SESF: Columbia Students

Currently enrolled full-time first-, second-, or third-year undergraduate students and graduate students in good academic standing may apply for funding for a 6- to 10-week, full-time summer internship (at least 35 hours/week) with a social venture or social entrepreneurship-focused organization in the US or abroad, provided that the internship has been secured and accepted at the time of application. The Social and Environmental Summer Fellowship Program contributes a $200 to $600 per week stipend to assist with expenses associated with the internship to summer fellows, depending on the availability of funds.

Note: This fund does not cover students working on their own ventures, as students can access other programs and resources through Columbia Entrepreneurship such as the Columbia Startup Lab.

Student Eligibility Guidelines

• Applicants must be currently enrolled (matriculated) full-time as a first-year, second-year, or third-year Columbia or Barnard undergraduate or graduate student;
• Applicants must be in good academic standing and not subject to any disciplinary proceedings;
• For multi-year degree programs, applicants must be returning to campus and enrolled as a full-time student during the fall semester after their fellowship, either on campus or participating in an approved Columbia University off-campus program;
• For students in dual-degree programs, applicants need to have completed at least one semester at Columbia University before applying;
• Applicants must agree to the terms and requirements of the Social Enterprise Fellowship Program (see below); and
• Applicants must have secured and accepted an internship matching the criteria prior to submitting their application.

Note: Students on leave from Columbia University during the spring semester prior to the desired summer of funding are ineligible to apply for internship funding.

The social venture or organization can be a nonprofit 501(c)(3) (or its equivalent outside the US), for-profit social venture, or social venture capital firm with a clearly defined social or environmental mission. The intent of the fellowship is to support early-stage social ventures, i.e. ventures which have existed for fewer than seven years, as well as nonprofits or NGOs that are entirely dedicated to creating and supporting startup social end environmental ventures and entrepreneurs, e.g., Ashoka. (Please note that new projects, initiatives, subsidiaries, departments, or offices that are part of a parent organization that is greater than seven years old, are ineligible.)

For social for-profit ventures (including Benefit Corporations “B-Corps”) to be eligible, they must be aimed at producing products and/or services that:

1. Focus on addressing the needs of low income communities or customers, with an explicit purpose of increasing the welfare of these groups; or on alleviating a market failure, and creating significant public good or benefits that are not wholly captured in the price charged by the business; and
2. Have attracted funding for the business by investors or grant makers who are seeking measurable social or environmental impact (evidence of these metrics and reporting should be included in the application).

If applying to work with a social for-profit social venture, students must provide detailed evidence of a clearly defined social or environmental purpose and how this is incorporated into the core strategies and operations of the venture. 

The following are examples are organizations that are ineligible:

• Nonprofit or NGO that has been in operation for 7+ years and is not wholly focused on social or environmental startups or entrepreneurs;
• Government or public sector organizations;
• For-profit consulting firms that consult to social ventures;
• Large or publicly listed companies that have a small division focusing on social innovation; and
• Organizations with a narrow political or religious focus or with discriminatory hiring policies.

Students interested in working for social ventures should assess the viability of the venture prior to applying for funding. This fellowship is also not intended for students working on their own ventures.

We recognize that social enterprises have diverse needs across a range of projects and issues and need expertise drawn from disciplines such as engineering, public health, public policy, economics, medicine, biotechnology, nursing, journalism, arts, urban planning, social work, law/public interest, international development, sustainability, and education, among other areas. The internship role can relate directly to a student’s degree; it can also be an area of interest the student wants to explore especially if the student is thinking about starting a social venture or working for one in the future. The internship should not be one that the student could have completed before developing skills from their CU degree program.

The Social and Environmental Summer Fellowship Program supports full-time internships for a minimum of six and a maximum of 10 weeks. Internships can commence anytime after exam period ends and should conclude sometime before the last week of August. Internships must be in person at least 50 percent of the summer (ideally 100 percent). Entirely remote internships are not eligible for funding. (For summer 2026, international students who have concerns about reentering the country may be allowed an exception to conduct their international internships remotely from the US. Please contact Ivy at [email protected] if you are considering this option.)

At a minimum, students are expected to work Monday through Friday for at least 35 hours per week. Part-time work during the summer is not eligible for funding, and students must not work for two employing organizations concurrently.

Summer fellowships must meet the following criteria.

