Skip to Main Content Skip to Footer Toggle Navigation Menu

Paid Summer Opportunities

If you are a Macalester student, please view the possibilities that require student applications and have a conversation with a faculty or staff advisor to discuss how to maximize such experiential learning opportunities during your time at Macalester. The links provide detailed information about the application and selection processes for each program.

Many projects result in the opportunity to present findings on campus and at regional or national conferences; some students also the get the opportunity to publish their results. You can also highlight your experiences in the different programs on the  Summer Showcase webpage.  The Summer Showcase of research, internships, projects, and entrepreneurial endeavors celebrates the depth and breadth of Macalester students’ summer experiences and their close collaboration with faculty, staff, and community partners.

Research
On-campus Olin-Rice summer research. This link provides information about projects that Olin-Rice faculty members will offer students in 2024 and allows students to express their interest in working on project(s).
Olin-Rice Hub coordinated opportunties.
  • Off-campus for Macalester students only These projects leverage connections with alumni or Twin Cities partners to provide unique research opportunties for Macalester students.
  • Young Researcher Program
  • Jan Serie Fellowship. Supports a student doing full time research during the summer in any area of science or math. Research may take place at Macalester or another site, but all proposals and projects require a Macalester faculty mentor/sponsor who will participate and/or advise the student during the research experience.
Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF). This program provides underrepresented students the opportunity to  consider graduate study, research, and/or teaching careers in approved humanities fields. Participants conduct an individual research project under the guidance of a faculty mentor during their junior and senior years. During the year, students meet weekly as a cohort to share their research and to learn about the graduate school application process. Over the summer, students  enroll in a weekly two-credit seminar led by the MMUF faculty coordinator.  Participants also receive travel support to attend an annual regional conference.  Fellows also receive continued support as they pursue a doctorate through a targeted series of grants and seminars, beginning with the early stages of graduate school and continuing through the post-Ph.D. years.
In addition, Macalester faculty also have the opportunity to apply for Collaborative Summer Research (CSR) funds that supports student-faculty collaborative research during the summer. Faculty can contact Dennis Cao ([email protected]), Chemistry, for more information.
Examples of Past Projects
Departmental Supported Summer Awards.
Internships
Macalester Summer Internship Grants (MSIG). Summer internships offer invaluable work-integrated learning for students to explore and advance their academic interests and careers. MSIG 2024 will provide grants to students to do 10-week unpaid internships. Grant levels are $6,250 for full-time internships (35-40 hours per week) and $3,125 for half-time internships (~20 hours per week).
Amy Ostermeier Human Rights Fellowship.  Up to two fellowships are awarded to support unpaid internships, anywhere in the world, related to human rights.  Applications to support students who have secured human rights-related internships at the United States Department of State are preferred, but students with any human rights-related internships are encouraged to apply.

 

Taylor Public Health Fellowship awards grants to students who complete internships within the public health sector.
Entrepreneurship
MacNest. MacNest is a summer internship program where students receive funding for unpaid internships with Twin Cities startups. Students will receive $6,250 to work 35 hours a week and attend career development and cohort workshops to make connections in their internship experience. 
Mac//STARTUP. MacStartups is a 10-week fully-immersive summer incubator program open to current Macalester students. Working in a team of 2-3, students spend the summer using their creativity and super-powers to tackle a problem they’re passionate about solving while connecting with the Twin Cities entrepreneurship community.
Community Engagement
Chuck Green Fellowship. During the six-month fellowship, fellows participate in a spring semester Political Science seminar focused on analyzing and addressing community-based issues. That summer, fellows receive a $6,250 stipend to complete a full-time, on-site project at a community-based organization to implement the recommendations developed in the spring.
Only 12 fellows—who must be either sophomores or juniors—are selected each year.
Davis Projects for Peace. This program aims to encourage student initiative, innovation and entrepreneurship focusing on conflict prevention, resolution or reconciliation. All current Macalester students (including seniors who would complete their projects after graduation) are eligible. Funding per project is limited to $10,000.