Dean of the College John Boyer said in a Thursday interview with WTTW News that the College will next year offer “over 3,000 paid internships, $5,000 each.”

A University spokesperson confirmed that the College plans to raise the $4,000 base stipend for the Jeff Metcalf internship program—the program which oversees the lion’s share of College-funded internships—to $5,000.

“For the next year the College has a target of 3,000 Metcalf internships, and is in the process of moving to the target of $5,000 as the base stipend for internships that are funded by the College,” spokesman Jeremy Manier said.

Currently, the more than 2,800 students participating in the Metcalf Internship Program receive stipends of $4,000 for completing a 10-week summer internship in the United States. International grantees receive a stipend of $5,000.

Beginning next summer, the minimum stipend for a full-time Metcalf internship will increase to $5,000 for Odyssey Scholars, scholarship students who typically have family incomes under $90,000.

For students who are not members of the Odyssey Scholars program, Manier said, additional funding will be directed to students working in cities with high costs of living.

"For non-Odyssey students, the College will provide $250k in additional funding to establish a 'top off' fund during summer 2020. The initial priority for these funds will be internships in high-cost cities like San Francisco and New York, and international internships. Other students can apply for additional funding to cover the difference between their living costs and the internship stipend," Manier said in an e-mail.

The stipend has been a frequent subject of student criticism. On Sunday, Jahné Brown, the president of Student Government, tweeted that a $4,000 stipend is insufficient.

"I’m really happy to hear about these changes and really grateful for the work of student activists who have pushing for this for a long time," Brown told The Maroon on Monday.