Internships

UNCF Internships and Fellowships

UNCF Internships and Fellowships

UNCF Special Programs Corporation (UNCFSP), born from the long-standing traditions of the United Negro College Fund (UNCF), works diligently to create connections between the diverse, high-performing workforce of the minority education community and private industry to address the nation’s imperatives.

While equally committed to the minority education community through our strong partnership with UNCF, UNCFSP operates as a separate and independent 501(c) 3 nonprofit organization with our own Board of Directors.

Our minority education constituency includes Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), and Other Minority Institutions (OMIs).

Visit the website for a broad range of internship and fellowship opportunities.

UNCF Merck Science Initiative

UNCF Merck Science Initiative

Every year, scholarships and fellowships are awarded through a national competition. Over 550 students & scholars in the biological and chemical sciences have found support, knowledge, careers and advancement.

Scholarships/Internships/Fellowships

The UNCF / Merck Science Initiative awards scholarships and fellowships at three levels:

UNCF/ Merck Undergraduate Science Research Scholarship Awards are intended to help African American undergraduate students who are interested in science to further their science education and potentially pursue science and engineering careers.  The UNCF /Merck awards provide tuition support and opportunities for research experience in a state-of-the-art research facility.

UNCF /Merck Graduate Science Research Dissertation Fellowships will help African American graduate students complete coursework, conduct research, and prepare the dissertation required for a doctoral degree in the biomedically relevant life or physical sciences and engineering.

UNCF /Merck Postdoctoral Science Research Fellowships are intended to provide support to African American post-graduate students to obtain postdoctoral training and to prepare for a career in biomedical research.

UNCF /Merck Undergraduate Science Research Scholarship Awards

Awards up to $30,000. At least 15 scholarship awards will be granted each year. Each award provides up to $30,000, which includes up to $25,000 towards tuition, room and board, and billable fees. This award is not transferable.

Each UNCF / Merck Undergraduate Fellow will be mentored by a Merck scientist and will receive a Summer Research Internship with a stipend of at least $5,000, if eligible. One internship will take place during the summer following the junior year and the other following graduation. The 10-12 week summer internship will take place at a Merck facility.

The recipient’s department may apply for a Department Grant of up to $10,000. The actual amount of this grant is continent upon funds remaining in the scholarship portion of the award after all tuition, room and board, and billable fees are paid.

Eligibility Criteria

To be considered for a UNCF/Merck Undergraduate Science Research Scholarship Award, you must be:

  • African American (Black)
  • Enrolled full-time in any four-year college or university in the United States
  • A junior who will be a B.S. or B.A. degree candidate in the academic year
  • A life sciences, physical sciences, or engineering major. (Applicants majoring in the physical sciences must have completed two semesters of organic chemistry by the end of the academic year). First professional (Pharm.D., D.V.M., D.D.S., etc.) majors are ineligible
  • A student with a minimum GPA of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale
  • Committed to and eligible for the summer internship at a Merck facility
  • A citizen or permanent resident of the United States.

A UNCF /Merck selection committee consisting of  Merck scientists and engineers will evaluate the applicants. Award recipients will be selected based on their GPA, their demonstrated interest in their own scientific education and a career in scientific research or engineering, and their ability to perform in a laboratory or engineering environment.

UNCF/ Merck Graduate Science Research Dissertation Fellowships

Awards up to $53,500. At least 12 dissertation fellowships will be awarded in 2012. Each fellowship provides up to a maximum of $53,500, which includes a Stipend of up to $43,500 for the Fellow and a Research Grant of up to $10,000 to support the research needs of the Fellow. The fellowship stipend is intended to cover from 12-24 months of fellowship tenure. A maximum of $30,000 in stipend may be received in any 12 month period. The Fellow must be engaged in and within 1-3 years of completing the dissertation research having successfully completed all qualifying exams by September 1.

Each UNCF / Merck Graduate Fellow will be mentored by a Merck scientist or engineer and will be expected to maintain regular contact with his/her mentor. Each Fellow will present a progress report of research work during the last half of the fellowship tenure. Each Fellow must also submit a two-page research summary of their fellowship research and updated Curriculum Vitea to UNCF at the end of their fellowship tenure. UNCF must be notified upon receipt of the degree.

Eligibility Criteria

To be considered for a UNCF / Merck Graduate Science Research Dissertation Fellowship, you must be:

  • African American (Black)
  • Enrolled full-time in a Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree program majoring in a life science, physical science or engineering. M.D./Ph.D. degree candidates are eligible
  • Engaged in and within 1-3 years of completing dissertation research, and must successfully complete all qualifying exams by September 1
  • A citizen or permanent resident of the United States

A UNCF/Merck Selection Committee consisting of educators, Merck scientists and engineers will select the awardees based on academic ability, record of accomplishment, and the soundness of the proposed doctoral research plan.

