Ingenuity in Action - Funding Process
How to apply for InAct Funding
InAct funding is intended to cover expenses incurred while participating in approved activities and is not intended to be used as a stipend or source of income. All funding is based on a competitive application process, and although you are not guaranteed to receive the full amount requested, you may apply for funding for as many experiences as you feel are important to your academic and professional success up to the $5,000 maximum funding amount.
Internship funding
If you are participating in a for-credit internship that is unpaid, you can apply for funding at the same time you apply for academic credit through the InAct Portal. Non-credit internships are not eligible for funding, but you can still apply for InAct transcription for your experience.
Before applying, be sure to review the internship guidelines and application checklist which will help you prepare your application materials. Still have questions? Visit the Berry Career Institute in the Thomas Commons next to the Orange Carpet.
Off-campus studies funding
The block plan at Cornell College allows for exciting opportunities to study off campus, and we want to help students have those experiences through different funding options.
You can learn more about off-campus studies on the webpages of the Off-Campus Studies Office, or you can jump directly to the funding application.
OFF-CAMPUS STUDIES APPLICATION
Cornell Summer Research Institute (CSRI)
Cornell Summer Research Institute (CSRI) is a unique experience for you to assist a faculty member with their research for 8 weeks during the summer months. Funding, which provides a $2,500 stipend and covers housing costs, is automatically granted to those who are selected by CSRI participating faculty.
CSRI is a pre-approved experience for Ingenuity in Action, and all accepted students will be required to participate in the program.
Other funding—design your own experience
Ingenuity in Action funding is available for a wide array of activities in addition to traditional experiential learning options, such as internships and off-campus study. Are you needing to travel to another country to do your independent research project? Maybe you need to drive to another city to participate in student teaching. Whatever expenses you have related to your Ingenuity in Action activity, make sure to apply for funding so you can be considered for expense reimbursement. We encourage everyone to apply for consideration.
Funding guidelines and examples
Funding decisions for Ingenuity in Action are based on three guiding principles, and requests are prioritized based on Ingenuity in Action selection criteria.Guiding principles
- Serving students from a range of majors and disciplines
- Supporting different types of experiences
- Serving underrepresented populations
- Experience meets Ingenuity in Action requirements
- The student has not received previous funding from Cornell
- The experience is critical for future education and/or career goals
- Merit will be considered in some cases for premier programs (GPA, interview, etc)
- Financial need
- Class year and time remaining to complete experiences
- Level of real world application
- Additional information gleaned from personal statement and/or interview
- Additional information gleaned from faculty/staff recommendation
- Timing of application
- Food
- Housing
- Transportation
- Professional certification costs (must give back to Cornell in some way)
- Supplies (considered on a case-by-case basis)
For a detailed example of how you might detail your expenses for reimbursement, view a sample internship budget worksheet.
- Technology
- Supplies provided by the employer, department, or opportunity
- Cost of certifications that do not contribute to the Cornell community
- Professional attire (exceptions may apply for uniforms)
- Conference attendance where you do not present research or findings - Student Senate does consider and fund some of these requests
Additional selection criteria may be used for established programs. You can learn more about selection criteria for these programs on their web pages.
BERRY CAREER INSTITUTE INTERNSHIPS OFF-CAMPUS STUDIES CSRI
Ingenuity in Action Committee
Once you have submitted an Ingenuity in Action application with a request for funding, it will be reviewed by the committee. The committee is made up of the following positions:
- Ingenuity in Action Faculty Director
- Senior Director, Berry Career Institute
- Coordinator for Off Campus Studies and Experiential Learning
- Associate Director of Operations, Berry Career Institute
- Berry Career Institute and Dimensions Associate Director of Internships
- Assistant Registrar
The committee regularly consults with additional faculty and staff associated with key programs such as Cornell Summer Research Institute, Dimensions, and academic departments that manage the selection for annual, ongoing experiential opportunities sponsored by their department. The faculty and staff associated with these competitive programs select candidates and make recommendations to the Committee.
Funding Dispersal
The timing of when awarded InAct funds are received is dependent on your activity's start date. Due to Department of Education regulations, Financial Assistance is unable to disburse the award to your student account until the academic period in which the proposed activity occurs in has begun. The academic periods are the fall semester, the spring semester, summer 1 (begins first business day after commencement), and summer 2 (begins the first business day in July).
In order to receive these funds as a check or ACH (electronic bank deposit) after Financial Assistance has disbursed the funds, there must not be an outstanding balance on your student account.* If the InAct funding creates a credit balance, the InAct amount of the credit balance will trigger the refund process. This step can take 7-10 business days, and a check can take several additional days to be received. It is highly recommended to set up the ACH authorization, if not already previously done so specifically for refunds, to expedite the receipt of the funds. If the ACH form is not on file, a check will be sent to the address on file, which is usually either your home address or campus mailbox.
*If there is a balance on your student account, these awarded funds will reduce the balance, or the monthly installment amount if a pay plan is set up for the account.
Questions? Contact us
Contact the Coordinator for Experiential Learning, Danielle Linkenmeyer. You may also send an email to: ingenuity_in_action@cornellcollege.edu and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.