Many Bowdoin students use the summer to explore in depth a topic or field that most interests them. While many stay on campus, others travel to destinations around the world.
This is how it works: if a student presents the College with a compelling vision for a summer plan, Bowdoin does its best—thanks to the generosity of many donors—to make them happen.
Four major sources for summer funding at Bowdoin come from the Office of Career Exploration and Development (CXD), the Office of Student Fellowships and Research, the McKeen Center for the Common Good, and the Environmental Studies program.
CXD: One of the most popular summer initiatives is CXD's Funded Internship program, which awards grants for $6,000 and $7,000 to students who have secured an unpaid summer internship.
The McKeen Center has four fellowship programs that focus on different aspects of serving the common good: public service, nonprofit community work, global service, and internships related to students' academic interests.
Environmental Studies has two fellowships: one provides support for students to work in the community; the other supports independent, faculty-mentored research.
The Office of Student Fellowships and Research—along with many departments, programs, and initiatives across campus—award fellowships to students. This year, scores of students are carrying out projects in academic disciplines, from Africana studies to biochemistry, sociology, and the visual arts.
Many fellowships also transcend disciplines. For instance, five students have received funding from the Hastings Initiative to do AI-related research in different fields. The newly launched Bowdoin Data Lab, supported by the Digital and Computational Students department, has provided another five students with funding to focus on big-data endeavors across majors. The Gibbons Summer Research Program, run by the Academic Technology program, funds several students each summer to collaborate with faculty on technology-driven projects in any department.
Keep your eye out for more stories about student summer fellows in the coming weeks!
