When internships pay, everyone wins
Here's how MSU Denver is leveling the playing field for students who can’t afford to work for free.
Spring 2025 Program Applications
Earn & Learn SP25 Cohort Applications are Closed
- Spring 2025 Earn and Learn applications are now closed.
- Summer 2025 & Fall 2025 applications will open mid-March 2025
- Sign up for our informational email newsletter to receive program updates and future application due dates.
Watch our Virtual Info Session
We strongly recommend viewing the info session video, as it covers important details regarding program details. It’s about 9 minutes long and includes subtitles.
About Earn & Learn
About Earn & Learn
The Earn and Learn program was designed to address equity barriers within experiential learning.
This program provides funding support to both undergraduate and graduate students who are in need of financial assistance to participate in unpaid, off- campus internship opportunities.
Through Earn and Learn, MSU Denver has leveled the playing field of experiential learning and continued to provide critical financial support to our students so they can engage in career- shaping opportunities through this high-impact practice.
Earn and Learn serves cohorts of diverse students, with over 60% reporting first-generation status, spanning 33 different and dynamic majors, providing them with valuable hands-on learning support for both our traditional and nontraditional students.
Program Benefits
Program Benefits
- Receive payment equal to (or greater than) Denver minimum wage for every hour worked of your unpaid internship, up to 150 hours per semester.
- Undergraduate: $18.81/hr
- Graduate: $19/hr
- Gain invaluable experience as part of your field work that will set you apart and prepare you for your future career.
- Grow professionally and personally through networking and on-the-job experiences.
- Connect with exceptional career readiness resources to give yourself an edge in the professional world.
- Relief from financial stress, providing the ability to reduce additional commitments and focus more on learning experiences.
Program Requirements
Program Requirements
To qualify for the Earn and Learn Program, you must:
- Be a degree-seeking, undergraduate OR graduate student
- Be eligible for student employment
- Be considering an off-campus, unpaid internship for credit for Spring 2025.
- Be within program participation limits
- Students that have previously participated in Earn & Learn are limited to participating in 2 semesters as an undergraduate and 1 semester as a graduate.
Steps to Apply
Steps to Apply
- Ensure that you meet the above program requirements.
- Watch our info session at the top of the page to learn more about the program and submitting a competitive application. *Specific program details may change each semester, please reach out for greater clarification.
- Submit your application by the due date for consideration.
Important Dates - Spring 2025
Spring 2025 Application Timeline:
- Applications Open: October 21, 2024
- Applications are due: December 4, 2024
- Final Decisions Given: December 14, 2024
Here’s how Earn and Learn has impacted students’ professional development!
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[Earn & Learn] helped take anxiety and worry off of my plate. It had created a way to be able to do everything such as school, internship, and work more manageable. I did not need to work extra hours at my part time job to make up for not working. It has allowed a more valuable learning experience. – Layla
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Participating in the Earn and Learn program helped me to reduce my financial burden and stress while allowing me to dedicate myself more fully to the internship and my academic assignments. I felt more free from the anxiety of affording basic living necessities and was able to spend time enjoying my internship experience. – Amber
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The Earn & Learn program allowed me to pay for childcare so that I could participate and focus on student teaching. At my placement, I was able to finally see what it is like to be a teacher and teach students in person. I gained so much real-world knowledge about the day to day of being a teacher. – Kelcy
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Participating in the Earn and Learn Program allowed me to choose the internship that best fit my goals and challenged me rather than just choosing an internship to get the credit. I was able to invest more time into my internship and my other classes, as well as pay for some of my tuition and books. I would not have been able to take on an unpaid internship, so this program was amazing. – Michele
Check out Earn & Learn in the News!
Discover more about Earn & Learn's impact on both students and their communities.
The Impact of Scholarships on Unpaid Internships
An in-depth look at the impact of Earn & Learn on MSU Denver students and their decisions to pursue unpaid internships.
MSU Denver Alumni Bird Talk Podcast - Gary Striewski '10
Gary highlights the importance of being paid for experiential learning through the Earn & Learn program.
FAQ
No, Earn and Learn provides funding for students with unpaid internships. You must have a secured, unpaid internship in order to participate in the program and receive funding. Please email the C2 Hub for assistance in searching for internship opportunities or utilize drop in hours at the C2Hub CareerLab.
Currently, program funding allows us to pay each student for a maximum of 150 hours per semester. If students choose to work over the 150-hour threshold, they will be gaining valuable experiential learning, but Earn and Learn will not provide additional financial payment.
You should still submit your application! Students will need to have secured an internship before that semester’s census date.
To be eligible for Earn and Learn program funding, you must not receive any payment during your internship hours. This counts stipends and bonuses.
Earn and Learn accepts new student cohorts at the beginning of every semester. Info session and application links are published and distributed the semester prior. An archived info session is always available on our website.
In the case that your application is not selected in the first round of consideration, you will receive an email notice that you are automatically moved to the second round for consideration. This does not require any additional application or submission.
Contact Earn & Learn
Phone: (303) 615-1133
Email: [email protected]
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