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Program Policies and Requirements

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Information for Haas Center-sponsored Cardinal Quarter Undergraduate Fellowship participants including eligibility, program requirements, and funding

David Yosuico leads a presentation at a lectern in front of a large screen. The presentation is titled "Improvements in Arc Scoring."

The following Program Policies apply to Cardinal Quarter opportunities that are sponsored or co-sponsored by the Haas Center for Public Service, Stanford in Government, and CS+Social Good. For details about Cardinal Quarter opportunities sponsored by other Stanford departments, please visit our campus partners' websites for more information.

Please note violations of Undergraduate Fellowships program policies are also violations of the Fundamental Standard and may be referred to the Office of Community Standards.

Advising Options and Hours

Visit program staff during drop-in advising on Tuesdays 1pm to 3pm at the Haas Center (Room 210). Please email cardinalquarter@stanford.edu with questions or to schedule an advising appointment outside of the provided hours. You may also wish to speak with a Cardinal Quarter Peer Advisor

Eligibility

Types of OpportunitiesHost Organization EligibilityStudent Eligibility

Program Requirements

Time Commitment | Remote Work | Outside Commitments | Campus Program Components

Stipends

Stipend Amounts | Additional Departmental or Program Funding | Funding from Host Organizations

Travel and International Service

Fundamental Standard

Eligibility

Types of Opportunities

The Undergraduate Fellowships Program of the Haas Center provides summer and academic quarter-long opportunities for students to engage in full-time, intensive public service experiences in the U.S. and abroad as part of the Cardinal Quarter campus-wide initiative. Students can choose to pursue prearranged placements or self-designed opportunities. In most cases, students are expected to seek out their own community partners prior to the application deadline and propose their own placements with agencies that meet the program’s requirements. For certain fellowships, Haas Center staff will make the arrangements and students apply to work at specific placements.

Stanford in Government (SIG) Fellowships offer domestic and international policy-oriented internship placements that are prearranged by SIG, while students are able to develop their own placements through the SIG Stipends Program. See SIG’s website for more information.

Host Organization Eligibility

Applicants propose their own placements in collaboration with their potential host organizations. Students are welcome to propose placements with a variety of organizations, keeping in mind the guidelines below:

  • Political-related and lobbying opportunities: Undergraduate Fellowships funding cannot be used for work with political campaigns, partisan organizations (including any official party work), or lobbying activities (including 501(c)(4) organizations).
  • Research-related opportunities: Research-focused opportunities will be considered if they are community-based and driven. See the Community-Based Research Fellowship as an example. Research done on campus, or at another higher education institution, typically will not be considered for funding. For grants supporting research, please explore the grants offered through Undergraduate Research.
  • Stanford-based opportunities: A goal of Cardinal Quarter and the Undergraduate Fellowships Program is for students to get away from campus, and to engage in the community with an established community partner. Opportunities based at Stanford may not qualify for Haas-sponsored fellowships.
  • For-profit organizations: Cardinal Quarter and Undergraduate Fellowships Program host organizations are typically nonprofits or government agencies. For-profit entities may be allowed if the proposed work and organization meet the following conditions: (i) the work/activity is primarily intended to create or provide a public benefit, (ii) the entity has explicitly and publicly articulated the intention to benefit the public and has integrated this intention in both internal- and external-facing documents, and (iii) the entity has agreed to, and has expressed a willingness to support, student exploration of the public value of the enterprise and/or the development of a civic identity as part of their engagement. Examples of these experiences include some of the Social E Fellowships.
  • Fees for placement/sending organizations: Undergraduate Fellowships program funds cannot be used to pay fees to third-party placement organizations or volunteer sending organizations. 
  • Faith-based organizations: Working with a faith-based organization can be supported by an Undergraduate Fellowship, but the organization must be inclusive in who they serve, non-proselytizing and nonpartisan.

Supervisor/Mentor Requirement

All fellows must have a supervisor/mentor at their host organization. The mentor/supervisor must be a staff member (i.e., not a volunteer) who works full time with the host organization. The mentor/supervisor may not be the fellow’s family member, and the host organization cannot be owned or run by the fellow’s family member.

Safety

Although Stanford is providing funding for a project or has recommended a student for a project, Stanford’s evaluation of the project has been limited to the merits of the student’s fellowship application. Haas Center staff do not necessarily have direct experience with, nor do we professionally endorse, partner organizations. Among other things, Stanford is not in the position to evaluate, and therefore has not evaluated, whether the project will take place in a safe and secure environment. Stanford is not responsible for matters that are beyond its control, and cannot warrant the safety or convenience of the circumstances under which the student will be traveling, living or working. Students are solely responsible for evaluating the safety of the environment in which they will be traveling and/or working and for taking appropriate precautions to safeguard their health and personal belongings.