UNCF / Merck Postdoctoral Science Research Fellowships

Awards up to $92,000. At least 10 postdoctoral fellowships will be awarded in 2012. Each fellowship provides a maximum of $92,000, which includes a Stipend of up to $77,000 and a Research Grant of up to $15,000 to the hosting department. The stipend is intended to provide 12-24 months of fellowship tenure. A maximum of $55,000 of stipend may be received in any 12 month period. The Research Grant is intended to support the research needs of the Fellow.

Each UNCF/ Merck Postdoctoral Fellow will be mentored by a Merck scientist. Fellows are expected to maintain frequent contact with their Merck mentor. Each Fellow is also required to visit the Merck Research Laboratories to present a progress report to the Merck research staff during the last half of the fellowship tenure. Each Fellow must also submit a two-page research summary of their fellowship research and updated Curriculum Vitae to UNCF at the end of their fellowship tenure.

Eligibility Criteria

To be considered for a UNCF / Merck Postdoctoral Science Research Fellowship, you must be:

  • African American (Black)
  • A Ph.D. or equivalent doctoral degree recipient in a life or physical science by the end of academic year
  • Appointed as a new or continuing postdoctoral fellow by the end of the calendar year at an academic or non-academic research institution in the USA (private industrial laboratories are excluded). This postdoctoral appointment must be for a minimum of 12 months
  • A citizen or permanent resident of the United States.

A UNCF/ Merck Selection Committee consisting of educators and Merck scientists will select the award winners based on ability, record of accomplishment, and the soundness of the proposed postdoctoral research.

 

Get an Education so That You Can Get a Job!

Do not become one of the thousands of students going off to acquire a very expensive college education only to find themselves 4-6 years later unable to find a job and thousands of dollars in student loan debt. A recent study by the Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools, “Closing the Gap between Career Education & Employer Expectations” found that:

  • Only 7 percent of employers believe that colleges do an “Excellent” job in preparing students for the workplace with 39 percent indicating that students are “Fairly” of “Poorly” prepared
  • Only 16 percent of employers believe that applicants are “Very Well Prepared” while 21 percent indicate that applicants are “Unprepared”
  • 54 percent indicated difficulty in finding applicants with the necessary skills and knowledge

Most employers believe that college students simply fail to adequately prepare themselves to enter the workplace. They do not take the necessary classes to prepare for the workplace, they barely receive passing grades in classes such as business writing, Statistics, Calculus, and business communications, they do not gain the necessary job experience while in college, and they do not take advantage of the many summer internship opportunities available to them.

When selecting colleges today, students should be focused on where the jobs will be when they receive their degrees. Students should more carefully select the type of classes they take in college and the type of internships they experienced each summer to best prepare them for the job market after graduating from college. Students should keep in mind that a college degree only has value if the person holding the degree can bring value to an employer’s organization.

I received my BS from Northeastern University, which has one of the largest cooperative education programs in the world. At graduation, I had 18 months of full-time on-the-job experience with Andersen Consulting and found myself highly recruited by such companies as Andersen Consulting (now Accenture)Price Waterhouse CoopersTouche and Deloitte, and IBM. I eventually accepted a job offer with the IBM General Products Division in San Jose, California as a systems design engineer.

College Co-op Programs provide an excellent opportunity for students to gain a significant competitive edge upon graduation. Students may learn about cooperative education programs at the National Commission on Cooperative Education website and the NASA Co-Op Education Program website. When considering potential colleges ask about the types of employers participating in their cooperative education program, available internships, and visit the college’s recruitment office to see the type of jobs their graduates are entering into and the types of companies that they are working for.

Homeland Security Internship Opportunities

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) sponsors a 10-week summer internship program for rising juniors and seniors majoring in homeland security related science, technology, engineering and mathematics (HS-STEM) disciplines. The DHS HS-STEM Summer Internship Program provides students with the opportunity to conduct research in DHS mission-relevant research areas at federal research facilities located across the country.

The goal of this program is to engage a diverse, educated, and skilled pool of scientists and engineers in HS-STEM issues and to promote long-term relationships between student researchers, the DHS Science and Technology (S&T) Directorate, and federal research facilities to enhance the HS-STEM workforce.

DHS has partnered with Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) to manage the application and review process, notification, and implementation of the program. The DHS Science and Technology Directorate reviews applications and makes the final award selections.

AWARD

  • Stipend of $500 each week ($5,000 for 10 weeks) payable every two weeks
  • Transportation expenses for one round trip between the student’s current or home address and the assigned federal research facility, with some limitations

EXPECTATIONS

Application and Selection Process:

  • Prior to submitting an application, the student reviews the list of possible federal research facility Hosting Sites and Projects to identify hosting sites and projects of interest. The student selects up to three hosting sites and lists the sites in order of preference on the application form. The student may select multiple projects for each hosting site.
  • Students submit their applications to ORISE. The applications are reviewed for completeness and eligibility by ORISE. Applications are evaluated by DHS and representatives of the hosting sites at which the students wish to intern. DHS determines which students are selected to participate in the internship program. Preferences of the students and hosting sites are taken into consideration in assigning students to projects. All assignments are subject to DHS approval.

