroad. 

Projects should entail hands-on experience, be people-oriented, and provide fellows with the opportunity to have a marked impact on the communities in which they work or function, both during the summer experience and in a broader context.

  • The fellowship is not intended to support administrative work or research; there must be a community engagement component where fellows are working directly with people.
  • Opportunities should expose students to people, experiences, and situations that they would not otherwise encounter.
  • The Burnams are particularly interested in helping Vassar students work with organizations and projects that focus on
    • strengthening intergroup relations;
    • eradicating bigotry and racism in society;
    • bolstering urban communities;
    • and confronting the many complex issues that exist in diverse communities.

Students may pursue projects they create either independently or in tandem with an organization. It is expected that, upon returning to campus, the Burnam Fellows will share their experiences and enlightened perspectives with the Vassar community. Students should be able to show a strong connection between their academic preparation and the proposed project, although the summer experience does not need to be related directly to one's major. 

Deadline: 

April 15

Eligibility criteria:

  • Current first year, sophomore or junior at Vassar.
  • Secured internship with a non-profit/social justice-oriented organization; internships should be full-time (30–40 hours/week) for at least 6 weeks; alternatively, applicants may apply with a well-developed proposal for an independent project that will take place over a comparable period of time (ie, 180 hours).
  • Internships/projects should be hands-on, people-oriented, and have a minimal administrative component, if any.
  • Internships may be paid or unpaid; applicants with unpaid or low-paid experiences will receive priority consideration.
  • Previous recipients are not eligible to apply.

Awards:

Typical awards are $3000-6000. Students who receive financial aid at Vassar may receive an additional $2450 toward their summer earnings requirement applied as a credit to their fall/spring bill.

Application Process:

  • Application components include the following: information about your confirmed internship or proposed project, employer confirmation (if an internship), budget, resume, cover letter, transcript, and one letter of recommendation, in addition to a series of short-answer questions
  • Applicants will be notified in early May

Expectations:

Recipients will be expected to:

  • Provide employer confirmation (for internships) and communicate with the CCE regarding any status changes
  • Attend 2–3 cohort meetings
  • Complete a Learning Contract
  • Complete a brief mid-summer check-in
  • Write a final report at the end of the summer to be shared with the donor (recommended: include a photo of you and/or your internship/project)

Recipients may also be invited to serve on student panels to share more about their experiences.

Additional notes:

Awards are contingent upon the continued availability of the proposed experience and compliance with the College Policy on Student Travel.