Internship or Fellowship. What’s in a Name?
Even though the terms are used interchangeably, internships and fellowships are different.
Internships help you choose a career. Fellowships help you advance in a career.
Internships often work as trial periods for students interested in working at a particular company or in a particular field. Others may be required as part of a college major—communications, education, business and some health care majors often require an internship component. In such cases, internships may be unpaid but include college credit. The Department of Labor requires all internships with “for-profit” organizations be paid; nonprofits continue to offer unpaid internships.
Academic fellowships are usually research based, while non-academic fellowships are typically designed for recent graduates who already have a strong interest in a specific sector and want to accelerate their careers. Some fellowships may even require candidates to provide evidence of experience and potential for significant achievement.
Because most fellowships are selective, a fellowship adds luster to your résumé. It can help you skip over an entry-level job or launch a career in a sector where there are few entry-level opportunities. Both fellowships and relevant internships help you stand out from other candidates when you are ready to apply to graduate school.
Students undertake internships and fellowships at different times in their education.
The most important difference between internships and fellowships may be one of timing. Internships vary widely and are available at almost any time over the course of your education—often as early as high school. Fellowships, however, are less common and most often timed to a certain age or milestone. Many fellowships require candidates to have at least a bachelor’s degree (others are only for those who have already completed a graduate degree).
Internships are widely available. Fellowships are rarer and harder to find.
Many businesses and organizations (nonprofit, government and for-profit) offer well-designed internship experiences—the UN, Facebook, the Obama Foundation and NASA are all good examples. Other placements may be less formal or structured. Even businesses and organizations that don’t regularly offer internship programs, may take on an intern from time to time to assist with a specific set of tasks or provide a special opportunity.
That’s not possible with a fellowship, though there may be a few exceptions in scientific research. There are far fewer fellowships than there are internships. Fellowships are more structured, more competitive and often more selective. ProFellow, which compiles a database of fellowships, lists just 1,300 different fellowships, while job market experts estimate at least 1.5 million internships are filled each year.
The process of applying for a fellowship is different from that of applying for an internship.
When you apply for an internship, you follow a path similar to the path you might take when you apply for a job. You submit a cover letter and a résumé, and you might have an interview or two. You might also need references. Then you accept the job and negotiate your hours and pay. There may or may not be a deadline.
Fellowships, however, run the gamut—some may be like applying for a job while others may require multiple interviews, an essay or reflection, as well as several letters of recommendations or references, academic transcripts, a résumé (or CV in the case of an academic fellowship) and more. In some cases you may even need to propose a project plan to pursue. You will usually know all the details of benefits and salary well in advance of applying. There is almost always a deadline for competitive Fellowships.
Internships may last for only a few months and are part time. Fellowships have set durations and are often designed to be full-time experiences.
Internship durations are varied and will be based on the availability of the intern and the needs of the employer. Fellowships vary in length from a few months to a few years, but the duration is usually set in advance.
Competitive fellowships are often full time, although fellowships designed for working professionals are part-time. Internships, on the other hand, usually reflect a lower level of mutual commitment because the intern is still learning.
Most fellowships include a salary or a stipend, while internships are sometimes unpaid or offer an hourly wage.
Interns are almost always paid hourly, although unpaid internships focused on college credit are also available. While an unpaid internship may be a great way to spend your summer, not everyone can afford to work for free. On the other hand, working for college credit may be extremely valuable to students who are planning to graduate early.
In most cases, fellowships offer a set stipend or wages and benefits. Fellowships are almost always paid and do not include academic credits.
Expectations of interns and fellows are different.
If you’re an intern, your coworkers won’t expect you to be an expert at anything. What they will expect is curiosity, a willingness to learn and the confidence to roll up your sleeves and pitch in. Your colleagues and mentors will assume they are there to teach you, answer your questions and give you advice.
If you’re a fellow, however, you’ll be expected to be more independent and professional. People will want to hear what you have to say, and they will have feedback on your ideas. They will assume you already have something to offer—even if you have never worked in the field before.
During a fellowship, fellows often develop strong, lifelong connections among their cohort.
Fellowship programs are often designed for people at a particular time in their lives or careers. Because of their shared experience, the fellows develop a lively cohort spirit. Some programs work to enhance that spirit by planning professional development or retreats for the cohort as a group. Such shared growth encourages professional and social collegiality. The cohort connection often plays a major role in the fellowship experience.
While some internships include a cohort experience and even some professional development, this isn’t a common feature of most internships, as they’re often a more independent experience.
Internships and fellowships enhance networking in slightly different ways
Both internships and fellowships give you opportunities to form professional relationships that may be valuable in the future. But the distinction of an internship fades after a few jobs, as employers become more interested in your work history. You would be unlikely, for example, to include an internship on a resume after a few years. Fellowships have more staying power and a competitive fellowship can be part of your resume for life.
Applications for Fellowships are opening soon. Learn more about available fellowships and internships that can help you jumpstart a career.
To find an internship or fellowship, college students should talk with their academic and career advisers. Many colleges have designated fellowship advisers. Career advisers sometimes have knowledge of both internships and fellowships.
You can find nationally competitive fellowship opportunities on sites like ProFellow, your own college’s directory of fellowships and Handshake. Your college adviser can also help you identify opportunities. Other sources include The International Fellows Network, a LinkedIn networking group of more than 1,800 former fellows from a wide range of fellowships, which is a great place to get advice!
Don’t overlook the fellowships that are offered by your own college or university. Some have fellowship programs in specific departments. Once you explore opportunities at your own university or college, look for fellowships at other academic research institutions as a number of these fellowships are not limited to students at that institution.
No student should assume that they won’t qualify for a highly selective scholarship, internship or competitive fellowship award. Start exploring the opportunities, and you’ll quickly see how opportunities to put what you are learning into action in real life will help you gain a more nuanced understanding of social challenges, meaningful research, teamwork and leadership.
Good luck!
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