Center for Career Exploration

Application & Acceptance Process

Application, Ranking & Matching

The SPRINT Fellowship Application Process is made up of 4 steps:

  1. Registration
  2. Application
  3. Ranking and Review
  4. Matching and Acceptance 

To be eligible for a match, you must register, apply, and submit a ranking form by the respective deadlines for each of these steps.

Step 1: Registration

Through UFunds, you will register your interest in applying for a SPRINT Fellowship. We recommend that you complete your UFunds registration first, well in advance of submitting application materials for specific SPRINT Fellowships through Google Forms. You don’t need to know which SPRINT Fellowships you will apply to in order to complete the UFunds registration. The UFunds registration should be quick and easy to complete, which will then allow you more time to prepare your other, more detailed application materials. The information entered in the UFunds registration is not considered part of your individual applications and will not be shared with the host organizations, faculty, or committees reviewing those applications. If you fill out the UFunds registration, but then decide not to submit application materials for any SPRINT Fellowships, that’s perfectly fine - we won’t hold it against you!

UFunds registration must be completed by 12pm (noon) ET on Monday, March 16, 2026.

Step 2: Application

You will apply for individual SPRINT Fellowships through Google Forms. You will submit one Google Form for each SPRINT Fellowship that you apply to. You may submit up to 5 total applications (and thus, 5 Google Forms) across all SPRINT Fellowships. If you submit more than 5 total applications across Brown-generated and Student-generated SPRINT opportunities, you will only be permitted to rank up to 5 total opportunities. Each SPRINT Fellowship will require a combination of some of the following application materials:

  • Resume
  • Cover Letter
  • Short answer questions
  • Proof of internship offer
  • Research project proposal
  • Recommendation submitted by faculty or community mentor (Advanced Undergraduate Research and Royce Fellowships only)
     
  • Additional Guidance 
    • You may apply to multiple opportunities within a single Brown-Generated SPRINT Fellowship (for example, five different UTRAs), or distribute your applications across Brown-Generated and Student-Generated Fellowships (for example, two UTRAs, one iProv, one IBES, and one Royce).
    • You may only submit only one application for each Student-Generated SPRINT Fellowship. If multiple applications are submitted for the same Student-Generated Fellowship (for example, you submit two Royce proposals), the final application you submitted will be the one reviewed.
    • You should only submit applications for SPRINT Fellowships that are of genuine interest to you. 
       
  • Brown-Generated Google Form Application
    • Use this form (Open December 9) to apply to a Brown-Generated SPRINT Fellowship opportunity. To apply to multiple opportunities, you will submit this form multiple times.
    • Please take care when completing the form to ensure that you are entering or attaching the correct materials for the specific Fellowship to which you are applying. You will be able to edit your application(s) until the deadline by following the link in the confirmation email you receive after application submission.
    • If you apply to more than 5 Brown-Generated SPRINT Fellowship opportunities, you will be asked to complete an opportunity selection form by February 5, 2026, to select a maximum of 5 applications to be reviewed.
    • The application deadline for Brown-Generated SPRINT Fellowships is 12pm (noon) ET on Monday, February 2, 2026. 
       
  • Student-Generated Google Form Application
    • Use this form (Open December 9) to apply to a Student-Generated SPRINT Fellowship opportunity. To apply to multiple Fellowships, you will submit this form multiple times.
    • Please take care when completing the form to ensure that you are entering or attaching the correct materials for the specific opportunity to which you are applying. You will be able to edit your application(s) until the deadline by following the link in the confirmation email you receive after application submission.
    • In addition to the student application, the Advanced Undergraduate Research Fellowship program also requires submission of a recommendation form by a faculty or community recommender. Your application will not be complete until all required parts are completed.
    • The application deadline for Student-Generated SPRINT Fellowships is 12pm (noon) ET on Monday, March 2, 2026. 

Step 3: Ranking & Review

Ranking

After the Student-Generated application deadline, you will receive an email request to provide a preferential ranking (via Google form) of your submitted SPRINT Fellowship applications. For all applicants, the ranking process will begin on Friday, March 6 and conclude at 12pm (noon) ET on Monday, March 16

  • It is important that you check your email and complete the ranking form by the 12pm March 16 deadline.
  • If you do not submit your ranking form by 12pm (noon) ET on March 6, 2025, or if you have not completed your UFunds registration by that same deadline, your applications for all SPRINT Fellowship opportunities will be withdrawn.
  • If you only applied to one SPRINT Fellowship opportunity, you must still submit the ranking form with your top choice opportunity in order to confirm your continued interest in the program.
  • You should only rank SPRINT Fellowships that you are willing to accept.
    • You will only be matched to a SPRINT Fellowship that you ranked.
    • If you apply to a SPRINT Fellowship that you rank #5, you might be matched to that Fellowship and you should be willing to accept that match.
    • If you are matched with a SPRINT Fellowship, you will only receive one match and will not have the option to decline that match in favor of another SPRINT Fellowship.
    • If you decline a match, that SPRINT Fellowship will likely go unfilled, which is why we strongly encourage you to only rank SPRINT Fellowships you are willing to accept if matched.

