Sign-Offs
To receive Praxis funding, you must get "sign-offs" on your funding application from your major or pre-major adviser and from a Lazarus Center staff member.
Faculty Sign-off
You are required to communicate your internship plans and learning goals to your major or pre-major advisor*. A faculty sign-off is not an approval of your application for Praxis funding. It is a confirmation that you and your adviser have communicated about your specific internship plans and goals.
You do not need to have completed a Praxis Funding application before you get a faculty sign-off. In asking to speak with your adviser, always be considerate of his or her schedule. Try to meet with your adviser early in the spring semester, or during your regular meeting for academic advising.
Topics to discuss with your adviser include:
- Why do you want to do an internship?
- What do you hope to get out of it?
- If you already have some defined career interests, what are they?
- What types of organizations will help you explore these interests?
- What kinds of hands-on work projects might be particularly educational for you?
- How do you see an internship fitting in with your overall educational goals?
Your adviser can either e-mail praxis@smith.edu to say that an internship-related conversation has taken place, or sign the Faculty Adviser form. You will need to attach this form to your Praxis application.
*If you are on a Smith junior year abroad program in Geneva, Florence, Hamburg or Paris, you may ask the director of your JYA program to sign off on your application. If you are on a Junior Year Abroad program other than those run by Smith, please e-mail a description of your internship and your written statements to your Smith major or pre-major adviser, and ask your professor to e-mail praxis@smith.edu to confirm that he or she has read your materials.
In addition to obtaining a sign-off from a faculty adviser, you must also have your Praxis funding application reviewed and signed by a member of the Lazarus Center staff to make sure that it fulfills criteria for Praxis funding.
To obtain a Lazarus Center sign-off, schedule a Praxis Express appointment*. This is a fifteen-minute appointment with a staff member who will review your application "on-the-spot," or give you immediate feedback on what part of your application needs to be strengthened or changed in order to be eligible for funding.
Call (413) 585-2582 to make an appointment.
*If you are on a JYA program, send your completed application with supporting materials to the Lazarus Center by by e-mail (praxis@smith.edu) or fax (413-585-2596). You will be notified by e-mail of the status of your application.