Participation:

  • Research is conducted at the assigned hosting site between the months of May and August. It is anticipated that the research undertaken by the students will be unclassified.
  • The research experience requires a full-time commitment for ten consecutive weeks.
  • At the end of the internship, students are required to participate in a poster session or make an oral presentation to the scientific community at the hosting site, as directed by the assigned mentor. Students are also required to complete an evaluation form and to submit to their research mentors an eight to ten page paper summarizing the summer experience. After reviewing the papers, mentors submit the papers to DHS (via ORISE).

Logistics:

  • Students are responsible for moving expenses and all living expenses, including local transportation, room, board and entertainment. Students are also responsible for securing their own living space and determining their means of local transportation prior to arriving at the assigned hosting site. Some hosting sites provide assistance in locating housing and/or provide additional funds for housing. For more information, refer to Hosting Sites. Please review the information posted before contacting the hosting site internship coordinators.
  • ORISE makes travel arrangements for students and reimburses students for travel expenses, with some limitations.

Projects offered at:

National research laboratories: Argonne, Idaho, Lawrence Livermore, Los Alamos, Oak Ridge, Pacific Northwest, Sandia, Savannah River

DHS laboratories: Transportation Security Laboratory

Other research facilities, including Air Force research Laboratory, Homeland Security Studies and Analysis Institute, National Institute of Standards and Technology

Locations include: CA, CO, ID, IL, MD, NM, NJ, OH, SC, TN, WA & VA

US citizenshiprequired

Application deadline: January 5, 2012

www.orau.gov/dhsinternships

 

Student Leaders Internship Opportunity

The Bank of America Charitable Foundation’sStudent Leaders® Program is accepting applications for the 2012 program. The program helps students gain a greater understanding of how nonprofits create impact in the community and develops them as the next generation of community leaders through two components:

  • A summer 2012 eight-week paid summer internship with selected nonprofit organizations designed to provide  opportunities for the students to develop and apply leadership skills through hands-on work experience, while raising their awareness of community issues addressed by their host organization.
  • A week-long all-expense paid Student Leadership Summit in Washington, D.C., July 15-20, 2012. Conducted in partnership with the Close Up Foundation, the Summit introduces students to aspects of civic, social and business leadership and provides them with knowledge and skills they will use throughout their life to create positive community change.

The application deadline is January 25, 2012.

Apply Now…

For further information, contact:
Cecilie Goodman
Community Relations Manager, Metro Atlanta
404.607.5061
cecilie.goodman@bankofamerica.com

US Forest Service Internship Opportunities

Click here to see the recruitment bulletin and application for our Fiscal Year 2012 Student Career Experience and Student Temporary Experience Internship Opportunities.

The US Forest Service is seeking Women, Minorities, Veterans and Persons with Disabilities who are freshman and sophomores seeking their bachelor degree. Candidates must be willing to go anywhere in the Region’s 20 states and reside in a rural setting.

Individuals selected for the Student Career Experience Program have a great chance of being given permanent status upon successful completion of 640 hours and their academic degree.

The Student Career Experience Program (SCEP) (formerly the Cooperative Education Program) is designed to integrate classroom study with paid work experience to prepare students for responsible placement into the Forest Service’s permanent workforce.

The Student Temporary Employment Program (STEP) also offers students work experience in the Forest Service, but does not offer placement into it’s permanent workforce.  Successful STEP students can be placed into the SCEP program at the Forest Services’ discretion.

This bulletin is aimed primarily at freshman and sophomore students pursuing a bachelor’s degree in a field which, upon graduation, will provide the academic background, knowledge, and skills required for the target position. Students must complete a minimum of 640 hours of work experience prior to graduation.

For further information contact:

Ms. Montez L. Ashley
Equal Employment Opportunity & Student Employment Specialist
USDA Forest Service, Eastern Region
626 E. Wisconsin Avenue
Milwaukee, WI 53202

414-297-3150
414-944-3938

mashley@fs.fed.us
R9_students@fs.fed.us
R9_ProjectHire@fs.fed.us

U.S. Department of Transportation

2012 Summer Transportation Internship Program for Diverse Groups (STIPDG)

Internship Period: June 4th – August 10th 2012

The Summer Transportation Internship Program for Diverse Groups (STIPDG) provides a unique opportunity to gain valuable professional experience and skills that will compliment your academic pursuits. This hands-on program is designed to mentor and cultivate tomorrow’s leaders, strengthen their understanding of the transportation industry and prepare them for future public service opportunities.

The STIPDG Program is open to all qualified candidates without regard to their race, gender, color, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, age, physical or mental disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic prohibited by federal law.

The Summer 2012 STIPDG application period is now OPEN.

To apply for this year’s program, apply here, and continue reading for more program details.

Application Deadline: Selections may be made as applications are received, but typically do not occur until the application closes: December 31, 2011.