Programs, Resources, and Opportunities

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Scholars Program is a government-sponsored program that offers paid internship opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students pursuing STEM degrees, as well as upper-level high school students. Interns gain valuable hands-on experience working with full-time AFRL scientists and engineers on cutting-edge research and technology and are able to contribute to unique, research-based projects.

NASA's Office of STEM Engagement (OSTEM) offers paid internships for high school and college-level students to contribute to agency projects under the guidance of a NASA mentor. These internships are offered across NASA facilities in fall, spring, and summer sessions. Prior experience is not required. Opportunities are available at the high school, undergraduate, graduate, and educator levels. 

The AMS Scholarship for Underserved Communities will award funding to students who have been traditionally underrepresented in the sciences, especially Hispanic, Native American, and Black/African American students. Students must plan to pursue careers in the atmospheric or related oceanic and hydrologic sciences. The $6,000 two-year scholarship is for $3000 per year during freshman and sophomore years (second-year funding depends on successful completion of the first academic year).

The David E. Lumley Young Scientist Scholarship for Energy and Environmental Science is for high school and undergraduate students with an interest in environmental science and energy. Its purpose is to inspire today’s young minds to work on problems of global importance in both the energy and environmental sectors of industry and academia.

NASA’s GeneLab for High Schools (GL4HS) program is a virtual four-week training program sponsored by NASA’s Ames Research Center. GL4HS immerses students in space life sciences with a specific focus on computational biology and omics-based bioinformatics research, the science of collecting and analyzing complex biological data such as genetic codes. Teachers are also invited to participate and will develop resources for their own classrooms.

NASA frequently offers student challenges and design competitions for individuals and teams from high schools, colleges, and universities that focus on a wide variety of active research and exploration topics.

NASA’s citizen science projects are collaborations between scientists and interested members of the public. Through these collaborations, volunteers (known as citizen scientists) have helped make thousands of important scientific discoveries.