Internships taking place in the fall, winter, and spring will be posted periodically to the Internship Opportunities page. Each listing will have specific information about what application materials are requested and how to submit those.

Prospective summer interns, including those interested in the REU program, must apply via SOLAA, the Smithsonian academic appointment portal. The application window opens in mid-November and closes February 15. Only completed applications will be considered.

How To Apply for a Summer Internship

What to Prepare

Before starting your application, please review the available Internship Topics, which highlights the various projects and research labs that are available for a summer internship placement. The application will ask you to choose your top three internship topics, so learning more about the labs and their specific research focus areas ahead of time is highly encouraged.

You will need to provide an essay, CV or resume, academic transcript (unofficial is preferred), and at least one recommendation letter.

The essay question will ask you to submit a 2-4 page double-spaced essay addressing the following points: 1) How does your academic history and other life experiences align with this internship? 2) What do you hope to learn through this internship and how would it relate to your academic and career goals? 3) What environmental science topics are you most interested in? 4) Why are you interested in an internship at SERC?

A SERC internship is designed to be a professional learning experience. In addition to your academic credentials and experience, your essay should highlight how this internship would benefit you and help inform your career trajectory. Be specific when addressing your interests. It’s helpful for reviewers to see your unique learning goals to understand how they might align with the various available projects.

How To Apply in SOLAA

1. Register for an account in SOLAA.
2. Log in to your account and click the "Start Your Application" button at the top of the page.
3. Under the Office/Museum/Research Center dropdown, select "Smithsonian Environmental Research Center".
4. Look for "Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Internship" under the search results and click the green "Apply Now" button.
5. Fill out the Personal Info, Current Affiliation, and Academic History sections, select your top three projects, then upload your application materials (resume, essay, etc).
6. In the References section, submit the contact information for at least one professional reference. Once their info is submitted, you MUST click the envelope icon in order to trigger SOLAA to send an email request to your recommender. Please alert your reference to look out for this email from SOLAA and encourage them to double check their spam folder just in case.
   1. You can keep track of whether your recommendation letter has been submitted yet by checking the "Completed" section of the reference table. You can also check the References section of your SOLAA applicant dashboard to see if they have been completed. Please make sure that you accommodate enough time for your references to submit their recommendation letters before the application deadline. Please do not advise your references to email us their letters directly.
7. Answer a few additional questions and then click "Submit". Once submitted, you cannot upload or change anything within the application.

If you have questions about the application process, first review our FAQ and the Help section on the SOLAA website, then reach out to Heather Richardson at richardsonhf@si.edu. If you are asking for assistance within one week of the application deadline, note that there may be a slower response time because of an influx of applicant inquiries, so please plan ahead!