Applications for the 2025 Winter/Spring semester are now open! Materials are due by January 30, 2025. Applications submitted before December 15, 2024 will receive priority consideration.

OWIG’s biannual scholarship program provides stipends to college students who are selected for unpaid internships in Ohio’s state government. Two scholarship rounds are offered: one for Summer/Fall semester interns and one for Winter/Spring semester interns. The program is intended to provide students in need with funding to help cover expenses associated with a Columbus-based internship. Our goal is for the scholarships to open new doors for disadvantaged and lower income students to work in the State Capitol, allowing them to gain exposure to state government and the opportunities public service careers offer.


Program Rules

  • Students must submit the provided application form along with a resume and statement of need by the stated deadline to be eligible for a scholarship. 

  • Only one stipend will be awarded per student. Scholarship recipients are not eligible to reapply for the program in subsequent rounds or years after receiving an OWIG scholarship. 

  • The number of students receiving awards each round will vary based on the level of funding available.

  • Scholarship amounts may vary per year depending on the level of available funding. OWIG will publicize the amount of each semester scholarship in the current round’s application form (linked above). 

  • OWIG will require applicants to disclose their party affiliation as well as the office in which they are interning to ensure scholarships are granted equally to Republican and Democrat interns.

  • Due to our 501(c)3 status, scholarships cannot be granted to students working on a campaign or participating in campaign-related activities.

  • Scholarships will not be granted to any student with a relation to an OWIG Board Member, Steering Committee member, or past or present donor to the Scholarship Fund.

  • OWIG will give preference to students who identify as part of a marginalized racial or ethnic group, are first-generation college students and demonstrate significant need. OWIG encourages applicants from a variety of racial, ethnic, cultural and geographic backgrounds to apply. 

Application and Selection Process

Students who are planning to apply for a Statehouse internship shall submit the OWIG scholarship application materials by the stated deadline. For the Summer/Fall semester, applications open in May and are due in July. For the Winter/Spring semester, applications open in October and are due in January, with a priority deadline of December 15. Exact application dates are announced with each program round and can be found on the live application form linked above. OWIG’s scholarship screening committee will review all student applications and score them according to our rubric. Selections will be made based on quality of the application and demonstrated need.


Awards

OWIG will award scholarships by August for secured Summer/Fall semester internships and March for secured Winter/Spring semester internships. In each application round, OWIG will release stipends to the selected students only after receiving confirmation that the student has been accepted for an internship. 


Scholarship Recipient Benefits

Scholarship recipients are entitled to additional benefits starting from the month they receive their stipend through that same month the following year. Benefits allow the student to take advantage of OWIG’s programming and network to advance their professional development. Scholarship recipient benefits include the following: 

  • Free OWIG membership for one year

  • Free admission to all OWIG events

  • Ability to participate in OWIG’s Connect program, a program that creates curated OWIG member pairings to promote mentorship, learning, or the forging of new professional and personal relationships 

  • Ability to attend OWIG’s Annual Meeting in December


Disclaimer: Applying does not guarantee selection. Contingent on applicant’s ability to secure an internship at the Statehouse for the applicable semester.  

Thank you to the OWIG Scholarship Screening Committee for reviewing all the applications:
Julia Wynn, Chair
Katie Breidenbach Wooding
Cailey Hansen-Mahoney
Taylor Phillips
Amanda Sines
Becky Watts
Beth Wymer