
The Baldasty & Beam Scholarship for Unpaid Public Sector Internships aims to reduce financial barriers and support students in pursuit of high-quality internships that will help them develop new skills, apply classroom learning in a real-world setting, and garner experience in the non-profit or government sector. Students selected for this scholarship should have secured an offer for an unpaid, or underpaid, summer internship in the non-profit or government sector.
Funding for this program has been made available through the Gerald J. Baldasty and Randal A. Beam Career Internship Endowed Fund for Students, the UW Career & Internship Center, and generous donations from UW alumni, donors, and staff.
Standard applications for Summer 2025 are open from Monday, February 10 until Sunday, April 13.
Awards
The scholarship amount is dependent on your unmet financial need – typical awards range from $1,000 – $2,500 total per student. Unmet financial need is calculated by the Office of Student Financial Aid, using your WASFA or FAFSA, and other sources of financial assistance you have available to help pay for your education, which may include other scholarships or grants you have received.
In order to receive the scholarship, you must have unmet financial need. Students from all citizenship statuses, including undocumented and international students, are eligible to apply.
If you are selected for the scholarship, funds received count towards your financial aid eligibility and may impact your financial aid award package from the University of Washington. We encourage all students to connect with the Office of Student Financial Aid with any questions related to how this scholarship may affect expected financial aid.
Depending on final award amount, students will receive funds in June and September as a split payment.
Eligibility
Students must meet the following requirements:
- Full-time enrolled undergraduate student at the UW Seattle campus
- Returning to campus the following Autumn quarter – Graduating seniors are not eligible.
- Have received an offer for an un/underpaid internship in Summer (June-September)
- Underpaid is defined as total compensation under $500 for the summer
Internships must meet the following requirements:
- Organization is a registered non-profit or government agency (local, state or federal)
- Must require at least 100 hours of work by the end of summer (approx. 10 hours/week)
- Have a site supervisor who is willing & able to provide mentorship and feedback throughout the internship
- You will need input and signatures from your site supervisor to complete the scholarship requirements
Scholarship Requirements
Students awarded the scholarship must complete the following requirements in order to receive their funds.
- Attend a pre-summer orientation in mid-May facilitated by Career & Internship Center staff
- Exact date will be provided in your acceptance letter
- Complete a Learning Agreement and Performance Evaluation with their site supervisor
- Complete a program evaluation at the end of their internship
- Submit a brief description of their internship experience and provide a photo for a Scholar Profile
Deadlines
In order to provide maximum flexibility for students, we have two application cycles for this program.
Priority Application | |
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12/02/2024 | Priority Application Opens |
2/07/2025 | Priority Applications Due (by 12pm Noon PST) |
2/07-2/20 | Application Review Period |
2/21/2025 | Students Notified |
Standard Application | |
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2/10/2025 | Standard Application Opens |
4/13/2025 | Standard Applications Due (by 11:59pm PST) |
4/14-4/24 | Application Review Period |
4/25/2025 | Students Notified |
Frequently Asked Questions
Unfortunately, students must have an internship offer from an eligible organization in order to be considered for this scholarship.
There are many resources on campus to support your internship search – consider checking out Handshake, attending a “Finding Internships” workshop, or meeting with a Career Coach to find relevant opportunities.
Applications are open from December 2024 – April 2025 (for an internship in Summer 2025). Students can choose what application cycle (priority or standard) best suits their internship search process.
We will ask for the following:
- Upload an offer letter/ confirmation from your internship organization
- Provide supervisor contact information
- Explain how this scholarship funding will benefit you
- Current resume
- Unofficial UW transcript
Yes, but you must make an appointment with the Internship Program Manager to discuss why your application was denied first.
If you do not meet with the Internship Program Manager before the standard application deadline, your application will not be considered.
- In the words of our scholarship recipients, here are some of the benefits of their internship experiences and the scholarship program.
- “Working over the summer at Leading Women of Tomorrow enhanced my skills not only as a writer, but also as a researcher and public speaker.”
- “I wanted to learn all aspects of how non-profits work and network with people associated with a successful one. As part of [my internship] I learned about policy making, fundraising, and marketing – many of the things I need to know to start my own non-profit.”
- “I’ve always wanted to have an internship, but I think this [the scholarship program] made it manifest.”
- “I wanted to find an internship to establish if social work is the right path for me… In just the first two weeks, my internship made me excited for my future.”
- “Working with Synetic was very affirming that this field is right for me.”
- “This internship caused me to wonder if I want to pursue a career in journalism… This internship has definitely changed my trajectory in terms of careers.”
- “Looking for internships is hard for me, and you [the program staff] were great! You took your time in providing me virtual internship options which was a great help.”
- “I certainly could not have afforded to devote the whole summer to this kind of project without the support of the scholarship.”
- Contact Eli Davis, Internship Program Manager, at bereli@uw.edu.