Fellowship Opportunities

Fellowship Opportunities

The term fellowship is used both on and off campus, but may mean different things. On campus, the term fellowship is used to describe a scholarship usually awarded based on merit. Off campus, the term fellowship is used to describe a paid position open to graduate students or recent graduates that allows them to gain advanced experience in a topical area. These positions usually last a year, but can last longer. Below is a list of off-campus fellowship opportunities. 

Reoccurring fellowship opportunities

  • Switzer Fellowship

  • The Switzer Fellowship offers on-year fellowships to highly talented graduate students from diverse academic backgrounds in New England and California whose studies and career goals are directed towards environmental improvement and who clearly demonstrate leadership in their field.

    Benefits: The fellowship includes a $15,000 cash award, leadership training, access to a vibrant network of Switzer Fellowship alums, and opportunities for professional development and grants beyond the fellowship year.

    Timeline: There is one application per year

    You can see eligibility requirements and more information here.

  • Global Fellowships for Agricultural Development (CAES)

  • Originally funded by USAID as a Research Innovations Fellowship in Agriculture (RIFA) program, the Global Fellowships for Agricultural Development (GFAD) program offers early-career professionals enrolled in agricultural and development-oriented graduate programs at all University of California campuses the opportunity to plan, engage and implement two to six-month-long international projects in developing countries.

    Global Fellows collaborate with a host organization to develop robust projects that address global challenges in agriculture and food systems. Host institutions work with the fellow and UC faculty supervisor to co-create opportunities. The fellow’s collaborative work takes research to action, contributing integrally to the success and sustainability of development projects and programs, faculty research while augmenting fellows’ experiential education.

    See eligibility requirements and more information here.

  • Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship Program (National Academies of Science, Engineering, Medicine)

  • The Christine Mirzayan Science & Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship Program, now in its 25th year, is a full-time hands-on training and educational program that provides early career individuals with the opportunity to spend 12 weeks at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Washington, DC learning about science and technology policy and the role that scientists and engineers play in advising the nation.

    Each year, applicants from around the world become part of an Academies' unit where they are assigned to a mentor and learn about the world of science and technology policy. An immersive experience, the program is designed to broaden fellows' appreciation of employment opportunities outside academia and leave them with both a firm grasp of the important and dynamic role of science and technology in decision-making and a better understanding of the role that they can play in strengthening the science and technology enterprise for the betterment of mankind.

    Open to graduate students and those who have completed graduate studies within the last five years. 

    You can see more information here. 

  • Congressional Fellowships on Women and Public Policy

  • The Women’s Congressional Policy Institute has been the home of the Congressional Fellowships on Women and Public Policy (formerly the WREI Fellowships) since 2014. The fellowships are extended each year to a select number of students pursuing a graduate degree or those who have recently completed a master’s, doctorate, or professional degree with a proven commitment to equity for women. Fellows gain practical policymaking experience and graduate credit as they work from January to July in congressional offices.

    The Fellowships are designed to train potential leaders in public policy formation to examine issues from the perspective, experiences, and needs of women.

    Open to graduate students and those who've completed graduate studies within the last two years of the fellowship date.

    Benefits: Fellows receive a stipend of around $3,400 a month for seven months (January-July). An additional sum of $1,000 is provided for purchase of health insurance.

    You can see more information here.

  • Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) (U.S. Dept of Energy)
  • ORISE is a U.S. Department of Energy asset that is dedicated to enabling critical scientific, research, and health initiatives of the department and its laboratory system by providing world class expertise in STEM workforce development, scientific and technical reviews, and the evaluation of radiation exposure and environmental contamination.

    Here is a list of STEM internships and fellowships for current graduate students and recent graduates. There are hundreds of opportunities.
  • IEE USA Government Fellowships
  • Each year, IEEE-USA sponsors several government fellowships for qualified U.S. IEEE members.  The Fellows — chosen by the IEEE-USA Government Fellows Committee and confirmed by our Board — spend a year living and working in Washington as advisers to the U.S. Congress and to the U.S. Department of State or U.S. Agency for International Development. Known as Congressional Fellowships, the fellowship program links science, technology and engineering professionals with the U.S. government, and provides a mechanism for IEEE’s U.S. members to learn firsthand about the public policy process while imparting their knowledge and experience to policymakers.

