Every year, the Sea Grant College Program makes possible various competitions and internships to undergraduate and graduate students. The major fellowship programs are the Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy, the NOAA Coastal Management, and the Industrial Fellows. We post information about the application process for these opportunities as they become available.

Two decades ago, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Sea Grant College Program established the National Sea Grant Fellows Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship to provide a unique educational experience to students who have an interest in ocean and Great Lakes resources and in the national policy affecting those resources.

This competitive fellows program matches highly-qualified graduate students with "hosts" in the Legislative Branch, the Executive Branch, or appropriate associations and institutions located in the Washington, D.C. area for a one-year paid fellowship. Competition for these select fellowships is nationwide in scope, and involves a formal application process, screening interviews, and a final selection process of the most qualified candidates.

Recent Knauss Fellows from South Carolina have worked in areas of government such as the Executive and Legislative Branches. In the Executive Branch, fellows have helped implement the Magnuson-Stevens Act (National Marine Fisheries Service) and develop U.S. foreign policy on marine conservation (U.S. Department of State). On the Legislative side, various U.S. Congressmen provided opportunities for fellows to work on subcommittees such as the Subcommittee on Oceans and Fisheries and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, State, Justice, and the Judiciary, which provides NOAA with Congressional guidance.

NOAA established the Coastal Services Center Coastal Management Fellowship Program in 1996 to provide professional on-the-job education and training opportunities for post-graduate students in coastal resource management and policy and to provide specific technical assistance for state coastal resource management programs. The program matches highly qualified, recently graduated masters, professional and doctoral degree students with state hosts around the U.S. in state coastal zone management programs. For two years, the recipients work on substantive state-level coastal resource management issues that pertain to federal management policies and regulations.

These fellowships are part of a national competition that requires a formal application, interviews with the local Sea Grant office, and a screening process designed to identify the most qualified candidates.

Watch here for future Coastal Management Fellowship announcements and application information.

The Sea Grant Industrial Fellows Program, in cooperation with specific companies, supports highly qualified graduate students who are pursuing research on topics of interest to a particular industry or company. In a true partnership, the student, the faculty advisor, the Sea Grant college or institute, and the industry representative work together on a project from beginning to end. The college and the industrial partner share the costs of research facilities and the fellowship activities.

University faculties are the major source for identifying potential industrial collaborators and suitable research topics. However, others may identify potential industrial partners. Sea Grant directors use a variety of sources in building successful partnerships with industry.

Interested members of U.S. institutions of higher education may submit a proposal through the nearest Sea Grant program for a grant to support up to 50% of the total budget. The fellowship can be for a maximum of three years. Applicants for an Industrial Fellows position will compete on a national level and must go through the formal process of submitting an application, interviewing for the position, and passing the final selection process. For more information contact: John.Dwyer@scseagrant.org