Careers & More

Do you want to work alongside world-class scientists and engineers? Do you want to gain hands-on experience with the latest oceanographic technology? NOAA offers many educational opportunities to students, especially those studying science and the environment. Our internships, fellowships, and scholarships provide students with opportunities to learn about careers important to the management and conservation of marine species.

NOAA Student Opportunities

Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship Program

More than 100 undergraduate students receive tuition support and paid summer internships with NOAA across the country each year.

Learn more about Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship Program

Educational Partnership Program

The NOAA Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions is a federal STEM education and future workforce program for NOAA and NOAA mission-related enterprises.

Learn more about Educational Partnership Program

NOAA College-Supported Internship Program

NOAA partners with colleges to provide undergraduate students college-funded summer internship opportunities. NOAA provides students experience in science, policy, and science communications.

Learn more about NOAA College-Supported Internship Program

NOAA Fisheries Student Opportunities

K–12 Career Interest Programs

NOAA Fisheries partners with organizations to offer many programs to give the public a better understanding of our oceans, to inspire youth to pursue careers in science and stewardship, and to reach communities traditionally underrepresented in science.

See our learning opportunities

High School Internships

Woods Hole Science Aquarium Summer Internships (Massachusetts)

Our summer program for high school students gives young people a chance to learn about marine animals and environments, aquarium operations, and careers in marine science and related fields.

Learn more about Woods Hole Science Aquarium Summer Internships

Milford Laboratory Summer Internships for High School and Undergraduate Students (Connecticut)

Researchers from the Milford Laboratory have a long history of collaborating with the two regional aquaculture high schools located in Milford’s vicinity.

Learn more about Milford Laboratory Summer Internships for High School and Undergraduate Students 

Higher Education—Undergraduate Students

NOAA Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center 

This Center in Maryland trains marine science students from underrepresented communities for careers in research, management, and public policy that support the sustainable harvest and conservation of our nation's living marine resources.

Learn more NOAA Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center 

Regional NOAA Fisheries Undergraduate Internship Opportunities

We place interns in the following regions, but the opportunities are open to anyone anywhere around the country. For more educational opportunities, connect with your local NOAA Fisheries education and outreach specialist.

Alaska and West Coast

• Alaska Fisheries Science Center (Alaska—Juneau, Kodiak, Dutch Harbor, Anchorage; Oregon—Newport; Washington—Seattle) partners with the University of Washington’s Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean to provide internships.

• Northwest Fisheries Science Center Internships (Washington—Seattle, Mukilteo, Manchester, Pasco; Oregon—Pt. Adams, Newport) provide excellent career training opportunities at the Center's headquarters in Seattle, WA and at five research stations throughout Washington and Oregon.

Northeast

• Woods Hole Partnership Education Program (Woods Hole, Massachusetts) provides a path for underrepresented minorities into marine and environmental sciences. Rising juniors and seniors conduct 10-week research projects with scientists at NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center and at other partner institutions in Woods Hole.

• Chesapeake Bay Summer Internships (Annapolis, Maryland, and other locations) offered through the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office, connect students interested in marine biology, oceanography, environmental education, and other related fields with professionals in these studies.

• Atlantic Salmon Ecosystems Research Team Internships (Orono, Maine) offer paid work study opportunities through an agreement with the University of Maine's College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture and School of Marine Science.

Pacific Islands

• Pacific Islands Young Scientist Opportunity is a paid, summer program for undergraduate students at the NOAA Inouye Regional Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. It combines on-the-job training, formal research experience, one-to-one mentoring, and developmental assignments for selected students.

Southeast

• Southeast Fisheries Science Center Internships include opportunities for current undergraduates and recent university graduates.

Higher Education—Graduate Students

NOAA Fisheries/Sea Grant Fellowship  

The NOAA Fisheries/Sea Grant Fellowship provides 2 to 3 years of support for PhD students pursuing doctoral degrees directly in or related to marine resource economics, population dynamics, and ecosystem dynamics.

Learn more about NOAA Fisheries/Sea Grant Fellowship   

NOAA Fisheries Quantitative Ecology and Socioeconomics Training Program

The QUEST program supports educating and training the next generation of ecosystem scientists, stock assessment scientists, and economists. QUEST connects faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates with NOAA Fisheries scientists and provides educational training in the fields of quantitative ecology and socioeconomics.

