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Highlander Works

Internship Funding Grants

Radford University's Center for Career and Talent Development supports the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) definition and criteria of an internship. The Highlander Works Grant Program, funded by the C.E. Richardson Benevolent Foundation Grant (supporting students from Pulaski County, VA) and the Enterprise Mobility Foundation Grant, offers students an opportunity to apply for funding to help reduce the financial barriers associated with participating in unpaid or lower paid internships.

Fall 2025 applications are open and the submission deadline is August 25, 2025.

Highlander Works Internship Grant Program

Highlander Works Internship funding is provided by the C. E. Richardson Benevolent Foundation Grant (supporting students from Pulaski County, VA) and the Enterprise Mobility Foundation Grant. It is available for any student enrolled at Radford University, and is open to all college majors for first year students thru graduate level students.  Students may apply to this grant prior to confirming the internship, but funding will not be provided until the Center for Career and Talent Development receives the Employer Verification form. Requests can be funded in part or in full.

Eligibility
Degree-seeking students currently enrolled full-time at Radford University with at least a 2.0 GPA are eligible to apply with priority given to undergraduate students and students pursuing their first internship at the college level. To apply for funding, students are required to receive academic credit from an internship course that is officially listed by an academic department and complete the Internship & Co-op Agreement workflow.  Internships can be domestic or international.

Note that we will prioritize internships proper and consider other allied terms to the degree they meet our definition of internship and that funds are available. 

Students are required to register in an internship course for academic credit and complete the following:

A committee will review application materials using a rubric addressing the following categories: quality of application answers, explanation of budget proposal, GPA/good academic standing, and faculty recommendation.

Once selected, students must submit employer verification prior to fund disbursement.

Funding will be paid at 50% midway through the internship and 50% at the conclusion of the internship and after the receipt of the Reflection.

If you have any questions, please email Debbie Fenderson dfenderson@radford.edu.

NACE Internship Definition

“An internship is a form of experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional setting. Internships give students the opportunity to gain valuable applied experience and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career paths; and give employers the opportunity to guide and evaluate talent." 

If the following criteria are followed, it is the opinion of NACE that the experience can be considered a legitimate internship:

  1. The experience must be an extension of the classroom: a learning experience that provides for applying the knowledge gained in the classroom. It must not be simply to advance the operations of the employer or be the work that a regular employee would routinely perform.
  2. The skills or knowledge learned must be transferable to other employment settings.
  3. The experience has a defined beginning and end, and a job description with desired qualifications.
  4. There are clearly defined learning objectives/goals related to the professional goals of the student’s academic coursework.
  5. There is supervision by a professional with expertise and educational and/or professional background in the field of the experience.
  6. There is routine feedback by the experienced supervisor.
  7. There are resources, equipment, and facilities provided by the host employer that support learning objectives/goals.
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