Global Research & Internship Program

Search Opportunities & Apply

In order to apply for the Global Research & Internship Program (either for one of our pre-approved placements or for Funding-Only), students must:

• Be full-time, degree-seeking students in the spring semester before they are to participate in GRIP

• Return to their same degree program as a full-time student the fall semester after their internship

• Be in good academic and disciplinary standing

• Have not participated in this program before OR have not committed to participating in this program before and then withdrew

• Be interning or conducting supervised research abroad for 8 to 12 weeks during the summer (for students applying to Funding-Only)

The deadline for Summer 2019 placements has passed, click below to learn about the application process for Funding-Only awards. Interested in Summer 2020 placements? You are invited to join our mailing list to stay up to date on GRIP, the application process, and other Penn Abroad programs.  

To apply for one of our pre-approved internship or research placements, students will need to successfully:

• Submit a CV/resume and cover letter/personal statement in one singular PDF

• Submit an essay for consideration for additional funding beyond the GRIP Funding Award (optional)

• Attend a group advising session at Penn Abroad

• Submit any other supplemental materials as requested by the employer

The application and admission timeline is as follows:

I. Researching Opportunities: Summer 2019 GRIP placements are now posted on PASSPORT. Please make sure to carefully read the full details about each opportunity on the online brochures, including tabs about the placement’s duration, start date, accommodation, estimated cost, etc. Contacting past participants is especially helpful at this stage!

II. Advising and Applying: Students are able to open an application on their own*. In order to submit an application, students must attend a group advising session. A limited number of individual appointments are available for students who have already attended a group advising session.

III. Screening: Applications will be screened following the application deadline January 6, 2019, at 10:00 pm EST. At this time, Penn Abroad will conduct the first-round screening to ensure that students meet eligibility requirements. For placements with particularly high numbers of applicants, students will be screened to ensure they have researched the opportunity, are motivated and enthusiastic about the opportunity, and have presented themselves professionally in their resume and cover letter.

IV. Interviewing: Students whose applications make it past the first round of screening will then have their resumes and cover letters sent to the employer. Each employer has the ability to decide who (if anyone) they would like to interview, as well as when the interviews will take place. Some employers will want to interview applicants right away, while others may spread the process out over a longer period of time.

V. Decision: All decisions regarding placements and funding amounts will be communicated directly to you by Penn Abroad on February 22, 2019. Students will have until March 1, 2019, to accept their offer.

Admissions decisions are made jointly by the employer and Penn Abroad, and thus it is crucial that each applicant behave professionally throughout this process when interacting with both Penn Abroad staff and potential employers.

*Note: The deadline to request to apply for two GRIP placements was Thursday, December 20th.  No further requests will be accepted.  If you did not submit a request form by the deadline, you may apply to one GRIP opportunity only.

If you have been accepted to an internship or research placement that you have found outside of our pre-approved placements, and if that opportunity is outside of the United States and over the summer for 8 to 12 weeks, you are invited to apply for a GRIP Funding-Only award.

To apply, you will need to successfully:

• Submit proof that you were accepted to a qualifying opportunity

• Create and submit a budget based on how much your summer experience will cost

Applications for Funding-Only are open and will close on April 1, 2019 at 10:00 pm EST. Decisions will be released on a rolling basis starting in the Spring until funds are exhausted, and thus students who apply earlier will have a higher chance of receiving an award.

Once a funding decision has been issued by Penn Abroad, Funding-Only award recipients will have one week from the time of the funding award letter to accept or decline their funding.

Funding-Only award amounts vary by student, and awards are not guaranteed for all applicants.

Pre-Approved Placement Applications: January 6, 2019 at 10:00 pm EST
You are invited to join our mailing list to stay up to date on GRIP Summer 2020 placements, the application process, and other Penn Abroad programs.

Funding-Only Applications: April 1, 2019 at 10:00 pm EST