Williams Summer Opportunity Funding
Funding is available to remove the financial barriers to immersive summer learning experiences. Explore by category—internships, fellowships and academic opportunities—and find specific application information linked within each opportunity below. Students are encouraged to contact each program represented for complete details.
Internships
Dively Committee Summer Opportunity Grants
The Dively Summer Opportunity Grants provide students with an opportunity to engage with a broad range of issues related to gender, sexuality, and intersectionality. Opportunities may include internships, summer courses, art projects, community service endeavors, research, conference attendance, etc., which place a specific focus on LGBTQ+ experiences, issues, and expressions. While the Dively Committee accepts applications for projects that are shorter than the full summer, the selection committee prioritizes those grants that are a full 8 weeks.
Eligibility: First-years, sophomores, juniors.
Racial Justice Summer Opportunities Grants
The Racial Justice Summer Opportunity Grants provide a flexible opportunity for students to define how to advance racial justice initiatives. Projects and opportunities may include internships, research projects, partnerships with community-based organizations, summer courses, art projects, community service, conference attendance, and other opportunities, provided that the specific focus is on issues of racial justice. Students may propose opportunities that are located in or beyond their home communities or take advantage of local, regional, or national opportunities.
Eligibility: First-years, sophomores, juniors.
Center for Environmental Studies (CES) Summer Internship & Research Funding
CES Summer Internship & Research Funding provides $460/week for up to 10-week endeavors or creative projects.
Eligibility: The program is open to rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors of all majors.
Alumni Sponsored Internship Program (ASIP)
The Alumni Sponsored Internship Program (ASIP) awards summer internship grants between $2,000-$5,500 to currently enrolled first-years, sophomores, juniors, and 1st-semester seniors completing unpaid or minimally paid summer internships.
Eligibility: First-years, sophomores, juniors, first-semester seniors.
Fellowships
Bronfman Hebrew/Yiddish Language Study Fellowship
The Bronfman Hebrew/Yiddish Language Study Fellowship funds summer language study up to $4,000 for students interested in studying Hebrew or Yiddish.
Eligibility: First-years, sophomores, and juniors.
Bronfman Summer Fellowship in Jewish Studies
The Bronfman Summer Fellowship funds summer projects in the field of Jewish Studies.
Eligibility: All first-years, sophomores, and juniors.
CLiA Community Outreach Summer Fellowship Program
The CLiA Community Outreach Summer Fellowship Program trains a small team of Williams students to help build better community service and experiential learning opportunities at Williams. The 8-week, 35-hour/week position includes on-campus housing.
Eligibility: Rising sophomores and juniors.
Gordon J Davis ’63 Social and Racial Justice Fellowships
The Gordon Davis ‘63 Social and Racial Justice Fellowships provide a flexible opportunity for students to define how to advance social and racial justice initiatives. Students may propose internships, research projects, coursework, partnerships with community-based organizations, community service, and other opportunities, provided that the specific focus is on racial or other social justice issues, and expressions. Students may propose opportunities that are located in or beyond their home communities or take advantage of local, regional, or national opportunities.
Eligibility: First-years, sophomores, juniors.
Lansing Fellowship
The Charles Bridgen Lansing Fellowship in Latin and Greek is awarded to one or more students or alumni to support graduate work in Classics or closely related fields. The fellowship can also support undergraduate study during the summer either in the US or abroad.
Eligibility: Current first-years, sophomores, juniors, seniors, or alumni.
Lauren Interess Fellowship
The Lauren Interess Adventure Travel fellowship in Geosciences provides funding for 2 students to pursue an earth-science adventure of their own devising.
Eligibility: Available to all Geosciences majors and prospective majors.
Library Special Collections Summer Research Fellowship
The Library Special Collections Summer Research Fellowship is designed to fully support the use of Library Special Collections (the Chapin Library or the College Archives) over the course of a summer. Fellowships will be funded according to the Williams campus summer rate for a term of 6 to 8 weeks.
Eligibility: First-years.
Marguerite W. Friedberg Memorial Travel Fellowship
The Marguerite W. Friedberg Memorial Travel Fellowship provides funding for research-related travel to and within continental France. The Fellowship seeks to support students who wish to undertake research or creative work that is inspired by a desire to delve more deeply into a French-related subject and/or that is linked to future thesis work.
Eligibility: First-years, sophomores, juniors.
