This webpage is intended to be a resource for finding undergraduate and graduate student research opportunities in Earth Sciences (leaning towards Atmopheric Science and Climate Science because of my background) here at UNC Charlotte and elsewhere, with general deadline periods noted. Most if not all of these opportunities include a healthy stipend and cover your travel and lodging, so you are getting paid to work on science! Definitely check each website for the specific deadlines since my webpage is just the messenger. Links last updated 12/1/2024.
Terminology: “REU” means “Research Experience for Undergraduates” and is a formal term implying a funded research opportunity hosted by a university or a national research lab.
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Links to general search resources for research opportunities
General search for institutes that are running REU programs
This is a very useful general search tool via the National Science Foundation (NSF). For example, the search provides links to REUs related to atmospheric science or, more generally, Earth sciences. It remains relatively current because NSF is the home of a big part of the funding that supports REUs.
Institute for Broadening Participation (IBP) general search tool for Research Opportunities
Seems like another very useful general search tool. IBP states that their database “includes 1201 programs in a variety of disciplines and education levels.” and that their Mission is to “increase diversity in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) workforce. Since 2003, IBP has connected underrepresented students with STEM funding and research opportunities, and has provided faculty and administrators with tools and resources to help promote the positive factors that keep underrepresented students on the STEM pathway into successful STEM careers.” Sounds good to me!
ES_JOBS_NET Listserve
Email listserve for Earth Sciences jobs and graduate school opportunities from all around the world. Take a look at the archived postings for a flavor. Sign up is free.
CLIMLIST Listserve
Email listserve for Climate and Earth Sciences jobs and graduate school opportunities from all around the world. Take a look at the archived postings for a flavor. Sign up is free.
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Links to specific research opportunities
AGU Bridge Program
Deadline tends to be in March. Awesome program. Description from the website: The Bridge Program increases opportunities for students from underrepresented populations to obtain graduate degrees and creates a network of peers, mentors and advisers to support and serve them before, during and after grad school. The program is open to those who have not applied to graduate school, or applied and were not accepted.
NOAA Hollings Scholarship
Deadline tends to be end of January. This is a very impressive undergraduate program, but you need to be a SOPHOMORE to apply since this is a longer-term award that begins in the summer between your Sophomore and Junior year.
UNC Charlotte Graduate Hall Advisor
Deadline is in April-May. From the weblink: The UNC Charlotte Department of Housing and Residence Life is looking for dedicated people like you to lead, connect, and serve the residential students of UNC Charlotte. Successful GHAs come from many different academic departments, and they recruit current or incoming UNC Charlotte graduate students. The GHA position provides an on-campus apartment as part of the compensation package.
UNC Charlotte Communication Across the Curriculum (CxC) Assistantship
Communication Across the Curriculum (CxC) sometimes posted a Graduate Assistant position on Hire-A-Niner. This position is classified as a Teaching Assistant, as it involves developing and delivering instruction to our cohort of peer communication tutors throughout the year. Any incoming or returning UNC Charlotte graduate students may apply, deadline is generally mid-April.
UNC Charlotte Summer Research Scholars program
Deadline is in late January. This is a chance for undergraduate students in their junior year (or so) to work directly with a UNC Charlotte faculty member on a project. I have participated in this as faculty and will say that if you are interested in this, TALK to the faculty member ASAP during the Fall semester so that the process can start. The program is only for UNC Charlotte students, and planning has to start around November for the following summer. Note there are other opportunities for undergraduates interested in research listed at the UNC Charlotte Office of Undergraduate Research and sometimes if you hunt around UPIP too.
UCAR Next Generation Fellowships
Each year UCAR selects three graduate students for fellowship tracks in Earth System Science, Diversity & Inclusion, and Public Policy. The Fellowships offer graduate students the opportunity to learn alongside leaders in their fields. Each two-year award provides financial support for graduate school and two summer visits, and the deadline is in early Summer for students who have been accepted or are enrolled in a graduate school.
Research Experience in Alpine Meteorology (REALM) at U. of Utah
Deadline is in early February. The REU has a stipend, and covers housing and travel to Utah. This is the summary from the webpage: The Research Experience in ALpine Meteorology (REALM) will rely on the natural scientific laboratory, provided by the nearby Wasatch Mountains and adjacent urban areas, to enhance student awareness of societal challenges, such as water availability and air quality, that require understanding the influence of alpine terrain on weather and climate processes.
