Summer Fellowship Program

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.
• Student must plan to enroll in the Sustainable Finance and Investment Seminar (CEE 157/257) during the upcoming fall quarter.
• 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
  • Blended finance
  • 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 minimum of 8 consecutive weeks.
• Provide a mentor committed to meeting on a weekly basis.

Application Process and Requirements

There are two tracks for graduate students to secure the SFI fellowship:

• For non-MBA 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).
• For MBA students, SFI will provide support in partnership with the Social Management Immersion Fund (SMIF) and should apply through SMIF's application process. 

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.
• Information about the mentor, who can provide guidance on a weekly basis.
• 1-page cover letter, including applicant’s interest in sustainable finance and a proposal outlining the internship to be undertaken.
• CV/resume.
• An unofficial Stanford transcript.
• A list of pertinent coursework.
• Acknowledgement of required fall course.

Funding

SFI will provide funding to supplement organization contributions so that students can earn $1K per week (master's or PhD) or $700 per week (co-term). Organizations must contribute a minimum based on their annual operating budget (see table below). MBA students who have successfully applied through SMIF will receive funding at the SMIF rate (log into MyGSB for details).

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 Sustainable Finance and Investment Seminar (CEE 157/257).

Timeline

• Applications are now open through Friday, May 19, 2023 at 5:00 pm PT.
• Approximate offer date: Friday, June 9, 2023

Questions

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