Roche & Gomez Fellowship
The Roche & Gomez Fellowship offers students the opportunity to pursue summer research or creative endeavors that complement their academic course of study and is the only fellowship fund that can be used to pay program or tuition fees.
Eligibility: First-years.
Sentinels Public Policy Research Fellowship
The Sentinels Public Policy Research Fellowship supports student research projects focused on contemporary issues in U.S. economic, social, and/or environmental policy. These fellowships provide stipends for research lasting from 4 weeks to 10 weeks.
Eligibility: Rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
Solow Research Fellowship
The Solow Research Fellowship provides financial assistance to Williams College students conducting research in economic or business history and a few other fields over the summer.
Eligibility: First-years, sophomores, juniors.
Terri E. Sisson Travel Fellowship
The Terri E. Sisson Travel Fellowship provides financial assistance to students in the humanities and fine arts to pursue cultural enrichment and inspiration. The program supports a summer travel fellowship abroad.
Eligibility: Sophomores and juniors.
The Bostert Fellowship
The Russell Bostert Memorial Fellowship supports academic research with preference given to Division II majors focusing on history with secondary consideration given to area studies and political science majors specializing in international relations. Projects must be six weeks or longer and may take place anywhere.
Eligibility: Sophomores and juniors.
The Lawrence Fellowship
The Mary and Nathaniel M. Lawrence Memorial Fellowship makes grants to support international travel that leads to personal growth and development, similar to the spirit of the nationally competitive, year-long Watson Fellowship. Projects must take place abroad and be six weeks or longer.
Eligibility: Sophomores and juniors.
The Levien Fellowship
The Cherie Levien Memorial Journalism Fellowship will enable a student to pursue scholarship and personal interests in journalism during the summer. Projects must be eight weeks or longer and may take place in the US or abroad.
Eligibility: Sophomores and juniors.
The Millard Fellowship
The William C. Millard 1929 Fellowship is intended to foster personal development and creativity in any subject or field. Projects may take place anywhere in the world and must be six weeks or longer.
Eligibility: Sophomores and juniors.
The Robert G Wilmers Jr. 1990 Memorial Summer Language Study Grant
The Robert G Wilmers Jr. 1990 Memorial Summer Language study grant sponsors students planning to enroll in a full-time formal language study program for a minimum of four (4) weeks in a country where the target language is commonly spoken.
Eligibility: First-years, sophomores, and juniors.
The Student World Fellowship
The Class of 1945 Student World Fellowship supports projects of travel and study abroad that aim to increase international understanding, peaceful resolutions to cultural conflicts, and social action that forges links among countries. Projects must be six weeks or longer and take place outside of the United States.
Eligibility: Sophomores and juniors.
The Wilmers Research & Travel Fellowship
Robert G. Wilmers Jr. 1990 Memorial Student Travel Abroad Fellowships are designed to support substantial academic research projects that require foreign travel. Projects must be six weeks or longer and take place outside of the United States.
Eligibility: Sophomores and juniors.
Academic Opportunities
The Levien Fellowship
The Cherie Levien Memorial Journalism Fellowship will enable a student to pursue scholarship and personal interests in journalism during the summer. Projects must be eight weeks or longer and may take place in the US or abroad.
Eligibility: Sophomores and juniors.
Racial Justice Summer Opportunities Grants
The Racial Justice Summer Opportunity Grants provide a flexible opportunity for students to define how to advance racial justice initiatives. Projects and opportunities may include internships, research projects, partnerships with community-based organizations, summer courses, art projects, community service, conference attendance, and other opportunities, provided that the specific focus is on issues of racial justice. Students may propose opportunities that are located in or beyond their home communities or take advantage of local, regional, or national opportunities.
Eligibility: First-years, sophomores, juniors.
The Williams College Summer Institute in American Foreign Policy
The Williams College Summer Institute in American Foreign Policy provides Williams College Students the opportunity to participate in a rigorous 3-week program devoted to the study of American foreign policy and grand strategy.
Eligibility: Rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
The Abdul W. Wohabe 1959 Arabic Studies Fund
The Abdul W. Wohabe 1959 Arabic Studies Fund supports and promotes the study of the Arabic language and Arab culture in the Middle East and North Africa during summer or winter study. The program awards grantees with funds that can be used to cover the cost of the program, travel, and living expenses.
Eligibility: First-years, sophomores, juniors.
The Tompkins Award for Excellence in Japanese
The Tompkins Award for Excellence in Japanese grants one junior or senior Japanese language student up to $1,500 to cover expenses for attending an approved seminar or conference, or to conduct an approved independent study project.
