SUMMARY
The Venture Intern Program matches talented undergraduate students from the University of Arkansas with startups, entrepreneurship support organizations, and investor networks for semester-long internships and provides training to help them to succeed in ambiguous, fast-paced environments.
The Venture Internship Program has three goals:
- Provide students with exposure to the workings of early-stage companies and the decision-making/negotiations inherent to startup environments,
- Develop the entrepreneurial student community at the University of Arkansas and throughout the region, and
- Allow startups and entrepreneurship support organizations to recruit talented student interns with as little administrative burden as possible.
Applications for Fall 2025 are open.
STUDENTS
Program Expectations
- Must be able to work at least 15 hours per week for 12 weeks
- Must attend a program orientation
- Must actively engage on social media about your experience #VIPintern
- Must participate in the following during the semester:
- Trainings & workshops
- Check-in sessions with other members of the cohort
- A closing event
- Compensation will be $15 per hour for 15 hours per week (on average).
Eligibility Requirements for Students:
To be eligible for this program, students must:
- be a currently enrolled junior or senior at the University of Arkansas
- have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 (Applicants who do not meet this GPA threshold but who have otherwise exceptional qualifications may be considered.)
- be willing and eligible to enroll in a minimum of one credit hour of co-op credit in their respective colleges
Applications will be considered only during an active application period for the Venture Intern Program. Applications will generally open in early to mid-September for the spring semester and in May for the fall semester. Students who have participated in a prior semester are eligible to apply again.
PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS
Partner organizations eligible to hire an intern include scalable ventures (non-profit or for-profit) younger than five years old, entrepreneurship support organizations providing services to such ventures, regional accelerator programs, and investor networks.
For the purposes of this program, "scalable" is defined as a for-profit or non-profit venture that is able to maintain or improve its efficiency and/or profitability as sales and volume grows. For example, a freelance writer is not a scalable venture, but a marketing company with the ability to efficiently add staff/sub-contractors to handle larger contracts might be. A food truck is not scalable (because it can only produce so much food per day), but a brand/strategy for growing a multi-truck food business might be.
These organizations should be willing to provide meaningful experiences to students that enhance their understanding of what it is like to work in a startup or other entrepreneurial environment. In addition to traditional, project-based work, students should have exposure to board-level discussions, fundraising and finance processes, strategic decision-making, and/or access to founders.
Organizations that hosted a Venture Intern in a prior semester are eligible to apply again.
To participate, organizations make a financial commitment based on the following tiers: Tier 1 ($1,500 for the first intern for organizations under 5 years old. Any additional intern requires a $3,000 commitment per student), Tier 2 ($3,000 per intern for organizations 5+ years old), and Tier 3 ($3,000 per intern for entrepreneurial support organizations or venture capital firms)
If you have questions, please email Jason Riley, Office of Entrepreneurship and Innovation Venture Intern Program Manager, at jmr045@uark.edu.