Student Eligibility

Eligibility requirements vary across programs; please see fellowship descriptions for details. Continuing undergraduates are generally preferred for fellowships. Committees base decisions on the current applicant pool, which varies from year to year. See below for some general eligibility guidelines.

Enrollment Status and Academic Standing

Students must be enrolled at Stanford in the quarter when they apply for a fellowship opportunity, and will need to be enrolled in undergraduate study in the quarter when grant funding is disbursed. Applicants participating in off-campus Stanford programs are welcome to apply, but it is the responsibility of the applicant to compile, collate, and submit a complete application. Please see the Jane Stanford Fellowship webpage for enrollment requirements for that opportunity.

Fellowship participants must certify that they are in good academic standing, and may not participate in the program or receive or retain fellowship funds if they are on suspension.

Non-U.S. Citizens

Non-U.S. citizens are eligible for all of the Haas Center-sponsored fellowships; however, there may be citizenship restrictions for a few of the Stanford in Government Fellowships. Please check with the SIG team for more information.

Graduating Seniors

Graduating seniors may have lower priority for fellowship opportunities. Graduating seniors are also not eligible for additional financial aid beyond the base stipend amount. Students who have completed their undergraduate studies and have begun their coterminal degrees (i.e., students who are paying for graduate tuition) are not eligible for the Undergraduate Fellowships Program.

First-Year Students

Certain Undergraduate Fellowships and programs may be well suited for first-year students because there is a high-level of mentorship. These fellowships and programs include: Community Service Work-StudyEducation Achievement FellowshipStanford Pride Fellowship, and Stanford in Government State/Local Fellowships.

Graduate Students

Fellowship opportunities that are available for graduate students as well as undergraduates include: Schneider FellowsShultz Energy FellowshipsFreeman Spogli Institute for International Studies’ Global Policy InternshipsStanford Seed Internships, energyStartup Internships at the TomKat Center, Graduate Public Service (GPS) Fellowship, and Bay Area Climate Resilience Fellowship. Graduate students can also view this webpage for other opportunities for community engagement, public benefit, and social impact.

Multiple Cardinal Quarter Opportunities            
With the exception of the Donald Kennedy Public Service Fellowship, students cannot receive the same Haas Center-sponsored fellowship more than once. Students may participate in multiple Cardinal Quarter opportunities over the course of their Stanford undergraduate careers, but priority will be given to students who have completed fewer than two previous Cardinal Quarter opportunities.

Students are eligible for just one fellowship sponsored by the Haas Center or a Haas Center-affiliated student group (i.e., SIG, CS Social Good) in an academic year, including the summer quarter.

Health Insurance            
To be eligible for a fellowship, students must maintain health insurance for the duration of service.

Regina Kong interviews community members for the Inian Islands Institute

Program Requirements

Time Commitment

Students selected to participate in the summer fellowships program are expected to begin service after the conclusion of spring quarter classes and final exams and no later than July 8, 2024. Students who wish to begin service outside of this window must meet with program staff to discuss alternatives. All fellows are required to work with their community partners at least 35-40 hours/week for nine consecutive weeks.

Remote Work

The Undergraduate Fellowships Program is designed as an experiential learning opportunity, and as such, we expect fellows to work on-site at their host organizations during their fellowship experiences (health and safety conditions permitting). Some fully virtual experiences may be allowed on a case-by-case basis, dependent on the needs and capacities of the host organizations. If a fellow is engaging in a virtual experience, we expect the fellow to be situated in a similar time zone as the host organization supervisor and team members in order to facilitate synchronous project collaborations. A fellow who is approved for a fully virtual experience will not receive a cost-of-living adjustment to the base stipend. Based on feedback from previous program participants, fully virtual fellowships can be especially challenging for an undergraduate level short term position, and fellows are highly encouraged to pursue on-site or hybrid work arrangements.

Outside Commitments and Concurrent Course Enrollment

Undergraduate Fellowships program participants are not permitted to engage in another full-time internship, job, or volunteer opportunity (whether funded by Stanford or otherwise), including but not limited to another Cardinal Quarter opportunity (such as the Global Studies Internship Program), an Undergraduate Research Major Grant, a Chappell Lougee Scholarship, a Beagle II Award, and a full-time departmental or faculty-grant supported research position. These opportunities require significant time commitments, and are each intended to support full-time efforts. Program participants may work in an additional internship, job, or volunteer position for no more than five hours per week, and should speak with program staff to request an exception if they are planning an engagement that requires more than five hours per week.

