Fifth-Year Internships

Applications for the unpaid Fifth-Year Intern Program for 2009-2010 are due on Friday, April 10, 2009.

GENERAL INFORMATION

After careful consideration of budget realities and exceptional student interest, the Academic Affairs Office will be accepting applications for unpaid* fifth-year internships during the 2009-10 academic year. Interested students should prepare and submit application materials (detailed below) to the Durham House, c/o Kyle Danforth, no later than 4:30 pm on Friday, April 10. *Compensation will not include a stipend payment; however, interns will be eligible for the tuition remission privelage for up to 3.0 credits during the academic year.

The Fifth-Year Intern Program at DePauw University was instituted in 1989-1990 as a jointly sponsored effort by the Student Congress and the Academic Affairs Office to enrich and extend the DePauw liberal arts experience for a select number of graduating seniors. Fifth-Year interns carry out a project intended to benefit the DePauw community in some significant way, and are permitted to take a limited number of courses tuition-free. The program is open to all graduating seniors who have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better.

Internship Projects: The expected commitment to the internship is 30 hours per week during the academic year, lasting 10 months. The project should provide a demonstrable benefit to the DePauw community, defined broadly to include both the academic and non-academic life of the campus. An ideal proposal will offer a tangible benefit to the student as well, providing, for instance, the chance to carry out a long-desired project or to gain valuable experience in an area of interest. The project must be sponsored by a DePauw faculty or staff member, with whom the student will work to develop the proposal, including budget, where appropriate, and who agrees to provide continuing support and supervision during the project. The supervising faculty or staff member must obtain endorsement for the proposed project and his/her direct supervisory role in it from his/her supervising vice president.

Applicants are encouraged to consider Winter Term as they design their fifth-year projects. Occasionally, a fifth-year student has been permitted to design and teach an on-campus course during Winter Term.

Fifth-year students are expected to report regularly to their faculty/staff sponsor and the associate dean of academic affairs about their activities as a fifth-year intern.

Coursework: An additional goal of the program is to broaden the liberal arts experience by allowing students to continue their DePauw studies tuition-free. Fifth-year interns are expected to take one course each semester and may take up to three courses for the year. Courses may be taken both inside and outside the undergraduate major, and may be taken for a grade or on a pass/fail basis.

Fifth-year interns are enrolled as special status students; for registration purposes, they are given senior priority. Courses taken during the fifth year are listed on the DePauw transcript, but grades are not calculated into the undergraduate GPA. The associate dean of academic affairs, who coordinates the program, serves as the faculty advisor.

Compensation/Finances/Other: With the exception of tuition remission for up to 3.0 credits, this is an uncompensated position; students are responsible for all other costs, including living expenses, medical fees, activity fees, course-related fees, and the like. Fifth-year interns are not eligible for University financial aid, including work study, and since they are not enrolled in a degree program, they may have to begin paying off student loans. Because fifth-year interns are no longer undergraduate students, university owned housing (including dormitories, apartments, and houses) will not be available during the fifth year. Furthermore, fifth-year interns cannot enroll in University-spornsored health insurance and will need to purchase their own coverage.

Selection Process: A selection committee convened by an associate dean of academic affairs will interview each applicant, review applications, and forward recommendations to the vice president for academic affairs.

The application deadline for academic year 2008-2009 is Friday, April 10, 2009. The applications will be reviewed by the committee and interviews will be scheduled for late March. Selected students will be notified by the beginning of April.

For Further Information: Please direct any questions to Kyle Danforth, assistant director of the Center for International & Experiential Education, at (765) 658-6004 or at kyledanforth@depauw.edu.

APPLICATION GUIDELINES

The application for the Fifth-Year Intern Program consists of a detailed project proposal and other supporting materials. Please submit your materials to the Center for International & Experiential Education (Durham House) no later than Friday, April 10, 2009.

Project Proposal:  Please submit four copies of your project proposal. Prepare a formal Fifth-Year project proposal. In your proposal, describe your project in detail, outlining the benefit to the DePauw community and to yourself. The selection committee will certainly be interested in a clear statement of project goals, cost implications and sources of funds, potential outcomes and expected nature of the final "product" (paper, presentation, performance, etc.), expected role of the faculty/staff supervisor, and so on.

In addition to the project proposal, describe what courses you might opt to take during your fifth year, explaining how the particular courses complement your previous liberal arts studies at DePauw. Please provide any additional information relating to your application that you would like to share with the selection committee.

Your project proposal should include a signature page with an endorsement from your faculty/staff sponsor.

Supporting Materials:

  • Enclose two letters of recommendation, including one from the faculty/staff sponsor of your project. The letter from the sponsor should clearly indicate that he/she has obtained approval for the project from the supervising vice president.
  • Please provide the names of two additional references from the DePauw community.
  • Provide one current copy of your resume and one copy of your academic transcript.