Eligibility: All advanced Japanese language students are automatically considered.
Linen Fellowships for Summer Study in Asia
The Linen Fund allows the department to offer a certain number of fellowships to assist Williams College undergraduates in traveling to South, Southeast, and East Asia during the summer for educational purposes.
Eligibility: First years, sophomores, and juniors.
Keck Northeast Astronomy Consortium (KNAC): Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)
The KNAC: REU is funded by the National Science Foundation summer research program and allows students to conduct research at another institution under a KNAC faculty. The program is 10 weeks with a stipend of approximately $4,000.
Eligibility: First-years, sophomores, juniors.
Whitehead Scholars Program
Through the generosity of John Whitehead ’67, an endowed program was established to support an academic collaboration between Williams College and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, MA. As part of this program, two positions are available to sophomores to participate as interns at the Whitehead Institute for a ten-week research experience during the summer and a subsequent four-week term during Winter Study.
Eligibility: Sophomores.
Biology Summer Research
During the summer, students can be hired for up to 10 weeks to work with individual Biology faculty members on the faculty members’ research projects.
Eligibility: Rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors.
Center for Environmental Studies (CES) Summer Internship & Research Funding
CES Summer Internship & Research Funding provides $460/week for up to 10-week endeavors or creative projects.
Eligibility: The program is open to rising sophomores, juniors, and seniors of all majors.
Lansing Fellowship
The Charles Bridgen Lansing Fellowship in Latin and Greek is awarded to one or more students or alumni to support graduate work in Classics or closely related fields. The fellowship can also support undergraduate study during the summer either in the US or abroad.
Eligibility: Current first-years, sophomores, juniors, seniors, or alumni.
Solow Research Fellowship
The Solow Research Fellowship provides financial assistance to Williams College students conducting research in economic or business history and a few other fields over the summer.
Eligibility: First-years, sophomores, juniors.
Economics Research Assistant
Work as a student research assistant for an economics Williams faculty member for approximately 10 weeks, with a stipend provided.
Eligibility: All economics and political economy majors, and sophomores that have completed core economics courses.
Lauren Interess Fellowship
The Lauren Interess Adventure Travel fellowship in Geosciences provides funding for 2 students to pursue an earth-science adventure of their own devising.
Eligibility: Available to all Geosciences majors and prospective majors.
Bronfman Hebrew/Yiddish Language Study Fellowship
The Bronfman Hebrew/Yiddish Language Study Fellowship funds summer language study up to $4,000 for students interested in studying Hebrew or Yiddish.
Eligibility: First-years, sophomores, and juniors.
Bronfman Summer Fellowship in Jewish Studies
The Bronfman Summer Fellowship funds summer projects in the field of Jewish Studies.
Eligibility: All first-years, sophomores, and juniors.
SMALL Undergraduate Research Project
The SMALL Undergraduate Research Project is a nine-week residential summer program in which undergraduates investigate open research problems in mathematics.
Eligibility: Current undergraduates.
Kathryn W. Davis Projects for Peace Program
Every year 100 or more student leaders are awarded a grant in the amount of $10,000 each to implement a “Project for Peace,” anywhere in the world, typically over summer break. Projects for Peace are grassroots activities that address the root causes of conflict and promote peace.
Eligibility: All students (including graduating seniors).
Patricia Goldman-Rakic Prize
The Patricia Goldman-Rakic Prize in Neuroscience was established in 2008 by Toni Ianniello and George Chuzi, parents of Sarah Chuzi (’07), in recognition of Patricia Goldman-Rakic for her contributions to the field of neuroscience and her support of neuroscience education at Williams College. This prize is awarded annually to a student who has demonstrated exceptional achievement in research within the field of neuroscience.
Psychology Summer Research Assistantships
A limited number of summer research assistantships are available in both Psychology and Neuroscience, through the Summer Science Research program. These are paid positions for up to 10 weeks, doing research of various kinds. Depending on the nature of their work and their plans for the summer, professors may take anywhere from no summer students to several, and often but not always, give preference to thesis students.
Physics Research
The Physics department now has several research grants which together with College funds allow the department to offer research positions to around 25 Williams students each summer. These students, who work closely with their faculty advisors, are among over 200 undergraduates doing research on campus each summer in the natural sciences and mathematics. The physics students work on a variety of projects, both experimental and theoretical, and give occasional talks on their work within the department.
Eligibility: All physics students.
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