Review and Interview Period

For Brown-Generated SPRINT Fellowships, host organizations, faculty, and committee members review applications through March 11, 2026. During this period, you may be contacted to participate in an interview. You should respond promptly to all interview requests and try to schedule interviews before March 11.  

  • If you are not contacted for an interview, that doesn’t mean you aren’t still being considered for a SPRINT Fellowship - while many host organizations do conduct interviews with candidates, not every faculty member or review committee does so.
  • If you need help preparing for an interview, please meet with a Peer Career Advisor or a Career Counselor in the Center for Career Exploration.
  • Your preferential rankings of SPRINT Fellowship applications WILL NOT be shared with host organizations, faculty, or review committee members, nor do you need to disclose these rankings as part of the interview process.

Withdrawal Deadline

Students who have accepted an alternative opportunity outside of SPRINT or wish to withdraw their application from all summer 2025 SPRINT Fellowships should submit a withdrawal request form by March 20, 2026.  Submitting this form will withdraw all of your submitted SPRINT applications. If you only wish to withdraw yourself from consideration for one or more specific SPRINT Fellowships while remaining in consideration for others, do not use the withdrawal form. Instead, only rank the opportunities you are willing to accept during the Ranking process.

Choosing to withdraw your SPRINT Fellowship applications will not affect your eligibility to apply to SPRINT Fellowships in future years.  

The deadline for submitting the withdrawal form is March 20, 2026.

Step 4: Matching and Acceptance

At the conclusion of the ranking period, student preferential rankings and host organization/faculty/committee rankings, together with the SPRINT Principles and Expectations, will be used to make matches.  

Prioritizing student preferences, all applicants will be matched with 1 or 0 SPRINT Fellowships.  In other words, if you do receive a SPRINT Fellowship match, it will only be for one experience.  

Match notifications will be sent by March 31, 2026 and students will have until 12pm (noon) on April 7, 2026 to accept a SPRINT Fellowship offer. If you choose to decline your match, you will not receive an alternate match and you may no longer be eligible to apply for summer SPRINT Fellowships in the future. If you decline your match for a Brown-Generated SPRINT Fellowship, it is likely that the Fellowship will go unfilled, which would be disappointing for the affiliated SPRINT faculty, host organizations, or community partners.

Outside organizations for Brown-generated opportunities are required to provide students with a written offer within one week of matching. Being matched with an organization does not guarantee an internship offer from the organization or award funding until the organization provides a written offer with start dates, end dates, and other internship expectations.

Next Steps

Students who are successfully matched and accept an offer through SPRINT are encouraged to review the information for accepted students.

Students who are not matched with an opportunity through the 2026 SPRINT Fellowships program may connect with the Center for Career Exploration to support their search for other summer opportunities.

The Center for Career Exploration Career Counselors are available to meet via Zoom or in-person. You can reserve time directly with a Career Counselor in Handshake. If you visit Handshake and can’t find a time that works for you, please email careercenter@brown.edu and Center staff will work to schedule a meeting with you.

2026 Summer Timeline

DateBrown-GeneratedStudent-Generated

Mon, Dec 9th

UFunds Registration and Google Form Applications Open

UFunds Registration and UFunds Applications Open

Mon, Feb 2nd, 12pm

Application Deadline

(Google Form application 

materials collection)

 

Mon, Mar 2nd, 12pm

 

Application Deadline

(Google Form 

application materials collection)

Fri, Mar 6th 

Student Ranking Begins

Student Ranking Begins

Mon, Mar 16th, 12pm

Student Ranking Closes

UFunds Registration Deadline

Student Ranking Closes

UFunds Registration Deadline

Fri, Mar 20th

Application Withdrawal Deadline

Application Withdrawal Deadline

Tue, Mar 31st

Award Notifications to Students

Award Notifications to Students

Tue, April 7th, 12pm

Student Acceptances Due

Student Acceptances Due