Internships Overview

The Bill Lane Center offers three kinds of student internships:

The American West Internship
The Shultz Energy Fellowship
The Environmental Journalism Internship

The American West and Shultz Energy internships are supported by a stipend to cover living expenses and financial aid, if applicable. Internship take place during the summer quarter (see links to program details below).

The Environmental Journalism Internship is not supported by a stipend but can be taken for academic credit during all quarters of the academic year, including summer (see more details below).

Students interested in applying for any Bill Lane Center internship should join the email list to be the first to know when applications are available.

Cardinal Quarter Opportunities

Every summer, the Bill Lane Center for the American West offers many opportunities for Stanford undergraduates (including co-terminal and master's students) to work with organizations throughout the West. Through these internships, students can explore careers in natural history, conservation, ecology, land use, museum curation, resource management, water, energy, literature, policy, politics, and more.

The Bill Lane Center offers two kinds of internship that are part of Cardinal Quarter opportunities, and students from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. The opportunities are full-time (40 hours a week) for 9 to 10 consecutive weeks during the summer. Specific start and end dates can be coordinated directly with the internship organization's supervisor. All internships are fully funded by the Bill Lane Center with stipends ranging from $8,000 to $10,000.

The Bill Lane Center has placed over 300 interns in positions across the West since 2005. It has developed strong relationships with host organizations and works hard to ensure interns have successful and enriching experiences.

Types of Cardinal Quarter internships

The two types of Cardinal Quarter internships offered by the Bill Lane Center are known as:

Click the links above to learn more about the Lane Center's many work opportunities at organizations across the West, including the Shultz energy-specific internships co-sponsored with Stanford’s Precourt Institute for Energy and Stanford in Government.

Application information for the Shultz Energy Fellowships can be found on the Explore Energy website.

The Haas Center will also have student cohort leaders planning social events in certain cities so please stay tuned for those summer regional events! There are hundreds of Stanford Alumni Clubs around the world and you are encouraged to reach out to the contact listed for the local chapter where your internship is based. Alumni are interested in staying connected with Stanford and, if there are summer activities, would be happy to include you.

For answers to frequently asked questions about the above Cardinal Quarter internships, please visit the FAQs page and/or email the Lane Center's education manager, Corinne Thomas.

Stipend

The Office of Financial Aid strongly recommends all the stipend recipients to set up direct deposit immediately if they have not done so.

A stipend is considered a resource and it may have an impact on a student’s financial aid. To comply with U.S. Department of Education regulations, student payments, awards, prizes, and gifts that are made available to the student because they are a Stanford student, must be reported to the Office of Financial Aid. The Office of Financial Aid is responsible for the disbursement of stipend funds to undergraduates.

For more information, please visit the Office of Financial Aid's webpage about the student stipend policy.
The Office of Financial Aid expects students to check their own eligibility for research stipends. Students can access their Financial Aid Notification/Award Letter by following the steps below:
- Log on to AXESS.
- At the top of the AXESS page, hover over STUDENT.
- Under Quick Links, select View financial aid notification.
- If the student’s award notification shows a remaining balance under “Student Responsibility,” then the student can be awarded an academic year stipend up to that total amount.
The stipend is provided to cover living expenses and, if applicable, part of the summer earnings expectation of the Office of Financial Aid. Interns who will be working in high cost-of-living areas, e.g., the Bay Area, will receive additional cost-of-living supplements.
The stipend is not intended to be, and is not, a paid, hourly wage or salary. Stipends are intended to support travel to and from the host organization (if applicable) and living expenses (e.g., room and board, daily commute) while at the host organization. An internship is an educational and experiential learning opportunity intended for the student to apply their academics and gain real-world experience.

Environmental Journalism Internship

The Bill Lane Center also offers an Environmental Journalism Internship that is not granted a stipend, but which affords students three units of credit from Tom Hayden, director of Stanford's masters program in environmental journalism.

The environmental journalism intern will work with the Bill Lane Center’s writer in residence, Felicity Barringer, on an environmental journalism project. Editorial interns gain valuable journalistic experience by reporting and writing stories published to our "& the West" magazine. Check out some of the pieces written by previous interns.

To indicate interest in this program and get more information, please email Felicity at febarr [at] stanford.edu (febarr[at]stanford[dot]edu).

West Internship Application Details

American West Internship Application Details

Interested students can apply via the SOLO portal.

Selection process and timeline:

Host organizations are usually confirmed by early December and student applications are available on the SOLO portal by mid-December.
The student application deadline is at the end of January for the following summer's opportunities.
First-round interviews of selected students occur in February with Bill Lane Center staff.
Finalists will have their applications forwarded to the host organizations that make the final selection decision.
Students should know the selection decisions and internship placements prior to the start of spring break.
Please visit the American West Internships page for further details and deadlines.

Required application materials:

The Bill Lane Center application includes specific questions and will also prompt students to submit:

A cover letter describing their interest and experience
A resume
Two references (not letters of recommendation)
An unofficial transcript (the most recent)

Cover letters:

Students should address their cover letters to both the Bill Lane Center, that is funding and administering the internship, and to the organization to which they are applying.

The following three questions must be addressed in the cover letter:

What are your motivations behind applying for this position?
How will participating in this program further your academic and professional pursuits?
Do you have any prior internship or relevant experience?

For more helpful application advice and tips on writing a cover letter, please visit the Bill Lane Center's FAQs page.

Please note:

Students may apply to *no more* than three internships.
Students' applications may be forwarded to additional host organizations at the discretion of the Bill Lane Center staff.
Graduating seniors are only eligible if there is a second round of the selection process for certain internships and if they are graduating in spring quarter but not earlier, e.g., fall or winter quarter of that particular academic year.
Please visit the American West Internships page for details and deadlines.

Cardinal Quarter Certification

In partnership with the Haas Center for Public Service, students who complete any Bill Lane Center internship are eligible for a Cardinal Quarter certification.

Cardinal Quarter offerings are intensive, immersive, local, national and global public service experiences. The experiences provide students the opportunities to contribute to society, develop citizenship and professional skills, and realize Jane Stanford’s vision that with a Stanford education students “will become thereby of greater service to the public.”

Students receive a notation on their transcript after completing all Cardinal Quarter requirements.