KNIGHT'S EXPERIENCE

For more information about the Knight’s Experience fund, including eligibility, qualifying opportunities, approved expenses, and other general questions, contact:

Knight’s Experience applications submitted after the learning experience is completed will not be accepted. 

Please allow up to 3-4 weeks for application processing. You will be notified via email if your application has been approved/denied. If you have not received a response within four weeks of submitting your application, please contact Sheryn Boos, manager of scholarships, outreach, and communication, at 319-352-8646 or sheryn.boos@wartburg.edu.

Payment will be distributed no more than 30 days prior to the first day of the experience. Students can apply funds to their Wartburg student account or have it disbursed to their personal account. 

To be eligible for Knight’s Experience, you must:

• Currently be enrolled at Wartburg.
• Have completed two consecutive terms (Fall/Winter) at Wartburg with full-time continuous enrollment. Full-time enrollment the following year is expected unless the experience takes place during the student’s graduation year. A transfer student could be waived from the one year of enrollment requirement to participate in an international student experience that will only be offered once during their remaining years at Wartburg.
• Be in good standing with the following offices: Business, Financial Aid, Registrar, and Student Life.

To receive the funds for their experience, a student’s prior term account balance must be paid current.

Please note, if you are applying for funds to assist with an experience abroad, (i.e. May Term program, semester abroad, international internship), you will need to be accepted to that program before applying for Knight’s Experience.

Questions should be directed to Sheryn Boos, manager of scholarships, outreach, and communication, at 319-352-8646 or sheryn.boos@wartburg.edu.

If you are currently a senior, you will have to return in 2024 when we launch the program. Students who return to Wartburg using the COVID-19 Fifth-Year Tuition Waiver are eligible for the Knight’s Experience. 

If you are graduating in May 2025, you will need to complete the Knight’s Experience opportunity by June 30, 2025. If the experience requires completion of credits, you can still participate in Commencement but will need to delay degree completion until summer.

Programs that are Knight’s Experience eligible will be indicated as such in the program information on the Study Away website. If you wish to participate in a program not sponsored by Wartburg College, you will need to complete an application in the Study Away Office. 

The budget proposal is an estimate of expenses (this excludes tuition) that students plan to accumulate through their Knight’s Experience opportunity. Please be specific in detailing the estimated expenses in the Budget Narrative section of the Knight’s Experience application. Eligible expenses include: 

Travel 
The standard rate for mileage is $0.44 a mile. How many miles are you driving during your experience? Use the following formula to calculate your travel amount: (daily miles x # of total days working x $0.44 = $). Bus passes, train tickets, plane tickets, and taxi/Uber fees can be included, too.

Food
Refers to meals/food purchased during the hours of the experience (usually one meal during an 8-hour day). The standard rate is $15 a day. Use the following formula to calculate your food amount: (# of days of experience x $15 = $)

Housing
Students are eligible for rent expenses when the primary need for housing is for the eligible Knight’s Experience (ex. summer internship or research). This cannot be used for on-campus housing or living at home. Use this formula to calculate your housing cost: (monthly rent and expenses x # of months).

Equipment
Equipment of more than $50 becomes the property of Wartburg College and therefore may not be eligible. Laptops are not an approved expense. Receipts for equipment/supply purchases over $50 are required. Consult Sheryn Boos, manager of scholarships, outreach, and communication, at 319-352-8646 or sheryn.boos@wartburg.edu.

Stipend
Knight’s Experience can be used for stipends for time spent conducting research/creative scholarship or internships calculated on estimated hours worked. This is only for unpaid experiences.

→ On-campus experiences use the rate of $10.00 per hour.
→ Off-campus experiences use the rate of $10.00 per hour unless the minimum wage is higher in the location where the experience is located.

Sample budget for a 12-week internship:

*In this case the student would receive the maximum $1,500 Knight’s Experience distribution.

The budget narrative is a requirement. Show how you arrived at each amount.

Note: Job interview expenses and grad school applications are not approved expenses.

Yes, you will apply for Knight’s Experience in the internship category. You may include the full $1,500 toward the stipend in your budget on the application.

The Knight’s Experience program can be used to assist in funding international athletic and music trips. Other expenses such as uniforms, lesson fees, equipment, etc. are not eligible.

Knight’s Experience funds may have tax consequences. Students are advised to seek tax advice on this matter. In addition, Knight’s Experience funds may affect eligibility for Federal Student and/or parent loans. Again, students are advised to seek advice on this matter. For questions regarding student/parent loans, please contact Sheryn Boos, manager of scholarships, outreach, and communication, at 319-352-8646 or sheryn.boos@wartburg.edu.

While Knight’s Experience does not apply to tuition, it can be used for housing, food, transportation, and many other expenses to help alleviate the financial burden of experiential learning program participation.

The Knight’s Experience fund is a one-time distribution of up to $1,500. Once you have received a Knight’s Experience distribution, even if it is less than $1,500, you are not eligible to apply for it again in the future. You are advised to carefully consider your future plans to determine the best way to utilize the Knight’s Experience program.

Students must participate in an approved experience to be eligible to receive Knight’s Experience funding. Knight’s Experience applications submitted after the learning experience is completed will not be accepted. If you have further questions about your eligibility or approved experiences, please contact Sheryn Boos, the manager of scholarships, outreach, and communication, at 319-352-8646 or sheryn.boos@wartburg.edu.

If you choose not to partake in the experience before the funds have been issued, please notify Sheryn Boos, manager of scholarships, outreach, and communication, at 319-352-8646 or sheryn.boos@wartburg.edu immediately. 

If you have already received the Knight’s Experience funds but you do not complete the experience, you will need to return the full dollar amount to the Wartburg Business Office; otherwise, any unreturned funds will be charged to your student account.