Student opportunities

American Meteorological Society (AMS) Graduate Fellowships support students entering their first year in graduate school through $25,000 stipends and partial support to attend the annual AMS national meeting. Applicants must be seeking degrees in the fields of atmospheric sciences, chemistry, computer sciences, engineering, environmental sciences, hydrology, mathematics, oceanography, and physics. NOAA's Climate Program Office provides funding to support three AMS graduate fellows per year. Applications are open through December.

Contact: Donna Fernandez, dfernandez@ametsoc.org

Each summer, NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, in partnership with the Chesapeake Research Consortium, offers several paid summer internships primarily geared toward current undergraduate students. Internships focus on scientific field research to resource management and policy.

Eligibility: Must be a college-level student entering sophomore, junior, or senior year of undergraduate study, and a U.S. Citizen willing to undergo a security background check. Graduate and Post Doc students are eligible on a limited basis. Check position description for specific eligibility details.

Important dates: Positions are announced each December, with application deadlines in February.

This program provides an opportunity for recent graduates of master's and Ph.D. programs to work with state coastal zone programs to gain on-the-job education and training opportunities in coastal resource management and policy. Applicants are eligible if they have graduated within two years of the program start date, or will graduate prior to the program start date. Recipients are matched with projects proposed by state coastal zone management programs and selected by NOAA. This two-year opportunity offers a competitive salary, medical benefits, and travel and relocation expense reimbursement.

Applications open in late fall of every year.

The Cooperative Institute for Modeling the Earth System (CIMES) at Princeton University in collaboration with NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory (GFDL) summer research internships is open to both undergraduate and graduate students for 8-10 week paid research internships in atmospheric, oceanic and earth system science. Awardees will work with host scientists at the NOAA/GFDL, a world-leading center of earth system modeling, research and prediction.

Applications are currently closed. They are usually due in mid-January.

This program provides an opportunity for recent graduates of master's and Ph.D. programs to work with Digital Coast Partnership organizations to gain on-the-job education and training opportunities in coastal resource management and policy. Applicants are eligible if they have graduated within two years of the program start date, or will graduate prior to the program start date. This two-year opportunity offers a competitive salary, medical benefits, and travel and relocation expense reimbursement.

Applications open every other year in late fall.

The Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program recognizes outstanding scholarship and encourages independent graduate level research — particularly by female and minority students — in NOAA mission-related sciences of oceanography, marine biology and maritime archaeology, including all science, engineering, and resource management of ocean and coastal areas.

Important dates: Applications open in the fall and close in December.

Contact: fosterscholars@noaa.gov

The Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR) administers an annual Great Lakes Summer Fellows Program, in partnership with the NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL). This program helps place promising undergraduate and graduate students with both academic and federal research mentors. Through this program, students work on substantive research issues in the Great Lakes and undergo a career training program that equips them with the knowledge and skills to be the next generation of Great Lakes scientists. We seek to use these fellowships to increase diversity in STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and math) and strongly encourage applications from students who identify with groups that have been traditionally underrepresented in government and academic workforces.

Applications open in January.

A two year fellowship program that places graduate students at the national estuarine research reserves. Through a research project, fellows address a key reserve management need to help scientists and communities understand coastal challenges that may influence future policy and management strategies. In their application, fellows propose a research project and reserve where they would complete the project. The fellows’ projects may influence future policy and management strategies. Specific fellowship benefits include cross-discipline research, networking opportunities, professional mentoring, and career-readiness training.
Deadline: December of every other year
Length: Two years

Woods Hole Sea Grant (WHSG) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sea Grant (MITSG) are pleased to jointly invite qualified individuals to submit applications for the Massachusetts Sea Grant Graduate Research Fellowship.

The purpose of this fellowship is to support exceptional prospective graduate students who are engaged in coastal and marine research that furthers the goals of the Woods Hole Sea Grant and Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sea Grant programs. Two (2) two-year Graduate Student Fellowships will be awarded, with a maximum Sea Grant support of $40,000/year for a total of $80,000 for stipend and tuition costs for each Fellow over the two-year period. Fellowships will require a match of $1 of non-federal funds for every $2 of federal Sea Grant funds requested.

Applications are currently closed. The next round of applications has not been announced.

The fellowship program creates seven two-year positions at institutions in coral reef states and territories. Each position has its own distinct work plan, responding to specific needs for increased coral reef management capacity in each coral reef jurisdiction and provides training and professional development opportunities. Fellows will work on issues affecting U.S. coral reef ecosystems including climate change, land-based sources of pollution and fishing.

Applications are currently closed. Applications for the 2024-26 National Coral Reef Management Fellowship will open in early summer 2023.

Email: coral.fellowship@noaa.gov

The National Water Center Innovators Program Summer Institute is a seven-week experiential learning program that brings graduate students together with academic researchers, other professionals, and National Water Center staff. Students complete a research project with a capstone presentation and final project report. Most project teams have published their work in a scientific journal after the completion of the program.

Application period: Usually January to February.

Eligibility: M.S. and Ph.D. students enrolled in U.S. universities in hydrology or a related field.

Award: Travel expenses, meal stipend, accommodations, a $2500 honoraria.

Explore an interactive map of volunteer opportunities at National Weather Service offices around the country. 

This program provides support for graduate students working toward a Ph.D. in fisheries population dynamics or in marine resource, natural resource, or environmental economics. Two to four fellowships in each of the two areas of study are generally awarded each year. The fellowship was established in 1999 and is sponsored by the NOAA Fisheries and the National Sea Grant College Program.

Applications are now closed. Information on the 2023 application will be announced in fall 2022.

