STEM policy post-graduate fellowships deadline March 27

North Carolina Sea Grant will take applications until 5 p.m. March 27 for its 2023-24 NC STEM Policy Post-Graduate Fellowship program.

Through the fellowship, recently graduated master’s and doctoral students from North Carolina colleges and universities will be able to serve full-time for a year in high-level state government offices, focusing on topics related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM.

“These fellows gain valuable real-world experience and professional development opportunities while working in host offices engaged in STEM policymaking,” Susan White, North Carolina Sea Grant’s executive director, said in a statement. “The host offices also benefit by gaining access to the best science and policy graduate students available to help make mission critical decisions.”

The state host offices for 2023-24 may include the following:

• Department of Environmental Quality, State Energy Office.
• Biotechnology Center.
• Department of Commerce, Office of Science, Technology, and Innovation.
• Department of Commerce, Clean Energy Economic Development.
• Department of Public Safety, Office of Recovery and Resiliency.
• Department of Transportation, Chief Operating Office.

Each fellowship includes a competitive stipend, associated travel, and training opportunities. Professional development and networking opportunities for fellows are available through a partnership with Sigma Xi, the international honor society of science and engineering, starting with a policy “bootcamp” in summer 2023.

The fellowship program strongly encourages proposals from graduate students at historically Black colleges and universities, minority-serving institutions, and traditionally underserved and underrepresented communities, as well as from graduate students who can demonstrate how their interests can benefit underserved and underrepresented communities.

“With these fellowships, North Carolina benefits by retaining the great talent that our state’s universities produce,” John Fear, Sea Grant’s deputy director, said in a statement.

Details about the positions and applicants’ graduate degree requirements are available at go.ncsu.edu/stem-fellows.

Apply through the eSeaGrant portal, go.ncsu.edu/ncesg. Requirements include a resume, career goal statement, letters of recommendation, and transcripts.

Sea Grant is partnering with the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and host offices to provide funding for the program’s fourth year.