• The internship is well-scoped, has clearly defined expectations and responsibilities.
• The internship has an established supervisor from a professional in the organization.
• The internship is in-person at least 50 percent of the time (ideally 100 percent to maximize learning opportunities) and the organization provides a workspace for the student during the internship that is co-located with the organization and supervisor. Completely remote internships are generally ineligible (except for compelling safety/security reasons).
• The internship provides a workspace for the student during the internship that is co-located with the organization and supervisor.
• Students will have mid- and end-of-summer reviews with the supervisor.

By accepting the fellowship, students are committing to fulfilling the following requirements (the Program will review these obligations before the final payment):

1. Attending an orientation and sponsored events;
2. Writing or speaking about your experience which may involve:
   
   - Writing a short article or blog posts describing your experience for the Tamer Institute website and/or newsletter
   ​​​- Creating a short multimedia piece highlighting key experiences from the fellowship (for example, a video or v-log);
   - Speaking at an information session on Social and Environmental Summer Fellowships, career or relevant student group/clubs event;
    
3. Summary report to be featured in the summer fellowships website;
4. Submitting at least 15 photographs throughout the fellowship;
5. Completing an end-of-summer fellowship survey/debrief; and
6. Producing a thank you note to the donors for the Summer Fellowship.

Students should assess the viability of the venture prior to accepting and applying for funding by consulting with professors, career advisors at the appropriate home school, or the Tamer Institute. Before accepting the internship offer, if you’re unsure of whether your employer is an eligible social venture or social entrepreneurship-focused organization, please send the website link of the organization and provide any additional information about the organization by email to [email protected].

Given the entrepreneurial nature of eligible organizations, these potential employers might not have officially sponsored internship programs; it will be up to the student to discuss scoping and salary for a summer role with the social enterprise, develop well-defined responsibilities and enlist a supervisor for the summer internship. Students should speak with a career advisor at their home school if they have questions about how to conduct an internship search for social enterprises.

Once students have secured and accepted an eligible internship, they can then apply for a Social and Environmental Summer Fellowship from the Tamer Institute.

Below are the key dates for the Social and Environmental Summer Fellowship application process. Please keep in mind that we encourage you to apply as soon as possible. We anticipate high demand for fellowships and applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until funds are depleted, which may occur before the final deadline. If you are applying in one of the later deadlines, please note that you may receive the actual payments later than the dates outlined below.

• March 1: Social and Environmental Summer Fellowship application opens. Students who have secured and/or accepted an internship can complete the full application and other requirements and return it by the first round deadline of March 15.
• March 15: First round of completed applications are due.
• April 1: Second round of completed applications are due.
• April 15: Third round of applications are due. If funds are still available after this date, applications will continue to be accepted.
• Students should reply to confirm acceptance of the fellowship requirements and SESF funding within one week. Students may not begin their internship until after the end of May finals period, and all internships must be concluded by the last week of August.

Students who receive a Social and Environmental Summer Fellowship will be asked to register in Candex, an online platform used by Columbia University Central Finance to process payments. Students will receive an email directly from Candex approximately 7-10 business days after the SESF acceptance email is received. Please also check spam folders and complete Candex registration to not delay payment processing. 

Awards are disbursed in two equal lump-sum payments, one submitted as soon as confirmation of acceptance is received and the other processed at the end of the summer. The first payment takes approximately three weeks to process (depending on speed of student registration) and the second payment is submitted for payment once the internship has concluded and all SESF requirements are met. Please note that Columbia University policy for international students mandates upfront withholding of taxes (generally between 15-30 percent). All students are advised to consult with a financial advisor regarding the tax consequences for this fellowship award.

If a student accepts an internship offer, applies and receives an SESF award and then subsequently withdraws from the program to work for a different employer, they will be reported to their home school career for appropriate disciplinary action.

Note: Please be advised the U.S. Department of Labor has outlined a list of criteria that must be met in order for an internship to be unpaid. Students should familiarize themselves with the legal requirements of unpaid internships by learning about the Department of Labor’s Fair Labor Standards and Columbia University’s internship policy.

Your application MUST be approved before you start your internship. Please submit all application materials AT LEAST one week in advance of starting your summer internship to allow time for processing.

• Student Application
• Employer Information (It is the student's responsibility to share this application with their employer for completion.)