    Congressional Fellowship
  • Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (Public Policy)
  • The CBCF Congressional Fellowship Program equips early career policy professionals who are committed to contributing to public policy with the necessary skills to become the next generation of leaders in public service. The program is an intensive 12-month policy training and leadership development program which enables fellows to receive hands-on public policy training as full-time legislative aides and policy analysts. Fellows are paid an annual salary plus benefits. Participants must reside in or relocate to the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and are responsible for their own travel, housing, and other living expenses.

    Benefits: Salary of between $60,000-$70,000 + benefits, interim housing, monthly professional development activities, bill project presentations

    Congressional Fellowships
    John R. Lewis NREI Social Justice Fellowships
    Research Fellowships

    See more information here. See application requirements here.
  • Presidential Innovation Fellows (Data Science)
  • Presidential Innovation Fellows is committed to reflecting the diversity of the people we serve. We’re a multidisciplinary team of product designers, full-stack engineers, and VC-backed founders. We’re also artists. Parents. Immigrants. Veterans. Walking into the office, we all share a passion for civic purpose—people helping people.

    Hand-in-hand with federal agency leaders, we identify innovation opportunities of critical agency and/or national priority. As we do so, our team recruits outstanding private-sector technologists. And then, we unite. PIF embeds the nation's top engineers, designers, and strategists within agencies as yearlong entrepreneurs in residence. With our agency partners, our fellows advise, prototype, and scale solutions using industry best practices across data science, design, engineering, product, and systems thinking.

    See more information here.
  • California Capitol Fellows 

  • The Capital Fellows Programs are nationally recognized public policy fellowships which offer unique experiences in policy-making and development in each branch of government.

    Capital Fellows are placed at some of the highest levels of California state government and assist state legislators, senior-level executive staff, and court administrators with a broad range of public policy issues and projects and are typically given assignments with a significant amount of responsibility and challenges. Rooted in experiential learning and public service, Capital Fellows spend 10-11 months as part of a cohort working in a Legislative, Executive or Judicial Branch office.

    Benefits: Monthly stipend of $2,964 and medical, dental and vision benefits, fully paid enrollment and earn six graduate units, student loan deferment, and upon completion of the fellowship a Graduate Certificate in Applied Policy and Government

    Timeline: Applications open in October, are due in February. Interviews take place in late April/ early May. Program orientation begins in October. 

    If you're interested in the Capitol Fellows program, please contact the Associate Director for more information. 

    There is also the Executive, Judicial and Assembly Fellowship Programs. 

  • California Sea Grant Fellowships
  • California Sea Grant State Fellows Program- California Sea Grant's State Fellows Program provides a unique educational opportunity for graduate students who are interested both in marine resources and in the policy decisions affecting those resources. The program matches highly motivated and qualified graduate students with hosts in municipal, state and federal agencies in California for a 12-month paid fellowship. 

    John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship- The Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship provides a unique educational experience to graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. The program, which is sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Sea Grant College Program, matches highly qualified graduate students with hosts in the legislative branch, executive branch, or appropriate associations/institutions located in the Washington, D.C., area for a one-year paid fellowship. The program is named after former NOAA administrator John A. Knauss.
    Deadline: February

    Coastal Management & Digital Coast Fellowship- The Coastal Management Fellowship was established in 1996 to provide on-the-job education and training opportunities in coastal resource management and policy for postgraduate students and to provide project assistance to state coastal zone management programs. The program matches postgraduate students with state coastal zone programs to work on projects proposed by the state and selected by the fellowship sponsor, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office for Coastal Management. The NOAA Digital Coast Fellowship was established in 2012 to provide on-the-job education and training opportunities in coastal resource management and policy for postgraduate students and to provide technical assistance to help advance the goals of the Digital Coast and its partner organizations. Up to three fellows are placed with Digital Coast Partner organizations every other year, in the even years. 

    Delta Science Fellowship- The purpose of the Delta Science Fellows Program is to train the next generation of science leaders in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) by bringing together fellows with research mentors and community mentors in collaborative research, data analysis, and synthesis projects relevant to Delta policy and management. California Sea Grant will administer and manage the fellowship program on behalf of the Delta Science Program. This fellowship funds research projects of up to two years in duration that will advance the state of knowledge underlying high priority science issues that affect the Delta and its management as an integrated socio-ecological system.The Delta Science Fellowship is normally offered every two years, depending on funding availability.