At Claremont McKenna College, we believe all students should have the opportunity to explore careers and be fully prepared for graduate or professional school. During the academic year, Career Services provides experiential funding to enable students to participate in career development opportunities they would not otherwise be able to afford.
Experiential Funding provides in-semester support to currently enrolled students for conference attendance, travel to networking events, student research, and graduate school preparation expenses. The goal of this program is to support each student's professional goals and provide an early introduction to career paths across a variety of industries.
"I presented my research, Connecting the Dots: An Exploration of Dual Graphs in Political Redistricting, with Professor Sarah Cannon on the dual graph theory of political redistricting. I created a poster and shared it with the other Southern California Applied Mathematics Symposium participants. My desired outcomes were to learn more about math and successfully share my own work. My goals were indeed met. There was so much math I had little understanding of which was great because I learned a ton. This experience contributed to my future goals and is validating to me personally in my mathematics and research skills.”
Important Information about the 2024-25 Funding Policy
Professional development refers to the learning and expansion of career-aligned skills and continuing education. This development is the intentional advancement of career exploration, scholarly research, and graduate school preparation. Please note that requests for personal development opportunities such as improving soft skills and increasing personal awareness and identity are not eligible for funding.
All requests for experiential funding must be approved before purchasing expenses related to my request. Funding is not guaranteed and I will be responsible for budget items purchased before approval.
Program staff will review my experiential funding request and respond via email within 3-5 business days outlining the next steps. Proposals must be submitted four weeks before the start of my experience.
If the request is time-sensitive (e.g. in-person interview with an employer), I will immediately email Mia Trugerro (mtrugerro@cmc.edu) for any questions or concerns.
Funding will be awarded as a reimbursement at the end of the experience when I provide a digital copy of my itemized receipts (screenshots of online banking are not acceptable receipts). My reimbursement will be processed within 2 weeks of submitting my final receipts and after completing my Experiential Funding Reflection.
Applying for In-Semester Experiential Funding
All materials must be submitted through the Experiential Funding Request Form on Qualtrics. Kindly note, that you will need the following materials before starting your request; a budget for your proposal, one PDF containing screenshots of each expense, and a 5-6 sentence reflection of how your request aligns with your professional development.
The deadline to submit new funding requests is March 31, 2025, at 11:59 pm. Please note that conference and networking events occurring after April 27, 2025, will not be eligible for funding.
Budget Guide
As part of the In-Semester Funding Application, students will develop a budget for their experience. Please see the Budget Guide to support the planning and creation of a successful budget.
From left: Lalita Poolvoralaks ’27, Sebastian Doty ’27, and Stanley Lo ’27
“The Montgomery Summit is a conference for startups, executives, and investors to connect and learn about industry trends. I was invited to this conference by winning a competition hosted by March Capital. My goal was to connect with potential mentors and investors and gain better understanding of the current macroeconomic climate. I achieved these goals, and have gained an immeasurable amount of value and knowledge from the conference. The connections I have made have truly changed my perspective on the direction of my career, and I have a clearer vision of the path to success now.”
“I visited the University of Minnesota Law School in Minneapolis for their Admitted Students Day. I was admitted in December and offered a full ride but was unsure about fit until I visited. While there, I attended a mock class, a city tour, and a law school tour. I was able to speak to current students to get a feel for the school. After this experience, I am confident that I will choose an institution that is a good fit for me!”
