The Life Design Lab Summer Scholarship and Development Program supports Johns Hopkins University undergraduates pursuing high impact experiences such as unpaid internships during summer 2026.
If selected for a summer scholarship, students are required to enroll in a 1-credit development course. The course, entitled The Life Design Summer Experience Practicum, is virtual, both synchronous and asynchronous, and offered at no-cost to students and provides students with a structured opportunity to apply Life Design to their summer immersive experience. Over the course of 8-weeks, students will use the principles and processes of design thinking to:
- Reflect upon their values, identities, habits, and experiences and their relationship to the world of work & research
- Deepen their understanding of potential professional pathways through conversations with colleagues, supervisors, and alumni.
- Test out these pathways through storytelling and the designing of new habits
By the end of the course, students will be able to articulate the ways in which they can leverage their summer experiences to advance future opportunities within their personal, professional, and academic aspirations. The course is graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U).
By the end of the course, students will be able to articulate the ways in which their summer experience informs and supports their academic, professional, and personal ambitions. The course is graded Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U)
All summer scholarships decisions have a built-in financial aid review to minimize the impact of the award on fall/spring financial aid in the next academic year.
Applications are due April 10, 2026 at noon.
Application Process
Beginning March 2, 2026 use this link to access a form where you will be asked questions and prompted to submit the following info:
1. One-page resume- Complete the resume development guide checklist within the LDL Foundations Portal on Hopkins Groups. In doing so, we know you’ve reviewed our resume best practices and optimized your resume accordingly. Submit your updated resume after receiving at least a score of 80% on Vmock.
2. One-page Personal Statement: Craft a personal statement (no more than 500 words) that includes the following:
- Your name.
- Describe how this experience aligns with your academic, career, or life design goals.
- Discuss why this experience is essential for your personal growth and development.
3. Proposed budget (this will outline your expenses as well as other salary/compensation or other funding.)
4. Verification of your summer experience. (An official letter or email from the employer verifying the internship/experience. See the FAQs below for more info.)
These are competitive awards and applications will be reviewed by a committee.
List of Scholarships:
Un(der)paid Life Design Lab Internship Scholarships
Many internships that students get in the summers are unpaid or underpaid. Still other students commit significant time to volunteering or immersive programs rather than summer internships. These grants provide up to $4,000 in funding to help make ends meet and to acknowledge the significant value of these experiences for developing professional skills. You do not have to request the entire amount, and we encourage you to request funding only for essential needs such as reasonable college housing costs, food, transportation, and business essentials.
SOAR Summer Plunge Scholarship
The SOAR Summer Plunge Grant offers up to $4,000 to support FLI students with summer internship and professional development experiences in a variety of ways.
Clark Scholars Summer Scholarship
Provides funding to support Clark Scholars pursuing internships, research, or other approved summer experiences that advance academic and career development. Awards are up to $4,000. (Clark Scholars only.)
Center for Student Success Summer Scholarship (FLI Support)
The Center for Student Success Summer Scholarship offers up to $4,000 to support immersive summer experiences, with priority given to summer-long first-time research and clinical volunteer work in the health professions. Students in the following CSS-based programs are eligible to apply: JUMP, FLI Network, Hop-In, SCAA, Kessler Scholars, Hodson Scholars, and Cummings Scholars.
The Goren Family Public Policy Fellowships
Summer fellowship program to support Homewood undergraduate students pursuing public policy internships. FLI (first-generation limited income) and/or URM (underrepresented minority) status students are strongly encouraged to apply. This program rewards up to $5000.
Frequently Asked Questions
Interested students should complete the application form and will be prompted to submit the following:
- One-page Resume
- One-page Personal Statement
- One-page Budget (download and complete template)
- One-page Verification of Experience
Summer scholarships are intended to help defray costs of living costs (food, transportation, housing, and cost of living expenses) of unpaid or “under-paid” internships. We request you complete this template, save it as a PDF, and submit it with your application materials.
The deadline is April 10th at noon.
This year priority for summer funding will be given to students who have not previously received a summer award. Students who have received funding in a prior year may be considered only if funds remain available. Everyone receiving funding would need to take the class.
Currently enrolled undergraduate students. Seniors graduating in spring 2026 are NOT eligible to apply.
Yes, it is a condition of the award. No exceptions. The 8-week class which is both synchronous and asynchronous. There will be options for class time. Alos, every student selected for a summer scholarship is required to attend an Orientation Meeting on Friday, May 2 to review the purpose and expectations of The Life Design Summer Experience Practicum professional development course.
This is a competitive process; not all applicants will be awarded a scholarship. A committee will evaluate each application, and award decisions will be based on the value of the experience and the quality and thoroughness of the materials submitted.
Summer scholarships are subject to the availability of funds, and funding amounts may vary. Students may be offered less than their original amount requested.
Application decisions will be sent out via email the last week in April.
All students participating in international experiences must submit an application to the Johns Hopkins Global Education Office (GEO) for review before funding can be approved. The deadline to submit an online application (Programs > Global Education Office) and meet with GEO for approval is April 1, 2026. Only international experiences that have already been approved are eligible for funding. Classes taken abroad for credit are not eligible for funding.
Scholarship applications require verification of experience, which must be submitted along with your application by the April 10th deadline.
Summer internship funding may not be used to pay for tuition for academic courses, including study abroad classes.
The funding is primarily for unpaid and underpaid internships, not lab-based research. CSS and SOAR Summer Plunge summer scholarships are the only funding opportunities for which research is considered eligible.
Students who receive a scholarship will be required to a take a one-credit summer course (at no cost), which will help them apply design thinking principles to their summer experience. This class will meet virtually and will be graded as satisfactory or unsatisfactory. The course allows us to factor in the costs of participating in an unpaid summer experience and helps to minimize the impact of the award on fall/spring financial aid in the next academic year. Recognizing that course requirements may overlap with summer work schedules, awarded students are required to submit a signed supervisor agreement, which we will provide.
Complete the resume development guide checklist within the LDL Foundations Portal on Hopkins Groups. Upload your resume (in pdf format) to Vmock – an online resume review tool that will give you instant feedback 24-7 (you can resubmit up to 10 times yearly). Drop by Life Design Lab Drop-in Office Hours held in-person in the Imagine Center and virtually.
An official letter or email from the employer verifying the internship/experience. The letter should be printed on company letterhead and contain the following information:
- Company Name & Address
- Supervisor Name
- Employee (Intern) Name
- Start and End Dates of Internship/Experience
- Start and End Dates of Internship/Experience
- Expected hours worked per week
- Compensation (if applicable)
Once students have been notified of an award, they will be required to review and discuss the expectations of this program with their supervisor and return a signed supervisor confirmation letter (provided by Life Design) before the start of the Life Design Summer Experience Practicum.
Need extra guidance on your LDL scholarship application? Check out Johns Hopkins University’s National Fellowships Program info sessions and workshops for expert advice and support!
More information can be found here: LINK
Other questions can be sent to kmardoc1@jhu.edu.