Learn more about NOAA Fisheries Quantitative Ecology and Socioeconomics Training Program 

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Internship Program

This program provides internship opportunities at NOAA to National Science Foundation graduate fellows and students.

Learn more about the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Internship Program

Scott B. Gudes Public Service Graduate Scholarship in Marine Resource Conservation

This scholarship is awarded to masters or doctoral students pursuing a degree in a NOAA Fisheries-related discipline whose research has a strong potential to contribute to the advancement of marine resource conservation and who have played exemplary roles in public service.

Learn more about Scott B. Gudes Public Service Graduate Scholarship in Marine Resource Conservation

NOAA Graduate Research and Training Scholarship Program

This program helps establish a pipeline of well-trained and educated individuals who attend minority-serving institutions and earn degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines that support NOAA’s mission.

Learn more about NOAA Graduate Research and Training Scholarship Program 

Federal Job Postings for Students and Recent Graduates

The Pathways Programs offer clear paths to federal internships, including any available internships in NOAA Fisheries, for students from high school through post-graduate school and to careers for recent graduates.

Learn more about Federal Job Postings for Students and Recent Graduates 

Other Programs Connected to NOAA Fisheries

High School

The Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program

This program is a paid summer internship and mentoring program for high school juniors and seniors interested in pursuing the disciplines of fisheries science, marine biology, and STEM-related fields.

Learn more about The Hutton Junior Fisheries Biology Program

Higher Education—Graduate Students

Presidential Management Fellows

The PMF program is a two-year leadership development fellowship designed to attract graduate and recent graduate students to careers in federal service.

Learn more about Presidential Management Fellows

Sea Grant John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship

The Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship provides a 1-year paid fellowship in Washington, District of Columbia, to graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources.

Learn more about Sea Grant John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship

Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program

This scholarship recognizes outstanding scholarship and encourages independent graduate-level research—particularly by female and minority students—in NOAA mission-related sciences.

Learn more about Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program

It takes all kinds of stakeholders—from land management agencies, local governments, and individual citizens—to protect and restore our parks, waterways, and coastlines. By volunteering and conducting citizen science, you can preserve critical habitat, help scientists gather valuable data, and work towards a more sustainable future.

Volunteering

Find volunteer opportunities identified by our various regional offices and science centers:

• Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office

• Northeast Fisheries Science Center:

  • Research vessels

  • At-sea volunteer opportunities

  • Woods Hole Science Aquarium

• Northwest Fisheries Science Center

• Pacific Islands

• Southwest Fisheries Science Center

• West Coast Regional Office

Citizen Science and Crowdsourcing

NOAA supports a broad range of citizen science efforts. We launched a NOAA Community of Practice on citizen science in 2013 that now includes more than 160 members and projects that have resulted in more than half a million volunteer hours per year. Information about many of these projects can be found in the Federal Crowdsourcing and Citizen Science Catalog.

Using Apps to Gather Information 

• Information collected by apps help provide a mechanism for the public to support conservation efforts. Citizens can:
  • Report strandings of dolphins and whales—Dolphin Whale 911.
  • Live releases of mako sharks—Release Mako.
  • Share information on whale sightings to help reduce the risk of ship strikes—Whale Alert.

More Ways to Help

• Citizens can also help us by telling us when they see a marine animal in distress. If you see a sick, injured, or dead animal, contact your local stranding network. This is the best way to make sure professional responders and scientists know about it and can take appropriate action. These networks are different for each region—find the network closest to you and report distressed animals right away.

• Crowdsourcing science is helping NOAA Fisheries scientists obtain new information about endangered steller sea lions in the Aleutian Islands. Through a project on Zooniverse called Steller Watch, an online community is helping review and classify hundreds of thousands of photos of remote steller sea lion sites, saving scientists critical time for analysis.

• Citizen science also helps enhance fisheries science and management efforts. The California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program builds robust partnerships among citizens, scientists, and government to collect information on nearshore rockfish off of central California’s coast critical to fisheries management. Data from this program enhances NOAA Fisheries stock assessments and helps scientists better understand the impacts of marine protected areas.

• The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is creating the first formal citizen science program within one of the eight regional fishery management councils. In January 2016, they held a program design workshop with more than 60 key stakeholders from the recreational and commercial fishing communities, NOAA Fisheries, Sea Grant, state natural resource agencies, non-government organizations, and academic institutions to develop their citizen science initiative.