Participants are also not permitted to enroll in coursework during the fellowship program.

Please note violations of Undergraduate Fellowship program policies are also violations of the Fundamental Standard and may be referred to the Office of Community Standards.

Campus Program Components

Because the Undergraduate Fellowships Program is a service-learning program, the service work is only one of the expectations of fellows. Other program requirements include preparatory activities, debriefings, reporting, donor stewardship, and group reflection, which vary from fellowship to fellowship.

Karime Laborin holds assistive stuffed animals

Stipends

Stipend Amount

Generally, stipends begin at $6,500. Additional financial aid is available to students who qualify, and aid eligibility is determined by the Financial Aid Office. Graduating seniors are not eligible for financial aid.

Fellows who will be working in domestic high cost-of-living areas will receive additional cost-of-living supplements. Fellows serving in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Los Angeles-area, New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Boulder, and Seattle will receive an additional $500 cost-of-living supplement*. (*Cost-of-living supplements are not available for students who will be working fully virtually.)

Supplements for safety/security, vaccinations, and airfare may be available for fellows who are traveling internationally, but are not guaranteed.

Donald Kennedy Public Service Fellows and Alexander Tung Memorial Fellows may apply for up to $1,000 (above their stipends) to support project expenses, if in-person service experiences are permissible.

Program staff will liaise with Stanford Athletics prior to processing varsity student athletes' stipends in order to ensure compliance with NCAA regulations

Stipend Uses

Stipends are not salaries; they are intended to support travel to and from the service site (if applicable) and living expenses (e.g., room and board, daily commute) while at site. Fellowship funding cannot be used to pay organizational program/training fees.

Additional Departmental or Program Funding

Fellowship participants cannot receive additional stipends from other Stanford departments or programs for the same work for which they are being funded for through the Undergraduate Fellowships Program.

As noted above, Haas-sponsored fellowship participants are not permitted to receive additional full-time experiential learning funding from another department or program, including another Cardinal Quarter opportunity (such as the Global Studies Internship Program), an Undergraduate Research Major Grant, a Chappell Lougee Scholarship, a Beagle II Award, and a full-time departmental or faculty-grant supported research position. These opportunities are each significant time commitments, and are each intended to support full-time efforts.

Students may be able to receive funding for a separate project they are engaging in following the fellowship commitment, subject to program policies and approval by Fellowships program staff. 

  • Undergraduate Research Funding: In some cases, students may receive a Small Grant for research to be conducted BEFORE the beginning of their fellowship or AFTER the completion of their service experiences. Students cannot receive dual funding for work during the same time frame.
  • Community Service Work-Study Funding: Students must choose between a fellowship award and Community Service Work-Study (CSWS) funding. Students cannot receive funding from both the Fellowships Program and CSWS for service work during the same time frame.

Funding from Host Organizations

The Undergraduate Fellowships program is intended to support service opportunities that are otherwise unpaid, and in most cases host organizations are not expected to contribute to a student’s stipend. If a host organization is able to provide a portion of a fellow’s stipend, we may deduct the stipend amount provided by the organization from the student’s total stipend award. Program staff will contact all host organizations to verify the amount of any compensation or stipend provided to fellows.

Gabriel Perez works at an archeological site in Peru

Travel and International Service

With limited exceptions, travel for undergraduate students is not permitted to countries, regions or cities where the International SOS  travel or medical risk rating is “High” or “Extreme.” To determine a location’s International SOS medical and travel risk ratings, please visit this page.

Travel Reservations 

Undergraduate Fellows are strongly encouraged to utilize Stanford Travel, a centralized booking program, when booking air travel for their fellowship experiences.

International Service Considerations

Many of the fellowships offer students the opportunity to serve internationally. Note that international service may bring with it additional academic, logistical, and ethical considerations; applications should reflect an understanding of these potential challenges and the knowledge and skills to handle them appropriately.

Fundamental Standard

Violations of Undergraduate Fellowships program policies are also violations of the Fundamental Standard and may be referred to the Office of Community Standards. Students who fail to abide by the policies set forth by the Undergraduate Fellowships Program, the Haas Center for Public Service, and Stanford University will have low/no priority for future Haas Center funding opportunities and programs. The Haas Center reserves the right to rescind funding at any given point and time should they be apprised of any policy violations as outlined above.