Student program FAQ

Since we are part of the University of Utah and the UofU is a non-profit organization, that makes us a non-profit organization.

You can submit your application on our applications page.

We open internship applications about three times a year (2-4 months before the beginning of the semester). You can check out our application page to find out when applications are open.

The hiring process can take anywhere from 1-4 months. We spend the first months doing outreach – this is the time when the applications are open and we are collecting applications. Once the application closes then it takes 2-4 weeks to review the applications, select top candidates, and perform interviews. Once you have been interviewed you will hear back from us within 1-2 weeks. Your first date will start 2-6 weeks from the day you get an offer letter.

Yes, you have to be a registered student attending a U.S. University while living in the U.S. to be able to do this internship. Students from universities outside of the U.S. will not be considered. You can do this internship in your last semester and commit to one more semester after graduation. Recently graduated students can apply to our full-time staff positions, you can see the open positions here.

We do hire international students on a J-1 visa. The student must be physically in the U.S. while participating in the program and be enrolled in a U.S. University to be able to participate in the program. The international student must have permission from their International Student Services office at their institution/university to be able to work in the U.S. and this type of internship. Some International Student Services offices exclude unpaid internships which means that you may not be able to participate in our program.

All internships but the Impact Investing internships are paid. You can see the internship (job) description for hourly pay details.

Yes, you can do UofU credit or if your university offers a credit internship, we can work with them so you can receive credit for interning with us.

The maximum amount of hours you will work per week is 20. If you are already employed at the University of Utah – you cannot work more than 20 hours per week combined.

Our semester run along the University of Utah’s academic calendar so our calendar is as follows:

• Fall semester: August-December
• Spring semester: January-May
• Summer semester: May-August

A two semester commitment will be as follows:

• Fall + Spring: From August until May
• Spring + Summer: From January until August
• Summer + Fall: From May until December

Since these internships are hybrid and  remote, you can have a relatively flexible schedule. You will be able to enter your availability into your calendar to work around your school schedule, and can also let your manager know when you can and cannot work. Some meetings are mandatory to attend.

Responsibilities vary depending on your position, and can include anything from meetings to research, doing presentations or creating a financial model, editing a video to shooting a film. If you have more questions about each internship you can go to the overview of the positions or click here. Each internship (job) description provides a thorough responsibility description.

The Sorenson Impact Institute acts as a project based consulting firm working with all sectors (non-profit, private, and government organizations), the internship (job) description explains the type of skills you will be using but the project may vary. The Impact Investing team works with different funds and with a vast range of types of businesses.

The quantity of in person meetings also depends on your position and which team you are on. Since this is a hybrid/remote internship, most meetings will not be in person or will have online meeting options. It’s a great question to ask during your interview.

Be sure to prepare a resume that aligns with the internship description. Answer all the questions in the application and make sure to upload the collateral we request (writing sample, cover letter, portafolio, etc.) If you do not get an interview, your application is probably not competitive. If you got an interview but did not get the internship it is probably because other candidates had more experience than you. You can always request feedback once the semester has started.

Every semester we receive anywhere from 200-300 applications from students from all over the U.S. We hire the best candidates based on their skills and fit for projects and the center. The average acceptance rate is 5-10%.

The Sorenson Impact Institute is located at 85 Fort Douglas Blvd building 602, Salt Lake City, UT 84112. It is east of the University Guest House. The Institute will have its own building starting in the fall of 2024 and will be located east of the Lassonde building. Construction for the new building will begin in September of 2022. The Impact Investing team has its office on the 5th floor of the David Eccles School of Business, located at 1655 Campus Center Dr. Salt Lake City, UT. 84112

The Friday Fellows meetings are biweekly meetings on Fridays from 10:00 am to 11:00 am MST. These meetings are a place for student interns to build community with each other and to learn more about social impact, and their role at the Institute. Impact Investing interns have similar mandatory meetings every Friday from 9am-11am where students get to pitch their investment memos.

The size of each team varies by department. You may work in a team of two or a team of 7.

The type of work we do requires students to be resourceful, have highly critical thinking and analytical skills, while navigating ambiguity well. The best way to gauch those skills are through case studies.

The interview will be 20-25 minutes long and you will have 5-10 minutes to ask any questions.

Social impact is a very diverse topic that can be hard to define. According to Duke’s Career Hub, social impacts are “any significant or positive changes that solve or at least address social injustice and challenges.”

Yes, you can check our “student program” website to find out when our next info session will be.