Coastal Management and Digital Coasts Fellowships

The Coastal Management Fellowship was established in 1996 to provide on-the-job education and training opportunities in coastal resource management and policy for postgraduate students and to provide project assistance to state coastal zone management programs. The program matches postgraduate students with state coastal zone management programs to work on projects proposed by the state and selected by the fellowship sponsor, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Coastal Services Center. This two-year opportunity offers a competitive salary, medical benefits, and travel and relocation expense reimbursement.

Placement for the Coastal Management Fellowship positions is fully integrated into the placement process with the Digital Coast Fellowship positions. Candidates apply to the Coastal Management and Digital Coast Fellowship program as a whole, and selected candidates will be eligible to interview with both the state coastal programs and the Digital Coast partnership organizations at the fellowship matching workshop. Seven Coastal Management and two Digital Coasts placements are expected.

Eligibility

Any U.S. citizen who will complete a master’s or other advanced degree in natural resource management or environmental-related studies at an accredited U.S. university between August 1, 2022, and July 31, 2024, is eligible. Students from a broad range of programs are encouraged to apply. A variety of degrees are applicable to the fellowship because the projects are new and different each year. Students who are not U.S. citizens or who attend non-U.S. institutions are not eligible.

Stipend

The current salary is $42,000 per year. In the second year of the fellowship, a locality pay factor may be added to the salary, depending on the location of the fellowship.

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted to the Maryland Sea Grant office by January 26, 2024. Please contact Maryland Sea Grant well before the application deadline to indicate your interest.

All applications must include:

1. Resume or curriculum vitae (not to exceed two pages using 12-point font).
2. Statement of the applicant’s goals with emphasis on what the applicant expects from and can contribute to the fellowship experience. This should also include how the fellowship can help reach goals that may be difficult to reach without the fellowship opportunity. Include any obstacles that have been overcome to reach this point in your academic career (500 words or less).
3. Two letters of recommendation, including one from the applicant's principal professor. If no principal professor exists, the faculty member who is most familiar with the applicant's academic work may be substituted.
4. Unofficial copies of all undergraduate and graduate student transcripts.

E-mail your resume, statement, and transcripts as a single PDF to asosamor@mdsg.umd.edu. Recommendation letters (signed and on letterhead) may be sent directly to us from the recommender via email.

Maryland Sea Grant Contact

Michael Allen, Associate Director
Ana Sosa, Proposal and Reporting Coordinator

Maryland Sea Grant College
(301) 405-7500
email: asosamor@mdsg.umd.edu

For More Information

To find out more about this fellowship, visit the Office of Coastal Management website.

Photograph, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration