Internships & Volunteering

SMAST Summer Research Internship Course for Undergraduates

Internship Opportunities with the Coastal Systems Program 

NUWC Student Programs

SMAST Summer Research Internship Course for Undergraduates

 The School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST), which includes the Department of Estuarine and Ocean Sciences (DEOS) and the Department of Fisheries Oceanography (DFO), offers a 6-8 week summer research internship for 2 credits open to undergraduate science and engineering majors from within and outside UMass Dartmouth. The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth course listing for this internship is # MAR-499. The goals of the internship are to provide undergraduates with hands-on research experiences in marine science and to engage students who may have an interest in pursuing a graduate degree and professional career in oceanography.

Specific internship topics are focused in the following general research areas:

• Integrated ocean observations, numerical modeling and analysis
• Oceanographic remote sensing
• Acoustic signal processing
• Coastal engineering and fluid mechanics
• Coastal ecosystems
• Marine biogeochemical cycles and climate change
• Marine sedimentation processes
• Ocean mixing and stirring
• Turbulence and fluid dynamics
• Fisheries oceanography
• Fisheries biology and aquaculture

Students interested in a summer internship within a particular research area, should contact the appropriate SMAST faculty member in the spring semester to discuss the potential opportunities and define the internship period. Registration for MAR 499 SMAST summer internship should occur by May. Evaluation of the internship performance/credit will be based on (1) attendance, and (2) completion of a research activity report by the student at the end of the internship period.

Pertinent readings relative to each internship research area will be determined and assigned by the individual SMAST faculty hosting/advising the summer intern.

For questions and additional information, please contact Professor Cindy Pilskaln, 508-910-6327, cpilskaln@umassd.edu.

Internship Opportunities with the Coastal Systems Program

The Coastal Systems Program has opportunities for interns to participate as part of the research effort in summer and throughout the academic year (contingent on funding availability). Research areas include water quality monitoring, nutrient cycling, coastal ecosystems and wetlands ecology.  

Interns participate in a wide range of field and laboratory work, including but not limited to nearshore and offshore sampling, citizen-based environmental monitoring, maintenance of long-term experiments in wetlands, sample preparation, and a wide variety of laboratory analytical procedures. Successful candidates should be capable of working both independently and as part of a team.

To apply for an internship, please send a cover letter and a resume, including the names of at least three references, to:

Dr. David Schlezinger
SMAST
706 South Rodney French Blvd.
New Bedford, MA 02744
508-910-6314

Cover letters and resumes can also be attached as Word files and emailed to: dschlezinger@umassd.edu.

NUWC Student Programs

The Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, Rhode Island, offers a suite of research and employment opportunities for students. Current or prospective SMAST students should contact Prof. Lou Goodman (lgoodman@umassd.edu) to learn how NUWC programs dovetail with graduate studies at SMAST. More about NUWC at http://www.smast.umassd.edu/Turbulence/.

Undergraduate/Graduate Programs

• Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program (NREIP)
  -18-27 students at NUWC for 10 weeks in summer
  - Application deadline mid-January
  - http://www.asee.org/nreip/details.cfm
• Science, Mathematics and Research for Transformation (SMART) Scholarship
  - Student commits to working at NUWC upon completion of degree – receives scholarship from DoD
• NUWC Student Services Contract
  - 10-15 students at NUWC during the year - 20 hours per week during academic year, 40 hours during summers and vacations
  - Program is administered by URI; however, student from any institution can apply
  - POC Sally Marinelli (401) 874-5467
  - http://www.nuwc.navy.mil/npt/

Graduate Programs

• National Science Foundation (NNCS) partnership
  -Student commits to working at NUWC upon completion of degree
  - Application deadline early June
  - http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2005/nsf05582/nsf05582.jsp

• National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship
  - Summer work at a DoD Lab
  - Application deadline January
  - https://www.asee.org/ndseg/
• ONR University/Laboratory Initiativ
  - Degree work with National Naval responsibilities
  - http://www.onr.navy.mil/sci_tech/33/333/uli.asp