North Carolina Space Grant
Funding opportunities for undergraduate and graduate student research attending North Carolina universities.
Scientists in Parks program
Parks, as in the glorious National Parks of the USA. Deadline is in late January, with positions posted in early December. This is a chance for upper-level undergraduate or graduate students to work directly in a mentored study within one of our country’s National Parks.
Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program (NREIP)
Deadline tends to be in late fall (November) for the following summer. There are many Naval research labs – for example, the Naval Research Lab in Monterey does a lot of atmospheric science research. NREIP accepts undergraduate and graduate student applications.
NASA DEVELOP
Deadlines rotate based on which part of the year you are interested in; DEVELOP offers summer, fall, and spring internship opportunities. DEVELOP also (somewhat uniquely) offers chances for both undergraduate, recent graduates, and graduate students to work on science.
UCAR Significant Opportunities in Atmospheric Research and Science (SOARS)
Deadline tends to be in late January. The opportunity is for undergraduate student summertime research in Boulder, Colorado.
NASA Student Airborne Research Program (SARP)
Deadline tends to be in January. This is a wonderful summertime opportunity to work on atmospheric science and Earth science field research at a major research university in California.
Northeast Partnership for Atmospheric & Related Sciences (NEPARS)
Deadline in early Spring for the following summer. NEPARS is based out of Hobart & William Smith Colleges (HWS) and Plymouth State University (PSU), and offers summer research opportunities for freshman-junior undergraduate students.
Woods Hole Partnership Education Program (PEP)
Deadline is early February. PEP is a 10-week program designed primarily for college juniors and seniors from underrepresented groups in marine and ocean sciences who want to spend a summer gaining practical experience in marine and environmental science. The program consists of a four-week course in global climate change and a ten-week research project in the village of Woods Hole in Massachusetts.
Georgia Tech Earth and Atmospheric Sciences REU (EASREU)
Deadline in early Spring for the following summer. EASREU is at Georgia Tech and offers summer interdisciplinary research opportunities in Earth Sciences for undergraduate students.
Cooperative Institute for Modeling the Earth System (CIMES) at Princeton University Summer Research Internship
Deadline is mid-January. This is an opportunity for undergraduate or graduate students to work with scientists involved in high-level climate science research. I worked as a postdoctoral researcher at Princeton University and really enjoyed my experiences there.
UCAR Summer Internships in Parallel Computational Science (SIPARCS)
Deadline tends to be in mid-January. Opportunities for undergraduate and graduate student research during the summer using computational tools to address questions.
National Weather Center (University of Oklahoma) Summer REU
Deadline is in January. Opportunity for undergraduate students to work on mentored weather research.
Colorado State University REU program
Note: The website link says they are not running this program in 2025. Deadline is early February. Undergraduates get the chance to work on summer research with guidance from expert mentors at CSU.
Penn State Climate Science REU
Deadline is mid-February. Undergraduate students will work on observations and analysis of atmospheric sciences data in the context of climate and climate change.
Keck Student Research Opportunities in Geology
Deadline is mid February. Students are connected to research in geology through the Keck Geology Consortium.
Stanford University Summer Undergraduate Research in Geoscience and Engineering (SURGE) Program
Deadline is late January. Students are connected to broad research topics in the geosciences via Stanford University during the summer.
Texas A&M Costa Rica REU
Deadline is mid-January. The summer research experience provides undergraduate students with an opportunity to develop essential skills in designing, executing and disseminating original research that quantifies the hydrologic and biogeochemical fluxes in the watershed of a tropical montane cloud forest.
Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies REU in New York
Deadline is mid to late January. Undergraduate students will work on summer research related to translational ecology.
“Ecology in a Human Landscape” REU at Miami University in Ohio
Deadline is mid January. Undergraduate students will work on summer research related to ecology.
Portland State University (Oregon) Center for Climate and Aerosol Research REU
Deadline is mid-April. Undergraduate students will work on summer research related to atmospheric chemistry, physics, air quality, meteorology and climate change, noting that PSU is on quarters (not semesters) and the REU runs into UNC Charlotte’s fall semester.