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Graduate Students

Sea Grant Graduate Student Opportunities

A Unique, Educational, and Professional experience.

Sea Grant Graduate Fellowships

Sea Grant has many reputable fellowships specifically for graduate students that focus on professional development in budding careers for a variety of marine topics.

The Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship provides a unique educational and professional 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 Fellowship, named after one of Sea Grant’s founders and former NOAA Administrator, John A. Knauss, matches highly qualified graduate students with hosts in the legislative and executive branch of government located in the Washington, D.C. area, for a one year paid fellowship. Over 1,500 fellows have completed this program since 1979. 

More on the Knauss Fellowship Program

This fellowship program provides support for students in postdoctoral programs in two specialized areas: population and ecosystem dynamics and marine resource economics. The Fisheries-Sea Grant Joint Graduate Fellowship Program in Population and Ecosystem Dynamics and Marine Resource Economics was established in 1999 and is designed to meet ongoing workforce development needs for effective fisheries management. 

More on the NMFS-Sea Grant Joint Fellowship Program

2022 Sea Grant Knauss Fellows and Hosts at the Graduation Ceremony in Silver Spring, MD in January 2023.

Additional Opportunities

Sea Grant ProgramOpportunity (click to learn more)Category
NationalNMFS-Sea Grant Joint Fellowship ProgramResearch
NationalJohn A. Knauss Marine Policy FellowshipPolicy
NationalCoastal Management FellowshipPolicy
NationalDigital Coast FellowshipPolicy
AlaskaAlaska Sea Grant State FellowshipPolicy
CaliforniaCalifornia Sea Grant State Fellows ProgramPolicy
CaliforniaDelta Science FellowshipResearch
CaliforniaSea Grant Trainee ProgramResearch
CaliforniaCalifornia Sea Grant Extension FellowshipOutreach
CaliforniaDelta Science Communication FellowshipCommunication
ConnecticutCoastal and Marine Economics Graduate Fellowship ProgramResearch
DelawareDESG-DNREC Coastal Policy FellowshipPolicy
DelawareEnergize Delaware InternshipResearch
DelawareDelaware Center for the Inland Bays InternshipResearch
FloridaH.A.R.V.E.S.T. InternshipResearch; Applied skills
FloridaGraduate Student Coastal and Ocean Fellowship ProgramResearch
FloridaAquaculture Communications FellowshipCommunication
GeorgiaGeorgia Sea Grant Legal FellowshipPolicy
GeorgiaResearch TraineeshipResearch
GeorgiaGeorgia Sea Grant State FellowshipPolicy
GeorgiaAcademic Student InternshipResearch; Outreach
GeorgiaSummer InternshipResearch; Outreach
Hawai‘iE. Gordon Grau Coastal and Marine Resource Management and Policy Fellowship ProgramPolicy
Hawai‘iPeter J. Rappa Resilient and Sustainable Coasts FellowshipResearch; Outreach
Illinois-IndianaIllinois-Indiana Sea Grant Scholars ProgramResearch
LouisianaGraduate Interjurisdictional Research Award FellowshipResearch
MaineMaine Sea Grant Graduate Research Assistantship OpportunityResearch
MarylandCompetitive Graduate Research FellowshipResearch
MarylandMaryland Sea Grant Research FellowshipResearch
MarylandGraduate Research Support GrantResearch
MITSTREAM Grant — Solutions Through Research, Education, and Art in Massachusetts Research
MIT/WHOIMassachusetts Sea Grant Graduate Research FellowshipResearch
WHOIWoods Hole Sea Grant Science Communication FellowshipCommunication
MichiganMichigan Sea Grant Graduate Student Research FellowshipResearch
Law CenterOcean and Coastal Law FellowshipResearch; Policy
New HampshireNew Hampshire Sea Grant Graduate Research FellowshipResearch
New YorkNew York Coastal Resilience Law and Policy Program Summer FellowshipPolicy
Lake ChamplainLake Champlain Sea Grant Partnered Fellowship PositionResearch; Outreach
Lake ChamplainWatershed Alliance InternshipOutreach
North CarolinaHook, Line & Science Communication FellowshipCommunication
North CarolinaNC STEM Policy Post-Graduate FellowshipPolicy
North CarolinaNorth Carolina Sea Grant and N.C. Coastal Reserve’s Coastal Research FellowshipResearch
North CarolinaNC Sea Grant/NC Space Grant Graduate Research FellowshipResearch
North CarolinaCoastal Resilience Team CompetitionResearch
OregonOregon Applied Sustainability ExperienceResearch
OregonState Legislative FellowshipPolicy
OregonNatural Resource Policy FellowshipPolicy
OregonSpecial OpportunitiesResearch; Outreach; Communication
Rhode IslandRhode Island Sea Grant Law Fellow ProgramResearch; Policy
Rhode IslandMaster of Environmental Science and Management FellowshipPolicy; Outreach
South CarolinaKathryn D. Sullivan Earth and Marine Science FellowshipResearch
VirginiaVirginia Sea Grant Graduate FellowshipResearch
VirginiaCommonwealth Coastal & Marine Policy FellowshipPolicy
WashingtonWashington Sea Grant Keystone Fellowship ProgramPolicy
WashingtonWashington Sea Grant Hershman FellowshipPolicy
WashingtonWashington Sea Grant Science Communications FellowshipCommunication
WisconsinJ. Philip Keillor Wisconsin Coastal Management-Sea Grant FellowshipPolicy
WisconsinJ. Philip Keillor Great Lakes – Wisconsin Sea Grant FellowPolicy
WisconsinJ. Philip Keillor Flood Resilience – Wisconsin Sea Grant FellowshipPolicy
WisconsinWisconsin Sea Grant Keillor Fellowship in AquacultureResearch; Applied skills
WisconsinWisconsin Water Resources Science – Policy Fellowship with a focus on Harmful Cyanobacterial BloomsPolicy
WisconsinUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison – U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Post Master’s Fellowship With a Focus on PFAS ToxicologyResearch
WisconsinResearch AssistantshipResearch

Even More Opportunities for Students

Check our the resources below to learn more about how to launch your Marine and Coastal Career.

  • Florida Sea Grant posts a weekly job/internship roundup of marine and coastal jobs around the nation every Wednesday on their Facebook page.
  • MarineCareers.net: Marinecareers.net will introduce you to a wide range of marine career fields and to people working in those fields. 
  • NOAA Opportunities: Find information about educational opportunities that are available throughout NOAA.
  • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution: WHOI offers a wide range of programs and opportunities for students and young scientists at all stages of their development.
  • NOAA Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center (LMRCSC):  LMRCSC trains and graduates students from underrepresented communities in marine science for careers in research, management, and public policy that support the sustainable harvest and conservation of our nation’s living marine resources. 
  • Undergraduate Student Pathways: Programs and professional development resources for current and prospective undergraduate students: research experiences for undergraduates (REU), scholarships, and travel and research opportunities.
  • Graduate Student Pathways: Programs and resources for prospective and current STEM graduate students — including funding opportunities and professional development programs and resources.
  • OceanCareers.com: Current information on career opportunities, the knowledge and skills required to enter these careers, where students can gain the necessary education, employers who hire people to work in these careers, and more.
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