Resources | scbdavis

At some universities and colleges, such as UC Davis, professors that teach classes often have a research lab with graduate students and other scientists. These labs sometimes have opportunities for undergraduates to get involved in research. If you find a certain professor or graduate student's research interesting and would like to get involved, you could consider emailing them to see if there are any research opportunities in their lab.

For UC Davis undergrads, there are is a google doc that has undergraduate research/field work opportunities to work with graduate students on a wide range of projects (wildlife, entomology, soil science, agriculture, etc)

Research Experiences for Undergraduates: this program funded by the National Science Foundation provides fully funded, amazing opportunities to work with scientists and conduct research in the summer months.

Texas A&M Job Board: this webpage posts various wildlife-related jobs, including short-term positions over the summer months. Becoming a field technician is a great way to gain on-the-ground fieldwork experience and spend time learning about wildlife biology outside of the classroom!

Many large natural history museums offer both paid and unpaid internships to work with scientists on various projects. Here’s a few links of internships by various museums:

Opportunities for internships at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. Paid and non-paid positions are listed here.

Opportunities for internships at the Field Museum of Natural History Museum in Chicago IL. Paid and non-paid positions are listed here.

Nine-week paid internship with the Summer Systematics Institute at the California Academy of Sciences.

The San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research offers paid 12-week Summer College Student Fellowships in various areas of research. The Institute has different divisions that include Applied Animal Ecology, Applied Plant Ecology, Behavioral Ecology, Conservation Education, Genetics, Reproductive Physiology, and Wildlife Diseases Laboratories.

If you’ve received a Federal Pell Grant from the U.S Government, you could be eligible for the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, which financially supports undergraduates at 4 and 2 year colleges to study abroad. I’ve seen some students incorporate wildlife research internships into their study abroad experience (this student did an wildlife internship in Madagascar)

The McNair Scholars Program is designed to prepare undergraduate students for doctoral studies through involvement in research. McNair participants are either first-generation college students with financial need, or members of a group that is traditionally underrepresented in graduate education and have demonstrated strong academic potential. UC Davis also has an active McNair Scholars Program!

The Mosaics in Science Diversity Internship Program is a paid internship program coordinated by the National Park Service that is committed to connecting diverse students with careers in conservation, natural resources, geology, with skill-building internships with national parks, national forests, wildlife refuges, and other sites.

The Oregon Sea Grant hosts the Summer Scholars Program, which is a paid 10 week program that places high-caliber junior and senior undergraduate students from around the country with a variety of Oregon-based host organizations (public agency, non-profit, non-governmental).

The Doris Duke Conservation Scholars Program provides a two-year research and internship for undergraduates interested in conservation. The program is aimed at bringing more undergraduates currently underrepresented in the environmental field into the conservation arena.

Woods Hole Oceanographic institution offers paid Summer Student Fellowship to pursue an independent research project under the guidance of a scientist at the institution.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute offers a paid Summer Internship Program for 10 weeks to work on a specific project under MBARI staff supervision.

For recent college graduates and graduate students, the Fulbright Program offers fellowships for U.S based individuals to conduct research abroad AND individuals based in other countries to conduct research in the United States. The mission of the Fulbright program is to foster mutual understanding among nations and share knowledge across communities through educational and cultural exchange.

For recent college graduates, the RAY Diversity Fellowship is a two-year paid fellowship designed to equip recent college graduates with the tools, experiences, support, and community they need to become leaders in the conservation and clean energy sectors.

For recent college graduates that are interested in applying for a Masters or Ph.D in a conservation-related field, the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP) provides an annual ~$34,000 stipend for 3 years for graduate study. Undergraduate students in their last year, college graduates, and graduate students in their 1st or 2nd year of study can apply for the NSF GRFP.

The Ford Foundation Fellowship Program provides funding for 3 years to support individuals pursuing graduate study. Through this program, the Ford Foundation seeks to increase the diversity of the nation’s college and university faculties by increasing their ethnic and racial diversity, maximize the educational benefits of diversity, and increase the number of professors who can and will use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students.