Hollings scholars have a variety of internships, from working with fish, diving, going aboard vessels, computer modeling, and more. Top (left to right): Hannah Brady, Andrew Tokuda, Alfre Wimberley, Amy Li. Bottom (left to right): Paul Campion, Amber Liggett, Ashley Bang, Caitlin Ford. (Top left photo: Chad King. Top, second photo to the left: Jacob Argueta/Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. All other photos courtesy of the scholar.)

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Apply for the Hollings Scholarship here!

Program Benefits

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, internships and planned events, such as scholar orientation and the scholar symposium, may be held virtually. The Office of Education will review precautionary guidelines provided by the CDC in advance of events and internships, and will notify scholars when a decision is made whether to hold them virtually or in person.  

The Hollings Scholarship Program provides successful undergraduate applicants with awards that include academic assistance (up to $9,500 per year) for two years of full-time study and a 10-week, full-time paid ($700/week) internship at a NOAA facility during the summer.

The internship between the first and second years of the award provides the scholars with hands-on, practical experience in NOAA-related science, research, technology, policy, management, and education activities. Awards also include travel funds to attend a mandatory NOAA Scholarship Program orientation and the annual Science & Education Symposium, scientific conferences where students present their research, and a housing subsidy for scholars who do not reside at home during the summer internship.

Hollings Alumni report that the experience influenced their academic and career paths, expanded their professional networks and improved their skills for working in NOAA mission fields. 100% of Hollings Scholars surveyed said that they would recommend this opportunity to other students.

Program Goals

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ernest F. Hollings (Hollings) scholarship program is designed to:

• increase undergraduate training in oceanic and atmospheric science, research, technology, and education and foster multidisciplinary training opportunities;
• increase public understanding and support for stewardship of the ocean and atmosphere and improve environmental literacy;
• recruit and prepare students for public service careers with NOAA and other natural resource and science agencies at the federal, state and local levels of government; and
• recruit and prepare students for careers as teachers and educators in oceanic and atmospheric science and to improve scientific and environmental education in the United States.
  
  

  Hollings Scholar Ahmed Abdelqader presents his research at the 2017 American Meteorological Society meeting. (Credit: Jing He)

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"This has been a fantastic internship all around. I managed my own project and developed real-world software that will be used long after I leave. Wherever I work in the future, it will be somewhere engaging and challenging, where I have the opportunity to affect positive and meaningful change."

—Kyle Nolan, Hollings Class of 2013, Office of Marine and Aviation Operations