Geographic focus: Nationwide

Award: Up to $54,166 in federal funding plus at least 20% matching funding per year. This fellowship can provide support for up to three years. The award provided to each Fellow is for stipend, tuition, fees, equipment, supplies, and travel necessary to carry out the proposed research and to attend the annual Fellows meeting (at rotating locations)

Contact: oar.sg.fellows@noaa.gov

The NOAA Central Library offers a wide variety of internship and volunteer opportunities for students interested in library sciences, information management, or NOAA's mission. They have a variety of projects that will help students develop research, analytic, and technical skills. The NOAA Central Library often has internship openings as part of the Virtual Student Federal Service Internship Program, which is open in July. Please contact library.reference@noaa.gov for details on open opportunities.

The NOAA Global Systems Laboratory (GSL)/CIRES Summer 2023 Research Program is a paid summer research internship program open to undergraduate students, graduate students, and those who have applied or intend to apply to a graduate degree program for the 2023 academic year and who are United State citizens or permanent residents. They seek applicants who have interest in the research areas of the NOAA Global Systems Laboratory, located in Boulder, Colorado. GSL research improves environmental prediction models, develops state-of-the-science decision support tools and visualization systems, and uses high-performance computing technology to support a Weather-Ready Nation.

Applications are due Monday, February 6, 2023

This program provides interdisciplinary opportunities that enable the next generation of ocean explorers to increase their competitiveness in ocean-related fields. Shore-based or at-sea internships can include collaboration on ongoing projects or supporting expeditions and are available to undergraduate students, graduate students and recent graduates.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Internship Program (GRIP) provides NSF graduate fellows and graduate students supported by grants funded by NSF's Geosciences Directorate with internship opportunities at federal facilities. Here at NOAA, GRIP interns can grow professionally and build their network with a rewarding research experience.

Geographic focus: Nationwide

Important dates: Applications are due in December and May each year.

Eligibility:

• Recipients of the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP)
• U.S. graduate students supported on active research grants funded by NSF's Directorate for Geosciences

The Federal Government has taken steps to help students and recent graduates join the Federal service. New opportunities will appear on USAJOBS as agencies post them.

Geographic focus: Nationwide

Award: Paid internship; varies based on opportunity

NOAA will list Pathways opportunities on USAJobs as they become available. 

The Cooperative Institute for Severe and High-Impact Weather Research & Operations (CIWRO) at the University of Oklahoma (OU) promotes collaborative research between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and OU scientists and students on problems that improve the basic understanding of severe and high impact weather. This assistantship is $25,000-$30,000 (depending on discipline) for one year during pursuit of a masters degree at OU, renewable for a second year subject to satisfactory progress toward the degree.

Application deadline for the 2023 assistantship: January 15, 2023

Sea Grant is a national network that consists of 34 university-based college programs around the U.S and the National Sea Grant Library. Sea Grant graduate opportunities provide hands-on research experiences, financial assistance, research funding, and professional development experiences in new careers.

The Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship provides a unique educational experience to graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. The Fellowship matches highly qualified graduate students with "hosts" in the legislative and executive branch of government located in the Washington, D.C. area, for a one year paid fellowship. Applications open in fall.

Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Research and Science (SOARS) is an undergraduate-to-graduate bridge program designed to broaden participation in the atmospheric and related sciences. SOARS participants, called protégés, spend up to four summers doing research in atmospheric and related sciences. SOARS offers comprehensive financial support for summer research, as well as undergraduate and graduate school funding. NOAA's Climate Program Office supports protégés, and NOAA staff serve as SOARS mentors and instructors.

Contact: Laura Duggan, lallen@ucar.edu

The Southeast Fisheries Science Center offers a variety of internship and volunteer opportunities. 

This program provides an opportunity for graduate students to work with members of the Great Lakes science, policy and information/education communities to advance the environmental quality and sustainable economic development goals of the Great Lakes states. The fellow will contribute to and benefit from research coordination and policy analysis activities. This program is sponsored by the Great Lakes Commission, the NOAA National Sea Grant College Program, and the Great Lakes Sea Grant Network.

Geographic focus: Ann Arbor, Michigan

NOAA is offering paid summer internships targeted towards current 2nd and 3rd-year undergraduate and enrolled graduate students to work in areas that will provide robust research and/or operational experience that will prepare the student for further study in NOAA fields, for application to fellowships or for the NOAA-mission workforce.

Important dates: The application period for the 2023 Lapenta Internship will be open from Oct 1 to Dec 31 2022.  The 2023 Lapenta Internship will run from June 5 to August 11.

The Virtual Student Federal Service (VSFS) program is an academic year remote internship program for undergraduate and graduate students, or students in a college-level certificate program, who are U.S. citizens and would like to make a real difference in the work of the U.S. government. Students can choose a project within NOAA or other federal government agencies and complete their internship in a virtual setting.

Important dates: Applications are open annually during the month of July, internships begin in September and end in May.

The WINGS Ph.D. dissertation fellowship, is supported by NOAA’s Weather Program Office (WPO) and administered by UCAR’s Cooperative Programs for the Advancement of Earth System Science (CPAESS). The WINGS Fellowship is designed for Ph.D. candidates who have completed their required coursework, and have passed their qualifying exam, or have had their proposal accepted in an area of research relevant to WPO's research, and are in the beginning stages of writing a dissertation. Fellows will work with their academic advisor and a mentor recommended by WPO and CPAESS, to provide guidance during the dissertation process.

The WINGS Dissertation Fellowship will be awarded for two years with a potential extension if approved. WINGS fellows will be UCAR employees and will receive funding for 0.5 full-time equivalent (FTE) for 9 months and 1.0 FTE for 3 months including benefits (1,320 hours per year at an hourly salary range of $25.50-26.52). WINGS fellows will also receive an annual travel allowance of $5,000.

Application deadline: January 27, 2023.

Contact: Cindy Bruyère (bruyerec@ucar.edu).