The Center for Career Engagement awarded $300,000 in Summer Internship Funds this year (2025) to 113 undergraduate students.
This summer, 74% of the funds were awarded to students with high demonstrated financial need with more than $250,000 awarded to these students. Students from all undergraduate divisions received funding, including 73 Arts & Sciences, 19 McKelvey Engineering, 12 Olin Business, and 9 Sam Fox students receiving awards.
Students receiving Summer Internship Fund awards are interning at St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office, Columbia University, U.S. House of Representatives, Arch City Defenders, Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, and others across the country and abroad.
Student Demographics
Applications will re-open in Spring 2026
Student Outcomes & Demographics
2024 Unpaid Summer Internship Outcomes
The Center for Career Engagement awarded $300,000 in summer unpaid internship awards to 171 undergraduate students.
This summer, 72% of funding was awarded to students with demonstrated financial need, with more than $200,000 awarded to these students. Students from all undergraduate divisions received funding, including 120 Arts & Sciences, 23 McKelvey Engineering, 20 Olin Business, and 8 Sam Fox students receiving summer internship awards.
Students receiving summer internship awards are interning at the Missouri State Public Defender’s office, American Civil Liberties Union, Youth United for Climate Crisis Action, and others across the country.
Student Demographics
Summer 2024 Receipient Spotlights
| “During my time at the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office I got to work with individuals in the interest of getting justice for victims of crime. Getting to speak with these individuals and see how the Office was able to support them was a valuable insight into the legal system. I was given the ability to develop legal writing skills, network with attorneys and judges, and observe several hearings and trials.” Meris, Class of 2026 | Interning at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York this summer provided me with invaluable experience in the financial industry. I particularly enjoyed being immersed in the fast-paced environment and delving into the intricacies of financial systems. Through this internship, I honed my analytical skills and deepened my understanding of financial markets, which has solidified my interest in pursuing a career in trading and investment banking. Andrew, Class of 2026 |
| “Originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, I returned to my hometown to intern for the Ohio First District Court of Appeals this summer. At the Court, I developed resources for pro se litigants (individuals who represent themselves), learned about the appellate process, drafted a bench memo for a self-defense case, collaborated with judges, staff attorneys, law students, and interns on cases, and observed court proceedings at the federal and state appellate level, as well as the trial court level. From these experiences, I gained a strong legal vocabulary, improved my critical thinking skills, learned about legal writing, and connected with the Cincinnati community through the meaningful pro se resources project. This internship enabled me to explore my interests in law, policy, and civic engagement, while honing transferrable skills like writing, critical thinking, argumentation, collaboration, and curiosity. I’m very grateful for the funding provided by the WashU Career Center, as well as all the judges, staff attorneys, and fellow interns at the First District.” Emma, Class of 2027 | This summer, I interned as a Project Manager at ZebraMD, a biotech startup focused on developing an AI-powered, EMR-integrated clinical decision-making tool for genomic precision medicine. During my time there, I played a critical role in managing our NSF-funded project, which involved developing predictive models for 350 rare diseases and establishing a HIPAA-compliant environment to support our innovative AHP model and parser. I also contributed to key business strategies, including the development of a comprehensive business model with detailed revenue streams and partnerships, an investment funding plan with financial projections, and a techno-economic assessment of our product’s feasibility and market demand. Additionally, I was involved in prototype testing, MVP planning, trademark applications, equity research, and pharmaceutical contracting. This internship not only allowed me to apply and expand my skills in project management and strategic planning but also gave me valuable insights into the biotech industry and the intricacies of bringing a groundbreaking healthcare solution to market. Anish, Class of 2027 |
| This past summer, I had the opportunity to move to a new city and learn the intricacies of healthcare business operations. I was able to have impactful hand on learning experience in clinical management as well as navigating successful corporate operations in finance, accounting, and Human Resources just to name a few. I loved learning about methods to address staffing issues in healthcare and tailoring healthcare provisions to community needs. Further, one of the biggest things I was able to takeaway were the people I met and the connections I made. Had I not had the opportunity to move to a different city and work for a new company, I would not have been able to learn from such experienced and inspirational professional mentors. Phoenix, Class of 2026 | I learned quite a bit, including how to file for a change of address and a motion to change venue for immigration proceedings through the ICE and EOIR offices (Executive Office for Immigration Review) and just how unnecessarily complex these immigration processes are. I learned much about the mindset and attitude that is necessary in this line of work, and the importance of using language that makes the people we serve feel seen and recognized as equals- why we call them “compa”, a gender neutral term for “partner” or “friend”. I enjoyed most of all working with a group of people who were just as passionate, if not more, about the causes and communities we work for as I am. Sarah, Class of 2025 |
2025 Summer Internship Outcomes
The Center for Career Engagement awarded $300,000 in Summer Internship Funds this year to 113 undergraduate students.
This summer, 74% of the funds were awarded to students with high demonstrated financial need with more than $250,000 awarded to these students. Students from all undergraduate divisions received funding, including 73 Arts & Sciences, 19 McKelvey Engineering, 12 Olin Business, and 9 Sam Fox students receiving awards.
Students receiving Summer Internship Fund awards are interning at St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office, Columbia University, U.S. House of Representatives, Arch City Defenders, Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts, and others across the country and abroad.
Student Demographics
Summer Internship Funding Recipient Experiences
A requirement for recipients of our Summer Internship Fund is to write a thank you letter to our generous alumni and parent donors. Some of our students have opted to share some of their experience.
Summer 2025 Recipients
This summer, I interned at Guardian Angel Settlement Association as a Grants and Program Design Intern, focusing on housing stability programs for low-income families in St. Louis. I loved working on grant proposals that would make a real impact on people’s lives by putting thousands of dollars in funding directly into their pockets. Through this experience, I gained valuable skills in data analysis, grant writing, program evaluation, and project management. It was incredibly rewarding to be able to support long-term community change, and I hope to continue to help others throughout the rest of my career. – Kelsey, Class of 2028
This summer, I was a Development intern at ArchCity Defenders, a civil rights legal nonprofit that defends St. Louisans against unfair evictions, state violence, and harmful incarceration policies. I helped lead our summer Karaoke Fundraiser, doubling funds raised compared to the previous year, and I completed twenty hours of court watching and community outreach. Through my work with ArchCity, I developed meaningful connections to people doing fantastic work to make St. Louis a better place to live. After leaving ArchCity, and ahead of a semester abroad in Geneva, I am backpacking through the French Alps from Nice to Geneva for a month to raise money for a community partner I met through ArchCity, a mutual aid resource for unhoused people called Tent Mission STL. I’m ecstatic that I was able to connect my upcoming study abroad semester in Europe to the work that I did at my internship this summer! – Sophie, Class of 2026
For questions, please contact careers@wustl.edu.