Several paid opportunities are available for graduate students to work with state or federal agencies. Graduate student fellowships include governmental internships in Washington D.C., or working with the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Graduate student fellowships are typically announced in the late fall with applications due in the early winter, although dates vary from year to year. 

For fellowship opportunities, please contact Angela Archer, amcbride@purdue.edu, before submitting any application. This is to ensure that the application has all required materials.

If you would like to receive announcements when the following competitions are open, please subscribe to our mailing list.

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John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Program

The Knauss fellowship provides a unique educational experience to students who have an interest in ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. The program matches highly qualified graduate students with “hosts” in the legislative and executive branches of government located in the Washington, D.C. area for a one-year paid fellowship. Please download the Knauss 2026 Notice of Funding Opportunity and Student Applicant Guide to the Knauss Fellowship for details about this fellowship and others.

What’s it like to be a Knauss fellow? Read this creative, visual end-of-year report by former Knauss fellow and IISG staff member Katie O’Reilly.

Application deadline: CLOSED
Start date:
Length: One year

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National Marine Fisheries Service Fellowships

These fellowships are aimed at PhD candidates, who are United States citizens, interested in the population dynamics of living marine resources and the development and implementation of quantitative methods for assessing their status. The marine resource economics fellowship concentrates on the conservation and management of marine resources. Please download the general Student Guide for full details about the fellowship and application process. 

Application deadline: CLOSED
Start date: 
Length: up to three years

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NOAA Coastal Management Fellowship

The Coastal Management Fellowship was established to provide on-the-job education and training opportunities in coastal resource management and policy for postgraduate students and to provide project assistance to state coastal zone management programs. The program matches postgraduate students with state coastal zone programs to work on projects proposed by the state.

NOAA Coastal Management offers additional opportunities through the Coral Reef Management Fellowship, Digital Coast Fellowship, and the Margaret A. Davidson Graduate Fellowship.

The NOAA Coastal Management Fellowship was paused in 2025.

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