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Q: I am a first-year student with advanced standing, so technically I am a sophomore. Am I eligible to apply to the Weissman Program? No. You are only eligible to apply to the Weissman Program if you are a sophomore or junior at the College at the time of application. "Sophomore" is defined as a student who is in the second year of a four-year course, and "junior" is defined as a student who is in the third year of a four-year course. Students should have completed a minimum of two undergraduate semesters by the time of application. This is to ensure that all applicants have adequate preparation and experience in their academic, extracurricular and personal lives to meet the rigors and demands of living and working abroad. If you meet this criteria, you are eligible to apply to the Weissman next year. Q: Am I eligible for the Weissman grant if I want to work at an internationally-focused organization in the U.S.? No. The Weissman Program will not fund internships that take place in the U.S. or any of its territories. Q: I am an international student and I want to work in my home country. Am I eligible? No. The goal of the Weissman Program is to fund new cultural and work-related experiences, so applications will not be considered from students proposing an internship in their own country. Q: I was born in another country, but left at a young age and am now a U.S. citizen. What if my internship is in my country of origin? Keep in mind that the goal of the Weissman Program is to fund new cultural experiences. If you left your country of origin at a young age, you will need to make a compelling case in your internship proposal for how this internship will provide a new cultural and work experience for you. Q: I will be studying abroad this summer, and have arranged a part-time internship on the side. Am I eligible for the Weissman grant? No. The Weissman Program will only fund a full-time work experience, and it should be your primary focus. Q: I am looking for funding for thesis research. Should I consider the Weissman Grant? No. The Weissman Program does not fund thesis research. Contact the OCS Fellowships Office for suggestions on more appropriate funding sources. Q: I found my internship through a placement organization. Am I eligible for the Weissman Grant? No. The Weissman Program does not pay third-party fees or fund internships that are found for applicants by an outside organization. Internships funded by the Weissman need to be arranged and proposed by the applicants themselves. |
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Q: I know at least one student who has received a Weissman grant to work in the same organization that will be sponsoring me. Will this be considered an eligible proposal? Each proposal is assessed on its own merit. It is important that you work with your sponsor to develop an internship program that matches your personal, professional, and academic goals. Q: What if my internship is only four weeks long? The Weissman Program aims to provide funding for internship experiences that provide enough time for career exploration and cultural immersion. For this reason, internships need to be at least eight weeks in duration. A typical Weissman internship lasts 8-12 weeks. Q: I am taking a semester off. Does the Weissman program fund an international internship during the fall or spring semesters? Yes. While the majority of internships take place during the summer, internships at other times of the year may be considered as long as you meet all eligibility requirements. Q: Does the Weissman Program fund internships in the private sector? I heard it only funds internships that have to do with public service. The Weissman Program funds internships in a wide variety of career fields in both the public and private sector. |
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Q: Where can I get an application? Application, budget, and waiver forms will be available electronically after the winter holiday break. Please e-mail ocsintl@fas.harvard.edu to request them. Q: What forms do I need to fill out to apply? The application packet includes:
Q: Your instructions say that I need multiple copies of everything in my application. If there are a few parts of my application that are being sent to you directly, like the recommendations and the letter of invitation, how should I get copies of them? Q: I won't be on campus in February. Can I send in my application materials? Yes, but be sure to allow ample time for it to arrive by the deadline. It is your responsibility to follow up via e-mail or phone to be sure that we receive all application materials by the due date. Please send materials to The Weissman Program, Office of Career Services, Harvard University, 54 Dunster Street, Cambridge MA, 02138. |
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Q: My transcript will not have all of my fall term grades on it by the Weissman application deadline. What should I do? Submit the most recent copy of your transcript by the deadline. If it has missing or inaccurate grades, include a note that explains this, and replace it with an updated version as soon as possible. It is your responsibility to make sure that we receive the updated transcript as soon as possible after the deadline. Q: Can I submit a copy of my transcript? No. We need one official copy from the Registrar's Office for your original set of materials. The additional sets can contain copies of this transcript. It is recommended that you allow sufficient time to obtain an official transcript. Q: How do I get an official transcript when I can't request it in person? Call or go to the registrar's web page for information on how to order a transcript by mail. |
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Q: My internship proposal is eight pages long. Is this okay? No. Due to the amount of application materials that the selection committee needs to review, it is important that you submit a proposal that consists of 500-800 words. |
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Q: What if I have not received a letter of invitation from my sponsoring organization by the time the Weissman application is due? The original letter of invitation is a key component of your application and must be submitted by the application deadline. This letter represents written confirmation of your specific internship from your host organization. It must specify your internship duties, schedule or hours, duration, and any remuneration or other benefits offered. It must be signed and on official letterhead. Applications without a letter of invitation will not be accepted. Q: What if I received an invitation
