CBS Entrepreneurship Summer Fellowship
The Entrepreneurship Summer Fellowship Program at Columbia Business School is a program that
provides support to students engaging in summer internships at early stage companies (startups).
Qualification Criteria
Company Qualification Criteria:
 Companies acquired by Search Funds in the past two years automatically qualify
 Operational and funded/financed companies with more than ten employees, but less than 200
 Consulting, research, brokerage, or investment funds/companies are unacceptable
 Less than $25 million in revenues
 Student interns in company’s primary office location
 Must be entrepreneurial in nature
 Student responsibilities should be clearly defined by the company
 A senior executive internal mentor should be assigned by the company to work with the student
on a regular basis
 Work needs to be a full-time commitment during summer
 Operational function or exposure to operational functions preferred
 Responsibilities should not be based solely on research/analysis, and should be articulated
carefully and thoroughly in both the application/student memo and the company letter
 Preferably one stipend per company per summer
Student Selection Criteria:
As interest is expected to outstrip demand, students must meet the following criteria:
 Demonstrated interest in careers at growing early stage companies through course selection,
active participation in clubs, or fall and spring term internships
 Adhesion to Company selection criteria (above)
Admission subsequently filtered on a need-basis (students with lower salaries take priority) and then on a
first come first serve basis.
Financial Plans
Financial Benefit provided by CBS
 School to match student salary up until a ceiling of a total salary of $1,200 per week, during the
summer period. For example
o If student earns $400 per week, school will match this amount resulting in a total
compensation of $800 per week
o If student earns $600 per week, school will match this amount resulting in a total
compensation of $1,200 per week
o If student earns $1000 per week, school will contribute $200 per week to reach the
ceiling amount of $1,200 per week
 Maximum payout from school to be $4,000 total for the summer for each selected student
Logistics of payout:
 Payment to be made at the conclusion of the summer internship, upon submission of all
paperwork
To be considered for the Entrepreneurship Summer Fellowship Program, you must be a Columbia
Business School student who has completed at least one term of MBA courses and will return to CBS
after their summer internship. Second-year students are not eligible for this pilot program. Students
enrolled in the summer semester are eligible to apply for full-time mini internships lasting 2 weeks or
more during intersession only.
You must have an offer for a full-time summer position with an eligible organization before applying for
a Fellowship. At a minimum, the internship must entail a Monday through Friday 35-hour work week.
Students must not work for two employing organizations concurrently. Generally, telecommuting is not
encouraged and is grounds for rejection; however, it will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Once you have received an internship offer, the requirements of the Entrepreneurship Summer Fellowship
should be discussed with the organization’s director or your potential supervisor. From the employing
organization, you will need to provide a copy of the offer letter and a completed Employer Information
Form. Applicants are expected to submit all requested materials, which include the completed student
application, direct deposit form, tax certification, W-9 OR W-8 plus copy of passport and U.S. visa, W-4
(second year students only), offer letter and Employer Information Form.
Students can begin submitting applications January 5th. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis
through May or until funds are no longer available. A response can be expected within a three week
period of submitting a completed application. Applications submitted early will be reviewed first.
Students applying for mini-internships may submit applications on a rolling basis until July 1st, assuming
funds are still available. Students are expected to accept or decline funding within one week of receiving
notice.
OBLIGATIONS
By accepting the fellowship, you are committing to the following obligations:


Contribute to the program by driving the program forward wherever possible. It is the students
responsibility, not administrations, to help make the program run smoothly
To participate when requested by CMC or the Lang Center in career discussion panels, or
‘advisor’ roles to incoming students.
The Program will review the paperwork and progress on obligations before the final payment is paid.
APPLICATION CHECKLIST
Each student must email:
1) The Student Information Form
2) A copy of their current resume
3) An essay, not to exceed three pages (see below)
4) A paragraph written in the third person that includes your name, the organization’s name and
mission, and a brief description of your project. Not to exceed 100 words.
5) The Employer Information Form: including a paragraph describing the organization and a
brief description of your project.
6) The offer letter
7) Explanation of compensation if the organization cannot meet the $600 per week minimum
8) Paychecks per period in order to confirm the amount for which student is eligible
9) Requested evidence that company meets qualifying criteria, being a letter from manager
confirming facts, or public sources
Note: The items above should be emailed as a single pdf document to the Lang Center:
entprog@columbia.edu.
Each student must deliver the following to the Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center in Uris 2M5:
10) Name, phone number & email address on cover sheet with the below included
11) US citizens must provide
 W-9
12) International students must provide:
 W-8
 A copy of the first page of your passport
 A copy of your U.S. visa/entry stamp page
Note: Items 10–12 will be returned to you or shredded if you are not admitted into the fellowship
program.
THE ESSAY
Please include the following information in the application essay (do not exceed three pages double
spaced and font size 12):
A. Organization and internship overview
This should include a description of:
1) A description of the organization and its products
2) The division, department or program where you will contribute
3) The name and title of the supervisor and your level of contact with that individual
4) Additional support structures available to you at the organization
5) Short-term and long-term responsibilities
6) Realistic end-of-summer deliverables (students applying for mini internships should address the
impact of the shortened time)
B. Benefits to the organization and the MBA student
This should answer the following questions:
1) What are the short- and long-term benefits to the organization and community?
2) What is the connection between this opportunity and your personal and professional goals?
3) How will this experience assist you in achieving your goals?
4) How will this experience enhance your Columbia Business School education?
Applications should be submitted to the Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center via email:
entprog@columbia.edu. Financial information should be delivered to in person to the Eugene Lang
Entrepreneurship Center in Uris Room 2M5.
STUDENT INFORMATION FORM
Honor Code
As a lifelong member of the Columbia Business School Community, I adhere to the principles of truth,
integrity and respect. I will not lie, cheat, steal or tolerate those who do.
I hereby certify that I abide by Columbia Business School’s Honor Code, have not been subject to any
disciplinary action (academic or professional) in the last 10 years, and that all information provided with
this application is truthful. I am aware that any misrepresentation of facts in any part of this application
will justify the denial or revocation of an Entrepreneurship Summer Fellowship.
Signature
Date _________________
Name:
Address:
City, State, Zip:
Mailing Address (if different):
City, State, Zip:
Phone Number:
CBS Email:
Gmail/Other Email:
Degree(s):
Concentration(s):
Term at Columbia Business School:
Intended Graduation Date:
At the time of the internship, will you be a current student?
□ Yes
□ No
Organization:
Supervisor name(s)/ Title(s):
Address:
City, State, Zip:
Telephone:
Email:
Fellowship Start Date:
End Date:
List all anticipated vacation dates and number of days:
Will you be working Monday to Friday for at least 35 hours? (You should not be working
concurrent internships)
□ Yes
□ No
Salary: $ ________ per week for _______ weeks =
In-kind contribution, if any (estimated value)
Housing:
Transportation:
Other (please specify):
Total employer contribution:
$ ___________
$ ___________
$ ___________
$ ___________
$ ___________
Are you willing to commit at least 3 hours during the upcoming academic year to helping the
CMC and Lang Center promote the Program? The commitment will likely involve sitting on a
panel or participating in a Startup Fair.
□ No
□ Yes.