Prospective scholars

The NOAA Office of Education 2023 undergraduate scholarships application period is now closed. The 2024 application period will open on September 1, 2023.

NOAA's Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship recognizes outstanding students studying in NOAA mission fields. Scholars receive up to $9,500 per academic year to support their studies, as well as paid summer internship opportunities at NOAA facilities across the U.S. Hollings alumni report that the experience influenced their academic and career paths, expanded their professional networks and improved their skills for working in NOAA mission fields. Of Hollings scholars surveyed, 100% would recommend this opportunity to other students.

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply for the Hollings Scholarship, at the time of application (annually September through January) applicants must:

  • Be a U.S. citizen.
  • Be currently enrolled or accepted at an accredited college or university within the United States or U.S. territories as either:
    • a full-time 2nd year student in a four-year undergraduate program
    • a full-time 3rd year student in a five-year undergraduate program
    • a community college or transfer student who is applying to a four-year institution
      • Community college or transfer applicants must provide proof of application to a four-year institution when submitting their application for the scholarship.

      • If accepted for the Hollings Scholarship, applicants must submit proof of acceptance prior to starting the program.

  • Earn and maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale (or equivalent on another identified scale) each term, as well as an overall GPA of 3.0 in your major field of study.
    • The GPA requirement applies throughout the period of undergraduate studies: prior to and at the time of application for a scholarship, for the period between application and award notification, and after award distribution.
  • Have and maintain a declared major in a discipline including, but not limited to: oceanic, environmental, biological, and atmospheric sciences, mathematics, engineering, remote sensing technology, computer and information science, physical and social sciences including geography, physics, hydrology, geomatics, or teacher education that support NOAA's programs and mission.

Scholars at work

Audrey and Gracia are underwater in full SCUBA gear. They pose for the camera and though their mouths are difficult to see around the scuba mouthpiece, their eyes are clearly smiling. Gracia holds a large, professional-looking underwater camera while Audrey has a smaller underwater camera.

Hollings scholar Audrey Sarin (left) and EPP/MSI scholar Gracia Rojas (right) used their diving expertise during their 2022 summer internship projects with the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. (Image credit: Chad King)

Download Image
A selfie-style photo taken by Keanu. He smiles in the foreground in his kayak. Two people are in a canoe in the background and smile for the camera. Everyone is wearing protective life vests and sun protection as they float among the lotus and lily pads on a calm sunny day.

Keanu Rochette-Yu Tsuen, a Hollings scholar, collecting data about muskrats alongside volunteers Rudy and Joli during his 2022 summer internship at Old Woman Creek National Estuarine Research Reserve. (Image credit: Keanu Rochette-Yu Tseun)

Download Image
Sophia, Marcus, and Imani stand around a large piece of equipment in a lab. All three are focused on an instrument that Marcus appears to be inserting into the equipment. Imani holds another different instrument, which looks like it may have buttons. All three wear lab safety glasses and a mask of the kind that is used to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

EPP/MSI Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center graduate fellows Marcus Teat and Imani Wilburn work with Sophia Bickerton, a 2021 Hollings scholar, to analyze sea turtle stomach contents using Pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. From left to right: Sophia, Marcus, and Imani. (Image credit: Veronica Lucchese)

Download Image
Two children facing away from the camera lean in front of a bench and work on small jigsaw puzzles. From the other side of the bench, Abigail helps one of the children, gesturing to a piece in front of them. She wears a fabric mask over her mouth and nose, as advised by the CDC during the covid-19 pandemic.

Abigail Seibel, a 2021 Hollings scholar, helps children put together turtle puzzles during turtle nesting season at Kaua`i Ocean Discovery. (Image credit: Jean Souza)

Download Image
Audrey smiles with her hand on her hip, wearing a pair of bright orange waders, a winter hat, and long sleeves. She is standing in a rocky intertidal area characteristic of the Pacific coast. The water looks choppy the sky is overcast.

Audrey Sarin, a 2021 Hollings scholar, participated in intertidal abalone surveys to support other ongoing research projects at the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. (Image credit: Gracia Rojas)

Download Image
Three women and a large steel pool of water the size of a kiddie pool in front of them surrounded by a flat rural landscape. Gabby is holding a pickaxe, the woman in the center holds a hose that is filling the pool, and the other holds a shovel. All three smile at the camera.

2021 Hollings scholar Gabby Brown and NWS volunteers Abby Grulick and Natalie Jones helped inspect, fix, and install equipment at COOP stations, like the evaporation pan pictured here. From left to right: Gabby Brown, Natalie Jones, and Abby Grulick. (Image credit: Douglas Anderson)

Download Image
Anna stands at lab bench with a large filtering station on it. Four sample bottles are each being vacuum-filtered into an erlenmeyer flask. Each of the four samples appear to be in an enclosed system from sample bottle, through the filter, to the flask. She is focused on adjusting one of the flasks using a gloved hand.

Anna Finch, a 2021 Hollings scholar joined a research cruise aboard the R/V Weatherbird II in the Gulf of Mexico during her summer internship. Here she uses a vacuum-filtering device to collect phytoplankton pigment samples. (Image credit: Rachel Cohn)

Download Image
Delián poses in business casual clothing and smiles for the camera in front of a glass wall with an etched NOAA logo on it. In the background, the words "National Hurricane Center, National Weather Service" are written on the wall above two large monitors showing satellite weather images.

Hollings scholar Delián Colón-Burgos at the National Hurricane Center during her 2022 summer internship. (Image credit: Aidan Mahoney)

Download Image
Abril staples a sign to a guide map on a boardwalk surrounded by marsh grass.

During her summer internship, 2021 Hollings scholar Abril Hunter posted QR code flyers for a survey to assess public access signage in the York River watershed and adjacent basins. (Image credit: Cirse Gonzalez)

Download Image
Cassy smiles and gives a thumbs up while standing on a small, docked research vessel that holds assorted sampling gear, and has an a-frame with a winch. She is wearing a hooded windbreaker and life jacket over a pair of waders. The day is overcast and waters are calm, and mountains and an evergreen forest surround the body of water.

During her 2022 summer internship in Juneau, Alaska, Hollings scholar Cassy Deblois volunteered to help sample at an oyster farm for another scholar's project. (Image credit: Kelly Koehler)

Download Image

Informational webinar: Applying to the EPP/MSI and Hollings undergraduate scholarships

An informational webinar about the Ernest F. Hollings and José E. Serrano Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions (EPP/MSI) undergraduate scholarship programs.

An informational webinar about the Ernest F. Hollings and José E. Serrano Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions (EPP/MSI) undergraduate scholarship programs.