Most science writing/journalism internship programs are for individuals who have already completed a college degree. The list below is of science writing internships that also accept current undergraduates.
Designed for graduate students and highly motivated undergraduates who are science majors, not journalism majors. The AAAS Mass Media Science & Engineering Fellows work for 10 weeks during the summer as reporters, researchers, and production assistants in mass media organizations nationwide. Fellows collaborate with media professionals at radio and television stations, newspapers, and magazines. As part of their job, the student-scientists and their host-journalists strive to make science news easy for the public to understand.
Contact: Coordinator, AAAS Mass Media Science and Engineering Fellows Program, 1200 New York Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20005.
Communications/editoral interns work with the staff of The American Gardener magazine and gain experience in all facets of the editorial and production processes for a national, four-color magazine. Primary duties include researching and writing short articles, proofreading and fact-checking, and coordinating author and photographer submissions.
Contact: American Horticultural Society, 7931 East Boulevard Drive, Alexandria VA 22308.
Participants will work on science news and feature stories and magazine articles for the Argonne News, ArgonneNow and the Argonne Web site, as well as related news releases and media contacts
Contact: Office of Public Affairs, Argonne National Laboratory, 9700 S. Cass Ave., Argonne, IL 60439
Participants will work at least ten 40-hour weeks on science news and feature stories for a variety of media outlets, including: The Bulletin, a weekly newspaper for employees and users; Discover Brookhaven, a periodical magazine showcasing the Laboratory’s scientific research and discoveries; and Brookhaven’s website. Interns also will work on projects that might include news releases, fact sheets, brochures, video scripts, and government-relations work.
Contact: Media & Communications, Building 400C, BNL, Upton, NY 11973
Writers will use Cedar Creek’s research experiments and create informational web pages, brochures, signage, and articles for the outreach program. John Thomas (Biology '03) did an internship in the BioCON project at Cedar Creek in Summer 2002.
Contact: Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve, Attn: Internship Program, 2660 Fawn Lake Drive NE, Bethel, MN 55005
Science writing internships at MBARI, where scientists use research vessels, remotely operated vehicles, and autonomous underwater vehicles, to explore the deep ocean and do research in deep-sea ecology and microbiology.
Contact: Internship Program, MBARI, 7700 Sandholdt Road, Moss Landing, CA 95039
Interns may work in conservation, education, fundraising, communications, environmental law, and publications, in areas including endangered species, floodplains, conservation funding, population, climate, trade, finance, Smart Growth, water use policy, sustainable forestry, watersheds, frogs, grizzly recovery, wolf recovery, and grasslands. Internships may be at one of the NWF's field offices in Washington, DC; Anchorage, Alaska; Ann Arbor, Michigan; Austin, Texas; Montpelier, Vermont; Missoula, Montana; Atlanta, Georgia; Boulder, Colorado; San Diego, California; or Seattle, Washington.
Contact: NWF, 11100 Wildlife Center Drive, Reston, VA 20190.
JYI provides opportunities for students to participate in the scientific review and publication processes, primarily through the operation of its peer-reviewed online journal for undergraduate research. JYI offers internships in news editing, science writing and science reporting, as well as editing and review of research manuscripts submitted for publication.
