Frequently Asked Questions
1. If I haven’t heard from an employer yet, or if I am still deciding where I will intern, can I apply?
Yes! Applicants can submit email confirmations or letters indicating that they are in the process of applying. If granted an award, an applicant must provide final confirmation from an employer before funding is released. Final awards may be adjusted based on estimated costs associated with the final internship site (i.e., international site vs. local site).
2. Can I apply for multiple sites?
Yes, you can. However, final confirmation from an employer must be submitted before funding is released. Only one application per student is necessary with a general overview outlining the potential internship site(s) and how they meet the CAA requirements.
3. How do I know if a site is appropriate?
Most students who receive funding are working at governmental offices or agencies, non-governmental organizations, educational programs, camps or non-profits, media-based centers or community-based non-profit agencies and organizations. Bard provides many outlets to support individual student projects; therefor, Individual projects are rarely funded through the CAA. The CAA is reserved to support an onsite internship experience with an employer.
4. How can I find a site or an internship?
The CCE (civic@bard.edu) has contacts at a number of internship sites, along with the Career Development Office (cdo@bard.edu), parent network and the Alumni/ae Affairs Office (alumni@bard.edu). In addition, we encourage you to research organizations in your field of interest.
If you find or already have an organization in mind, look to see if they have a formal application process for internships. Idealist.org compiles internship listings as does CDO’s Handshake database.
5. How are Community Action Award winners determined?
A committee comprised of faculty and staff from various departments meet to review the applications. Applications take about three weeks to process.
6. Do I need to keep the CCE updated on my internship once I am a Community Action Award recipient?
Yes, we want to hear from you! All CAA recipients are required to write two blog posts for the CCE over the course of your internship and participate in the CAA Engagement Series upon your return to campus. The series includes CAA awardee sponsored events, talks, screenings, panels, etc. The focus of the series is on the issue the internship addressed. For example, if an internship is focused on science education for girls, a CAA recipient may host a panel on women in STEM.
All interns are asked to submit a supervisor’s evaluation form within two weeks of the end of the internship. In addition, feel free to send us an occasional update to let us know how things are going; we love hearing about your amazing work.
7. I’m planning on doing an academic program over the summer for which I will receive academic credit or my internship site requirements include payment to the organization—can I use the CAA to fund the tuition or payment?
We do not provide CAA grants to be used for tuition prices or to cover costs of certificate programs or to pay internship sites.
8. I won’t be returning to Bard after my internship—can I still apply?
No, sorry. All CAA recipients must return to Bard for at least one semester after the planned internship.
9. I have other questions that aren’t answered here—is there someone I can ask?
Please feel free to e-mail the Center for Civic Engagement at civic@bard.edu with any additional questions.