Applications Open for NC Science Policy Fellowships

For immediate release

Contact: John Fear, jmfear@ncsu.edu, 919-515-9104.

North Carolina Sea Grant has opened applications for the 2022 NC STEM Policy Fellowship, with a deadline of March 28. Sea Grant continues to partner with the Burroughs Wellcome Fund and host offices to provide funding for the program’s third year.

The fellowships provide graduate students from North Carolina colleges and universities with opportunities to serve full-time for a year in high‐level state government offices, focusing on policy topics related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. “These fellows gain valuable real‐world experience and professional development opportunities while working in host offices engaged in STEM policymaking,” says Susan White, North Carolina Sea Grant’s executive director.

“Five host offices also benefit by gaining access to the best science and policy graduate students available to help make mission critical decisions,” White notes.

In 2022, the host offices will be:

• NC Department of Environmental Quality, State Energy Office;
• NC Biotechnology Center;
• NC Department of Commerce, Office of Science, Technology, and Innovation;
• NC Department of Public Safety, Office of Recovery and Resiliency; and
• NC Department of Transportation, Office of the Deputy Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs.

(Details available at: go.ncsu.edu/stem-fellows.)

Each fellowship includes a competitive stipend, as well as reimbursement for health insurance, associated travel, and training opportunities, totaling $54,500 for the year. 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 2022.

The fellowship program strongly encourages proposals from graduate students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Minority Serving Institutions, and/or from 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,” says John Fear, North Carolina Sea Grant’s deputy director.

Each applicant must receive a master’s or doctoral degree no later than Dec. 31, 2022, and no earlier than July  31, 2021. The degrees should be in STEM or a STEM-related discipline through a North Carolina university. Students are eligible regardless of nationality.

Completed applications are due by 5 p.m. on Monday March 28, 2022. Apply through the eSeaGrant portal, go.ncsu.edu/ncesg. Requirements include a resume, career goal statement, letters of recommendation, and transcripts.

For details, visit go.ncsu.edu/stem-fellows.

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