Summer Fellowship Program

As the only summer fellowship on campus dedicated to enhancing the understanding and the practice of sustainable finance, the Sustainable Finance Initiative (SFI) program provides financial support to continuing Stanford graduate students who have secured summer internships with organizations whose missions are aligned with SFI’s focus areas: 

• Carbon Accounting and Emissions Liability Management
• Carbon Markets
• Transition Pathways
• Insurance

Wondering what previous fellows have done? Visit the Cohorts page to learn more.

Program Dates

Late June – Early September

Student Eligibility

• Students must be pursuing a graduate degree (co-term, master’s, or PhD) at Stanford University. Priority will be given to master's and PhD students during the selection process.
• Students must be in good academic standing.
• Undergraduate and graduating students are not eligible.

Internship Eligibility

The host organization should:

• Be mission-aligned with SFI and provide internship opportunities on one or more of the following topics:
  • Sustainable/green/climate finance
  • Transition finance
  • Green taxonomy
  • Carbon markets
  • Carbon accounting
  • Climate risk metrics, models & scenarios
  • Other related topics
• Have one of the following structures:
  • Non-profit (501c3 or equivalent)
  • Public or government entity
  • For-profit (B-Corp, C-Corp, LLC, or others) that meets at least one of the following criteria:
    • Pre-Series B and has fewer than 50 employees
    • Investors have provided patient or philanthropic capital without expectation of a market-rate return in the most recent fundraising round.
• Provide a full-time opportunity with a term of 8-10 consecutive weeks.
• Provide a mentor committed to meeting on a weekly basis.

Application Process and Requirements

For graduate students who have secured summer internships with an organization with missions aligned with SFI’s, the application is available on Stanford On & Off-Campus Learning Opportunities (SOLO). 

Rolling application deadline until the first five applications are received. Applications received after the first five will be evaluated following the application deadline. Apply by May 17, 2024 at 5:00pm PT.

A complete application includes all of the following:

• Evidence of formal arrangements with an organization, which includes the dates and responsibilities of your internship and how much the organization is able to contribute to your salary, and if applicable, disclose any sources of additional funding. Sources of additional funding cannot include another Stanford program.
• Information about the mentor, who can provide guidance on a weekly basis.
• 1-page cover letter, including your interest in sustainable finance and a proposal outlining the internship to be undertaken and how it aligns with one or more of SFI's focus areas.
• CV/resume.
• An unofficial Stanford transcript.
• A list of pertinent coursework.

Funding

SFI will provide funding to supplement organization contributions so that students can earn $1,550 per week. Organizations must contribute a minimum based on their organization type (see table below). 

• If your employer pays you more than the expected amount, SFI pays proportionately less to reach $1,550/week.
• If your employer pays you less than the expected amount, you forgo the difference.

Students must have direct deposit activated in Axess by the first week of June so that the payment can be deposited directly into the account on file.

Travel Policy Guidelines

Please review the "Graduate Student, Staff, Faculty and Postdoctoral Scholar Travel" section of the For Stanford Travelers page for the latest information.

Expected Deliverables

• Submit a blog post for the SFI website.
• Give a short presentation as part of the SFI Monthly Seminar Series.

Timeline

• Applications will open early March and close in mid-May.
• Approximate offer date: Early June

Former Fellows in the News

• Bridging Energies: Shaping Green Financing in Uganda's Development Landscape

Questions

Please direct any questions to Katie Taflan Cerneka, SFI Program Manager, at ktaflanc@stanford.edu.