The University of Richmond strongly encourages students to seek opportunities for experiential learning, especially through summer internships. Many Richmond students wish to apply their skills and talents in the non-profit sector, where finding pay for interns is often difficult.

Fortunately, for students and the non-profit community, the University of Richmond announced the Richmond Guarantee last year, which guarantees every undergraduate student access to one summer of funding, up to $4000, for an unpaid or low-paid internship or research experience.

During the first summer with the Richmond Guarantee in place, the University provided more than 500 UR Summer Fellowship awards, totaling nearly $2 million in support for interns and researchers, including 29 interns working for Richmond-area non-profit organizations. Higher Achievement, World Pediatric Project, Dogtown Dance Theater, Homeward, Jewish Family Services, and the Youth Life Foundation were just a few of the many non-profits hosting Richmond students during summer 2015.

At The University of Richmond, the goal is to ensure that cost is not a barrier for students who have the opportunity to undertake an unpaid internship in a field that is complementary to their academic pursuits at Richmond.  In order to receive support, students must apply for and obtain an internship, while completing a parallel application process for a UR Summer Fellowship.

To make sure your University of Richmond interns are eligible for University support, we encourage you to recruit intern candidates between January and March 2016, if possible. The application deadline for summer fellowship funding is April 1, 2016.

For additional questions, or to get started by posting an opportunity, please contact University of Richmond Career Services at 804.289.8547 or hirespiders@richmond.edu.

Want even more insight into hosting an intern?  Join us at Internship Bootcamp with ConnectVA, VCU and UofR Career Services on January 8th and have a recruiting booth at the third annual Regional Nonprofit and Social Services Career Fair with VCU and ConnectVA on February 17th to find talent for your organization!

Check out ConnectVA’s Connect to Students page for contact information at each local school for internships.

Ashleigh Brock is the Associate Director for Experiential Learning and Assessment in the University of Richmond’s Office of Alumni and Career Services. In this role, she manages the UR Summer Fellowships program, which supports undergraduates with summer funding for unpaid and low-paid internship and research experiences. Ashleigh has been at Richmond since 2013 and is also a 2005 alum of the University. She has served in career services roles since 2008, with prior experience in admissions and orientation work. Ashleigh has a master’s degree in higher education administration from Michigan State University.