Opportunities for Graduate Students

Please note that the opportunities presented on these pages are for informational purposes only and the inclusion of any opportunity on these pages should not be taken as an endorsement of the opportunity by the Environmental Science Institute or The University of Texas at Austin.

Fellowships & Research Opportunities

• USGS Mendenhall Research Fellowship Program – prestigious two-year postdoctoral opportunities to work with U.S. Geological Survey scientists on a wide range of Earth and biological science research topics.
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory Postdoctoral Research Associates Program – renewable, one-year award for researchers working in engineering, life sciences, physical sciences, earth sciences, environmental sciences, mathematics, computer sciences, and other scientific disciplines provides opportunities and support for research and training in a broad range of science and engineering activities related to basic sciences, energy, and the environment. It provides access to modern and extensive research facilities at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Applications accepted year round.
• Oak Ridge National Laboratory Advanced Short Term Research Opportunity – provides opportunities to conduct research in areas that support Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) missions in the basic and applied sciences, energy, and the environment. Specific disciplines that are sought include computer sciences, earth sciences, engineering, environmental sciences, life sciences, mathematics, physical sciences, and related scientific disciplines. The program provides access to modern and extensive research facilities at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. Applications accepted year round.
• National Energy Technology Laboratory Postgraduate Research Program – provides opportunities to participate in research in advanced energy technologies and procedures in the disciplines of chemistry, chemical engineering, earth sciences, engineering, mathematics, and physical sciences. The program takes place at the National Energy Technology Laboratory sites in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Morgantown, West Virginia. Applications accepted year round.
• Postdoctoral Marine Science Network Fellowships (Smithsonian) – the Smithsonian Marine Science Network (MSN) is a unique array of laboratories and research vessels spanning the western Atlantic coastal zone and across the Isthmus of Panama, facilitating long-term interdisciplinary, comparative research between MSN sites. The MSN invites Post-Doctoral research proposals that address pressing marine research questions. Postdoctoral scientists collaborate directly with identified Smithsonian marine research scientists as named sponsors/advisors of the fellowship. Proposals must focus on comparative research involving more than one of the Network facilities. Individuals who have been employed or contracted by the Smithsonian Institution within the previous year are not eligible.
• The Smithsonian Office of Fellowships and Internships – offers a number of graduate student and postdoctoral fellowship opportunities through its affiliated entities, including its Astrophysical Observatory and National Air and Space Museum. The Office of Fellowships provides a comprehensive list of these opportunities, along with the relevant contact information.
• The National Estuarine Research Reserve System Graduate Research – one of the largest graduate programs supported by NOAA. Fellows conduct their research within a National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) and gain hands-on experience by engaging with reserve staff and participating in their host reserve’s research, education, stewardship, and training programs. Fellows use reserves as living laboratories to address natural and social science priority issues based on the reserves’ local coastal management needs.
• The Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) – offers Visiting Fellowships at the University of Colorado in Boulder under the sponsorship of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Open to scientists with research interests in the areas of the CIRES Research Themes: (1) Advanced Observing and Modeling Systems (2) Climate System Variability (3) Geodynamics (4) Planetary Metabolism – Regional Processes. Check link for date of next competition.
• Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) Postdoctoral Scholar awards – offered to recipients of new or recent doctorates in the fields of chemistry, engineering, geology, geophysics, mathematics, meteorology, physics, and biology, as well as oceanography. The competitive awards are designed to further the education and training of the applicant with primary emphasis placed on the individual’s research promise. These awards carry special recognition at the institution. Each recipient is encouraged to pursue his or her own research interests in association with a member of the Resident Scientific or Senior Technical Staff. Each awardee is provided with office and laboratory space in close proximity to the resident staff acting as sponsor and general advisor throughout the award period. Check link for date of next competition.
• The Global Volunteer Network – places volunteers in community projects in China, Ecuador, Ghana, Nepal, New Zealand, Romania, Russia, Thailand, and Uganda. Volunteers have the opportunity to participate in a variety of educational, environmental, and community aid programs. Examples of the exciting and rewarding activities available to volunteers include teaching English, environmental work, health and sanitation, and cultural home stays.
• The Mickey Leland Environmental Internship Program – designed to heighten the awareness and encourage the participation of minorities, women, and economically disadvantaged students in environmental issues and policies and to help develop a diversified workforce within Texas’ environmental agencies and private corporations by promoting employment opportunities for students exploring future professional opportunities in the environmental fields.
• AmeriCorps – Environmental Corps – an exciting, energetic program for those aged 17 to 25 to contribute to the restoration and preservation of parks and public lands in Texas. Participation in the E- Corps program may last from six months to two years, and members receive a living stipend and an educational award upon completion of their service.

Professional Development Opportunities

• Graduate Student Instructor Program: Advancing Students’ Professional Excellence with Certificates in Teaching Series (ASPECTS) encourages ongoing pedagogical, personal, and professional development through workshop sessions that may be taken individually, or as a set in order to earn a certificate.Sponsored by the Center for Teaching and Learning.
• Discovery Learning Project: promotes development and use of discovery/inquiry-based methods of teaching and learning. Monthly catered-lunch seminars by visiting experts provide a relaxed setting for Fellows to interact with the UT science education community. Sponsored by UTeach.
• Intellectual Entrepreneurship Program: premised on the belief that intellect is not limited to academia and entrepreneurship is not restricted to the business sector. IEP is committed to developing innovative, collaborative, and sustainable ways for universities to work with their communities to solve complex problems, and to develop ‘citizen-scholars’. Sponsored by the Department of Communication Studies.