Careers and Internships
Student Internships
Have You Heard about EPA's OnCampus ecoAmbassadors?
EcoAmbassadors are volunteers who implement EPA projects at their colleges and grad schools to help green the campuses, promote environmental awareness and carry out EPA's mission to protect human health and the environment. Learn more about the program.
Federal Government Hiring for Paid Interns is Changing!
On December 27, 2010, President Obama issued an Executive Order on recruiting and hiring students and recent graduates into the federal government. Check out this summary of the new programs, called “Pathways” (PDF). The U.S. Office of Personnel Management has not yet issued regulations for how and when these programs will be implemented, but you can learn more about the transition to Pathways.
Other Federal Government Student Opportunities
- improving the health and well-being of all Americans?
- ensuring that we have clean air, pure water and better-protected land?
You can have that career at EPA! EPA internships and fellowships provide a great introduction to our work, giving you a sense of whether EPA might be the right place for you. Internships, fellowships and other opportunities are available at our Washington D.C. headquarters, in our ten regional offices, and at our labs and research centers throughout the nation. Want to learn more about what EPA interns actually do? Read some of their blog posts.
How to Get an Internship at EPA
Paid Internships
EPA Internships Paid by EPA
- EPA hires high school and college interns for administrative/clerical positions as well as technical positions in areas such as life sciences, program or policy analysis, and engineering. Most positions have salaries ranging from the GS-2 to GS-7 level. All internships paid by EPA appear in the government-wide USAJobs.gov portal. Most internship opportunities for the summer are advertised in March, April and May but some may be advertised earlier.
- You can start your search on the USAJobs.gov Students page.
- You can also view all student jobs, at any agency, across the nation and narrow your search results using the search criteria on the left side of the page.
- Some positions are designated as "summer student hire" so try searching for that phrase if you are looking for a summer job.
- Once you've found a position you're interested in, you will have to create an account in USAJobs if you haven't already done so. Typically, you'll need to provide your latest report card or transcript, verification of enrollment or a letter of good academic standing, and a resume.
EPA Internships Paid by Other Organizations
Certain academic institutions and non-profits sponsor and pay for internships, where each intern is assigned to an office in federal government and/or industry. In some instances, the cost is covered by the tuition you have already paid to your college or university. EPA has agreements with the organizations listed below. Note that not all of these organizations place interns with EPA every year:
- American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES):
Organization home page | Summer internships home page - Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU):
Organization home page | Internships home page - National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO):
Organization home page | Internships home page - National Congress of American Indians (NCAI):
Organization home page | Internships home page - The Washington Center (TWC):
Organization home page | Internships home page - Washington Internships for Native Students (WINS):
Organization home page | Internships home page
Unpaid (Volunteer) Internships
As of January 2012, student volunteers may participate in the EPA transit subsidy program.
General Information for Spring and Summer 2012
2011 intern Jennifer Woods heads down one of the longest escalators in the Western Hemisphere to her job in EPA's Office of Sustainable Communities. Learn more about her experience.
Unpaid (volunteer) internships are offered by individual EPA offices in Washington and around the nation. Offices often do not have centralized volunteer internship coordination; particular managers looking for volunteer help may advertise only through job fairs, college guidance or career planning offices, and/or EPA information sessions at colleges. If you are interested in a volunteer opportunity at a particular office, you should contact that office using the phone numbers shown for each office on the About EPA website, and ask to speak with the volunteer internship coordinator for that office.
Specific Opportunities for Spring and Summer 2012
Please note that the opportunities below have been reported to the EPA Careers webmaster. Many other offices, both at EPA headquarters and around the nation, may have volunteer opportunities available, as described in the General Information section above.
-
The Office of Strategic Environmental Management within EPA's Office of Policy is currently seeking motivated, energetic and creative summer interns to work on innovative approaches to environmental policy. Application materials are due no later than March 4, 2012. Learn more about this exciting opportunity (PDF).
- Lydia Bailey, internship coordinator in EPA's office in Philadelphia (EPA Region 3), is accepting information from college students interested in volunteer interning at the Philadelphia office for any dates in 2012. If you are interested, please send the following materials to bailey.lydia@epa.gov by email with "internships" in the subject line:
- resume,
- transcript,
- statement explaining your particular interests, and
- dates you are available in 2012.