Get Experience scholarships frequently asked questions

Not necessarily. If the payment you receive falls under Illinois minimum wage (currently defined as a rate of $15 per hour), we will consider your experience as being "underpaid" and apply a formula that considers the gap. This is why the application asks questions about the expected number of hours and weeks you will be dedicating to the role, as well as compensation you will receive.

For a list of currently approved college and departmental internship classes that can be paired with the LAS Get Experience scholarship award, please see the LAS Career Services career courses webpage.

LAS College Courses (LAS 199, LAS 289, and LAS 302) are described in detail on this page, with example syllabi provided. 

Links are provided on the bottom of the page to departmental courses. Those that are approved have “internship” in their title, including COM 304, ECON 298, GLBL 225, HIST 398, PS 491. Additionally, PSYC 340/341: Community Projects is approved as students in this course engage in “community internships.” 

You are encouraged to connect with your academic advisors regarding how internship classes may fit with your program and academic progress. If you have questions about whether a particular course (beyond those mentioned above) can be paired with the LAS Get Experience Scholarship, please email your inquiry to las-careerservices@illinois.edu 

No worries. While it is required for you to have an identified organization that you are working with, we recognize that it can be hard to coordinate all of the details about your role. We are willing to work with you. Do the best you can and reach out to las-careerservices@illinois.edu with the issues you need time to help resolve. However, it is important that you communicate with us. Let us know where you are in the process so that we can help you plan ahead. We do not want to reject your application due to a misunderstanding about missing information.

The scholarship funds are deposited into your student account during the academic term in which your experience occurs. We are able to release funds once we have received your Professional Experience Verification Form, and have acknowledgement of whether you will be participating in an LAS internship class (LAS 199, LAS 289, or LAS 302) or the Get Experience scholarship program individual career coaching opportunity.

But, if I am taking a LAS departmental internship class, do I ALSO need to participate in one of these LAS classes or the Get Experience individual career coaching? 

Yes, we ask you to also connect with the Get Experience scholarship team. We do our best to keep these connections efficient, light touch, and meaningful to you. Please know that these connections are also essential to provide communications back to the scholarship program to demonstrate strong use of funding. Future financial support of this program is dependent on you staying in touch.

The Get Experience Scholarship will be rescinded if the experience is not successfully completed. Be aware that if you withdraw after you have signed a contract with a provider, you are still liable for those program fees.

We are not able to role a scholarship award over from one semester to another. However, you are welcome to reapply as long as you have not previously received funds from the scholarship.

Yes. Your advisor or supervisor should confirm what your work experience / duration / hours will be in the Professional Experience Verification Form. If we have any questions or concerns, we'll contact you. Generally, though, a change in hours would not change the award amount unless the number of hours or weeks dedicated to the experience drop drastically. A significant portion of these awards are dedicated to addressing a “pay gap,” which is calculated based on anticipated number of unfunded or underfunded hours worked. If the anticipated number of hours worked drops drastically, the total amount of the award may be reduced before distribution in efforts to award scholarships equitably and to adequately support as many students as possible to obtain career-related experiences. Any changes to award totals will be communicated to students before they take effect.