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National Association of Geoscience Teachers (NAGT)/U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 2013 Cooperative Summer Field Training Program

Learn More About the NAGT Internship Program

As a student nominated by your field camp director, you must apply for this paid internship with the USGS. Students are then matched with selected USGS projects, depending on the needs of the scientists and the interests and abilities of the applicants. Although not all applicants will receive internships, every effort is made to provide as many placements as possible that will result in professional growth for the students and scientific contribution to the projects. The USGS Human Resources Office will determine salary in accordance with government regulations and student education/experience. The general salary range will be $15.00 to $16.92 per hour (depending upon locality), for 2013. Students are responsible for arranging their own transportation to the home project site and housing for the summer.

NAGT interns work on all sorts of different projects. For example, some do lab work, some do field work, and others do GIS and mapping. New projects are available each year. Selected projects from 2012 include:

• Seismic Monitoring of Cascade Range Volcanoes
• Geochemistry of Fluids in Devonian Age Strata of the Appalachian Basin
• High Alpine Water Quality under Changing Climate
• Geologic Study of Active Faults in Northern California
• Fate and Transport of Biodegrading Contaminants in Fractured-rock Aquifers
• Noninvasive Grizzly Bear Population Monitoring in Northwestern Montana
• Hydrologic Influence on Tundra, Pond, and Lake Ecosystems
• Stream-bank Vegetation Characteristics and Bank Erosion Rates
• Landslide Inventory Mapping in Support of a New National Landslide Database
• Geological and Geophysical Studies of the San Andreas Fault System

The USGS places interns wherever the project scientists need them. Most recently, interns have worked in Reston, VA; Menlo Park, CA; West Glacier, MT; Denver, CO; Woods Hole, MA; San Diego, CA; Seattle, WA; Fairbanks, AK; Cape Cod, NJ; Vancouver, WA; Jackson, WY; Portland, OR; Montpelier, VT; Harrisburg, PA, and many other locations.

Read a history of the NAGT/USGS internship program and a list of the 2012 projects or look back to the projects from 2011 and 2010 (products in pdf format require Adobe Acrobat Reader).

Placement Procedures used to Match Interns with Projects

• Candidates are nominated for the internship by their field camp director. They submit resumes, transcripts, and cover letters to the USGS Education office trough USAJobs (see Internship Home).
• USGS scientists across the nation submit proposals for a project to host an intern. These proposals come from a wide variety of disciplines, including geology, hydrology, ecosystems, and other areas of the earth sciences.
• A panel is convened of USGS scientists representing all disciplines, who review candidate applications and project proposals, in order to determine potential matches. The panel attempts to find at least 2 to 4 potential projects for each intern, based on the student’s interests, educational background, and goals.
• Candidates are informed of the projects that have been selected as a potential match for them, and are asked to review each project proposal for acceptability.
• USGS Scientists are informed of the candidates that have been identified as potential matches for their project, and are asked to conduct a phone interview with each student. They then submit a ranked list of their preferences.
• The final match-up of interns to projects is determined by way of scientist and candidate preference. USGS scientists have the ultimate choice in candidate selection, although student preferences will be accommodated whenever possible.
• Once interns have been placed with a project, they will be contacted by their science mentor to set up a start date, and will receive instructions on the hiring process by the USGS Human Resources office.