Experiential Learning and Funding
What is experiential learning?
Experiential learning is an active process whereby students build upon their liberal arts education through real-world, application-based experiences.
Internships, independent study, and research are all examples of robust experiential learning that allow you to deepen your understanding of academic disciplines and gain a variety of other real-world skills and positive work habits. These experiences, especially internships, rank high on the list of what employers want to see in graduates seeking employment.
In order to help you make your experiential learning experience more meaningful, Cornell requires students to participate in two Ingenuity in Action experiences to satisfy graduation requirements.
Resources for getting your funding
Once you have applied and are approved for funding for your upcoming experiential learning opportunity, please follow the links below to help keep you on track with the various tasks you are responsible for completing before you leave campus for your internship or other opportunity.
Use your personalized checklist to make sure you are ready for your funded internship. This will be sent to you after your funding has been approved and has some additional checklist items in addition to the forms below. If you have any questions or concerns at any point before, during, or after your internship, please contact career@cornellcollege.edu.
submit an application via Handshake Experiences
BCI Internship Agreement - to be completed by student in order to receive internship funding
Excel Budget Worksheet - this is the only budget template that will be accepted with your application. Here is a sample pdf of the budget worksheet
Provide your final housing and transportation details
FAQs
How does the funding get deposited into my bank account?
Ingenuity in Action funding is processed first through Financial Assistance by being added to your student financial aid account. Then, if a positive balance results from adding this funding amount, the Business Office processes the positive credit as a refund. Please make sure you submit an ACH Form to the Business Office so that this refund can be deposited into a bank account of your choice. Otherwise, a physical check with the positive amount will be sent to your home address or placed in your student mailbox. If submitting the ACH form in person, make sure you have your student ID with you. The Business Office will not accept the ACH form by email but can send you a link to a secure portal to upload your document(s).
When will I receive my funding?
In general, you can expect to receive your funding 14-21 days after it has been requested if submitting for a block internship. However, please know that your funding needs to be approved by both Financial Assistance and the Business Office and may take 4 or more weeks to process depending on the date of submission. If your experience begins at the beginning of either the fall or spring term, or if it is split between early summer and late summer, you may need to wait longer to receive your funds as funding cannot be disbursed until the term begins. It is generally important to make sure you have enough funding for the first two weeks of your experience in case there are delays in disbursing your funds. Students applying for summer internship funding should meet with staff in the Berry Career Institute to discuss their proposed budgets.
If I am getting funding, do I still have to pay for my academic credit?
Yes. In order to receive funding, you must get academic credit for your internship, between .25 credits and 2 credits, which means you will have a faculty sponsor. The faculty sponsor helps ensure that you will come away from the experience with new skills and knowledge that will help you plan your future. If you are having trouble paying for the credit(s), talk with financial_assistance@cornellcollege.edu or your faculty sponsor.