from my sponsoring organization via e-mail or fax? Is that
good enough? The original letter of invitation, on company stationary and signed, is required and should be submitted with your application materials. We encourage you to start your search process early to allow sufficient time to receive this letter from your overseas sponsor. We understand, however, that you may need an extra day in the event of delayed mail or some unforeseen circumstance. If this is the case, we will accept a faxed or e-mailed version of the original invitation letter only if the original letter is submitted before application materials are sent to the Selection Committee. Note that it is your responsibility to follow-up and make sure that we have received it. Otherwise, your application will be submitted to the Committee incomplete. Q: Can my sponsoring organization send the letter of invitation directly to you? Your sponsoring organization may send the letter to the Weissman Program at OCS (Weissman Program, Office of Career Services, Harvard University, 54 Dunster St, Cambridge MA 02138). This letter must meet all requirements for invitation as outlined in the application and must be on official letterhead (which includes their contact information) and signed. We will keep your letter on file until we receive the rest of your application materials on or before the deadline. Be sure to follow up with us prior to the deadline to ensure that your letter has been received. Q: My letter of invitation is in another language. Is this okay? Your letter of invitation must be in English but if your sponsoring organization cannot provide one, an officially translated copy by a third party will be acceptable. Submit the original along with the English translation. The language departments may be able to recommend someone who can do this for you. |
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Q: What if my recommender can't get his/her letter in by the deadline? The required letters of recommendations are part of your application. It is recommended that you allow ample time for your recommender to complete and submit your recommendation letter by the deadline. If they cannot get a hard copy of their recommendation to us by the deadline, have them fax or e-mail a copy of the original letter by the deadline. This must be followed up by a signed, original hard-copy letter as soon as possible. Otherwise, your application will be submitted to the Committee incomplete. Q: I don't know who to ask for recommendations. What should I do? Find someone in the Harvard community such as a professor, teaching fellow, house tutor, or administrator who is familiar with you and your work, and who can comment on the suitability of your internship as well as your personal attributes. Q: I would like my letter of recommendation to be on file at my house. Can you send copies of my recommendations to my house? Have your recommenders send your letters to your House file, and then request that your House sends a copy to us. Alternatively, you can have your recommender send a copy to each location. Q: I have some letters of recommendation in my house file that were written for me last year when I applied for another grant. Can I use them for the Weissman application? It is better if you can find someone to write a recommendation that addresses your suitability for the Weissman Program and the specific internship you are proposing. Q: What am I supposed to do with these waiver forms? Print your name and that of your recommender, select whether you do or do not waive your right of access, and sign and date the form. Then give this form to the person who is writing your recommendation. If you waive your right to access, they will place their letter with your completed waiver form in a sealed envelope, and sign their name across the seal. Q: Can I include a third letter of recommendation? We ask that you only include two letters of recommendation. To be fair and equitable to all applicants, the Selection Committee will only review two letters. |
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Q: I am putting together my budget proposal for the Weissman application and it seems really high. Will the Selection Committee reject my application if I ask for too much money? The Selection Committee will review your budget proposal, and will not reject an application based on the budget amount proposed. However, they will expect you to have done careful research to come up with a budget amount that is reasonable and appropriate for your internship. If you are selected, they may revise your budget upward or downward, as deemed appropriate. Q. Since I'm planning my budget far in advance, how accurate do I need to be with my budget proposal? Your budget proposal is part of your internship application and reflects the amount that you are requesting from the program. Research and estimate your internship expenses as accurately as you can at the time of application. Refer to Fellowships: Preparing a Project Budget or contact us at OCS for additional guidance on preparing your budget. Q: I'm on financial aid and am expected to make a certain amount of money over the summer to put towards my tuition expenses. Should I include that amount in my budget proposal? If there is an amount of money that you are expected to earn during the internship period, you should include this on the form as requested. The program feels that this financial obligation should not prevent a student from participating in an internship abroad. |
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Q: I plan to study abroad during the spring term when interviews are held. What should I do? If you are selected for an interview, it is important that you can be reached by telephone for an interview with a Selection Committee member. You should also plan to meet all other program requirements. |
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Q: I am applying for a number of grants in addition to the Weissman. What if I end up receiving funding from a number of different sources? You are encouraged to explore other potential funding sources, including grants, fellowships, and the internship organization. This obviously increases the likelihood that you will receive funding from other sources. The Weissman Program is designed to fully fund your internship experience, so if you are offered funding from another source, you will need to decide if you would like to be funded by the Weissman Program or accept other funding and decline the Weissman Program award. |