Internships and Fellowships
UC Natural Reserve System Field Science Fellowship
The NRS Field Science Fellowship provides financial support to UC undergraduate-faculty teams conducting scientific research in the field at NRS reserves. The fellowships enable students to focus on gaining valuable hands-on research experience under the guidance of a faculty researcher. Each $6,000 award consists of a $5,000 student stipend and $1,000 to cover project costs. A maximum of $24,000 will be awarded annually.
Projects enabling the student to perform full-time research over the summer are preferred. However, we will also consider proposals that explain why the research must be conducted during another season and how the student will be able to accomplish the research while enrolled in classes during the academic year.
At the conclusion of the fellowship, student recipients are expected to report on progress achieved with fellowship funds.
All applications are welcomed and will be considered. We especially invite applications from students from ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in the sciences, including but not limited to African-American, Latinx, Native American, Pacific Islander, and first-generation college students.
Application information
Eligibility requirements, evaluation criteria, and complete application information can be found here.
Applications for Summer 2023 will be accepted from December 1, 2022 through February 15, 2023. Applicants will be notified by April 1, 2023.
The Swarth Fogel NRS Undergraduate Research Scholarship
This new scholarship is made possible through the generosity of two trailblazers who helped establish and grow UC Merced and are now making their already formidable footprint even more significant. In 2021, Christopher W. Swarth, former Reserve Director of the Merced Vernal Pool and Grassland Reserve and Project Scientist for the Natural Reserve System (NRS), and Marilyn L. Fogel, former Professor and Chair of the Life and Environmental Sciences Department in the School of Natural Sciences, now Professor of Geo-Ecology and Director of the Environmental Dynamics and Geo-Ecology Institute (EDGE) at UC Riverside, established the first-ever endowed scholarship for the UC Merced Natural Reserve System.
About the scholarship: This scholarship supports undergraduate student who wish to conduct field research at UC Merced NRS sites, or other sites housed within the UC Merced NRS administrative unit: the Merced Vernal Pools and Grassland Reserve, the Yosemite Field Station, the Sequoia Field Station, the UC Merced SCICON Sierra Foothills Field Station.
Student(s) must identify a UC Merced faculty or UC Merced NRS staff member to serve as a mentor and supervisor. While all students are encouraged to apply to this scholarship, students who have made or are making substantial contributions to diversity, equity, inclusion and access in science, technology, and mathematics (STEM) fields and/or research are encouraged to apply.
Application deadline: February 28th, 2023
Learn more and apply here: https://ucmerced.academicworks.com/opportunities/2191
Questions? Contact the Director of the reserve/field station you are interested in working at: https://nrs.ucmerced.edu/home/people.
Yosemite Leadership Program Summer Internship
Each summer, the YLP provides UC Merced undergraduates the opportunity to live and work in a national park during a 12-week residential summer internship experience. Any UC Merced student is welcome to apply whether or not you have been involved in a campus YLP cohort. As a component of students' professional development, the summer internship has a separate, rigorous application process. So please follow the directions carefully.
Click HERE to see a Story Map about 2022 Yosemite Field Station Outreach Intern Caitlyn Klemm's experience.
Apply by February 19, 2023 at 11:59pm
2023 Internship Application: PDF version WordDoc version
For any questions contact Jesse Chakrin at jchakrin@ucmerced.edu or Breezy Jackson at bjackson10@ucmerced.edu
Job Resources
Stanford link to resources for students and early career researchers
Student Conservation Assocation (SCA), SCA Young Adult Programs
University of California (UC) -UC Jobs search engine
ECOLOG-L, Ecological Society of America (ESA) job email list serve, they send tons of cool jobs daily!
The Wildlife Society Job Board
Texas A&M Job Search– job and internship opportunities across the county, you can browse by type of position (internship, volunteer, graduate assistantships).
USA Jobs – federal jobs with agencies like National Park Service and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. You can use the search feature and select Students & recent graduates” under the Hiring path filter or “internships” or “recent graduates” under the Appointment type filter.