Graduate Funding Information Service

January 22, 2021

Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Summer Internships

Application Deadline: February 15, 2021

  • For beginning graduate and undergraduate students
  • Research interests in environmental science and public engagement
  • Includes stipend of $600 per month

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center (SERC) is recruiting students for internships during the summer of 2021. In accordance with COVID-19 safety precautions, they will be unable to provide on-site housing for students, so they are interested in students who are looking for virtual internship opportunities as well as those that live locally and would be able to commute to the SERC campus multiple days per week.

The Smithsonian Environmental Research Center’s (SERC) Internship Program offers undergraduate and beginning graduate students a unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience in the fields of environmental research and public engagement. This program enables students to work on independent research projects under the direction of a SERC mentor.

Interns’ projects span the range of research conducted at SERC, including environmental chemistry, marine and estuarine ecology, molecular ecology, and terrestrial ecology. Projects are also offered in public engagement, with opportunities in environmental education, citizen science, and science writing. Although students will become familiar with much of the research of SERC in general, individuals will devote most of their time to an independent research project. Students will have the opportunity to expand their knowledge in a selected field of study and to learn a variety of research techniques through firsthand experience. At the conclusion of the internship, student participants will be expected to present the findings of their independent projects in a formal seminar to the SERC community.