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If the internship takes place during summer, students can take a leave of absence and still be eligible to remain in housing. If the internship takes place during the autumn, winter or spring, students may request a "vacation quarter" if they have enrolled the previous 3 terms, including summer, and plan to enroll the following term.

More information regarding eligibility is available from Student Housing.

During summer quarter, students will need to apply for summer housing, not a vacation quarter. More information can be found at the Stanford Housing website.

Alternatively, students are able to lease their housing; please contact sublease@stanford.edu.

Students: Cardinal Care is an annual plan - students who enter Stanford in autumn and who do not opt out of Cardinal Care by September 15 are charged for the entire year and covered for the entire academic year (9/1 through 8/31). Students who enter Stanford in other quarters and who do not opt out of Cardinal Care by the applicable deadline are charged for the remainder of the academic year and covered for the remainder of the academic year (8/31). A student who ends his/her relationship with the University (such as by conferral of terminal degree) at the end of autumn or winter quarter may drop the plan at the end of the corresponding Cardinal Care coverage period. Graduating students who request to opt out following autumn or winter graduation will not be billed (or covered) for future quarters. Opt out requests should be sent to healthinsurance@stanford.edu or submitting a HELPSU ticket. Students who graduate at the end of spring do not have the option to leave the plan and remain covered through August 31.

A student who takes a leave of absence prior to attending class in the autumn base term will not be eligible to enroll in Cardinal Care for autumn, or any continuous quarters in which s/he is on leave. Upon return from leave, the student will be automatically enrolled in Cardinal Care for the remainder of the academic year unless enrollment is waived by the applicable deadline.

A student who is enrolled in Cardinal Care and takes a leave of absence after the first day of class in any given quarter will remain enrolled in Cardinal Care through the remainder of the academic year (8/31). Please contact Vaden's Insurance and Referral Office for more information at (650) 723-2135 or submit a HELPSU ticket.

As a potential alternative, internships typically offer a stipend that covers general living expenses, including health insurance. However, the stipend amount varies greatly by sector and internship employer. Furthermore, trainees cannot opt-out of Cardinal Care if they have already enrolled in the program for the year.

Postdocs: Though customary, faculty mentors are not required to pay for the Stanford medical insurance coverage for their postdocs while the postdocs are on an approved unpaid leave of absence. A postdoc in this instance may elect to either:

• Waive the Stanford medical plan after showing proof of other coverage to the Postdoc Benefits Coordinator in accordance with University Policy, and where applicable, visa regulations, or
• Continue on the Stanford medical plan and arrange with the department that s/he will pay for it during the leave period. If neither of the above options is pursued, faculty mentors/PIs are required to pay for the full cost of the University contribution to the postdoc's medical coverage, typically from unrestricted sources. Notwithstanding the above, Faculty mentors/PIs are required to pay for life/accidental death and disability coverage for their postdocs while on an unpaid leave of absence.

More information can be found at the Stanford Benefits website.

If you go on leave any time after your housing contract begins, you must complete a Termination of Occupancy form (TOC) to give notice that you are leaving housing. There are fees associated with terminating your occupancy.

See the Termination of Occupancy form for more details. (Appendix X). Further details are available here.

Taking a Leave of Absence may affect trainees' funding during the time they are working outside Stanford University. Anyone with a financial aid agreement or commitment (e.g. fellowship) is typically legally obligated to inform the funding party/agency of their intent and status during this time.

For questions or concerns regarding how an internship will impact any financial support that you receive, please make the effort to personally contact either the University Financial Aid Office or the School of Medicine to understand the implications of taking time out of your training at Stanford to participate in an internship program with an external organization. Additionally, if you receive any outside funding, you should personally contact the office responsible for that funding to clarify the terms of your agreement and to let them know of your plans.

A stipend is usually offered by the sponsoring company to cover the equivalent cost of quarterly tuition and general living expenses. It is recommended that trainees accept no less than their current graduate stipend in order to maintain their current standard of living.

The average graduate internship payment is about $25/hour, and may range from $18 - $32 but this varies greatly by industry, position and company/organization. Unpaid internships are not part of the CEO Internship program and are not supported by the program or Stanford University, with the exception of nonprofits and some government organizations. If students secure unpaid internships at nonprofits or government organizations, we do not have the necessary funding to support them at this time.

This policy governs interactions, largely in the clinical and educational arenas, with the pharmaceutical, biotech, medical device, and hospital and research equipment and supplies industries.

Please review the policy here.