External Opportunities

A continuously updated list of external research funding and green job opportunities geared towards students, faculty, and other members of the Earth Commons network.

Research Funding

External research funding and grant opportunities for faculty and students.

Events & Programs

External events, programs, and forums.

Green Jobs

Job, fellowship and internship opportunities in environment and sustainability

Last updated Dec 5th 2024

Research Funding

Climate Change and Human Health Seed Grants, Due Jan 23, 2025 by 3:00pm

The Burroughs Wellcome Fund aims to stimulate the growth of new connections between thinkers working in largely disconnected fields who might together change the course of climate change’s impact on human health. BWF is mainly (but not exclusively) interested in activities that build connections between basic/early biomedical scientific approaches and ecological, environmental, geological, geographic, and planetary-scale thinking, as well as with population-focused fields, including epidemiology and public health, demography, economics, and urban planning. Also of interest is work piloting new approaches or interactions toward reducing the impact of health-centered activities, such as developing more sustainable systems for health care, care delivery, and biomedical research systems.

Learn More

NSF: Biodiversity on a Changing Planet (BoCP) due September 4th 2025

Supports projects studying functional biodiversity in the context of environmental change. Projects should consider ecological and evolutionary approaches in response to the continual gain, loss and reorganization of biodiversity on a changing planet.

Find more information here

NSF: Organismal Response to Climate Change (ORCC) Due January 23rd, 2025

Supports research, research coordination networks and conferences that integrate ecological and evolutionary approaches with genomic, physiological, structural, developmental, neural or behavioral understanding of organismal responses to climate change.

Learn More

Events & Programs

Urban Tree Summit Student Discount

Casey Trees and Montogomery Parks invite students to the upcoming Urban Tree Summit, providing a 50% discount for all students who wish to attend. The conference will be held on September 18th, 2024 at the Silver Spring Civic Center and will focus on trees’ health and welfare in our increasingly developed landscapes. Learn from our outstanding lineup of industry-leading experts on their research and contributions to the field of urban forestry. Plus, get to meet and network with other urban forestry professionals throughout the conference. At this link, the discount will be automatically applied.

Find more information here

Green Jobs

Want more opportunities?

The following are jobs and internships shared with our institute. For a more complete listing of internships and post-graduate opportunities, please visit Handshake.

Visit Handshake

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- Various positions are constantly posted.
- Look at USAjobs.gov for updated information.
Department of Energy’s Clean Energy Corps
- DOE is collecting resumes for candidates interested in becoming part of the Clean Energy Corps via their applicant portal and USAJOBS
- Staff positions are available across the country in a number of disciplines
- Find more info here
Casey Trees
- This DC-based nonprofit continuously hires for various roles throughout the year.
- They are committed to restoring, enhancing, and protecting the tree canopy of the nation’s capital
- Visit Casey Trees’ jobs page to find open positions
Green Corps Organizer Program – The Field School for Environmental Organizing
- This program is accepting 20 college graduates. In the year-long program, participants will first learn through their paid training program before joining campaigns to get hands-on experience. Find more info here
- Directly contact field organizer Kendyl Smith with questions (260-906-6473 or kendyl@greencorps.org)
The Big Bets Climate Fellowship with the Rockefeller Foundation
- In its inaugural year, The Big Bets Climate Fellowship will empower a diverse and interdisciplinary cohort of emerging leaders working to reverse the climate crisis and accelerate opportunity for the most vulnerable.
- Find more info here
State Science Policy Fellowship with Maryland Sea Grant
- The Science Policy Fellow will lead the development of a report describing conceptual pathways for the UMCES to achieve net zero and collaborate with experts across USM to develop recommendations for tracking progress, sharing knowledge across the USM institutions, and documenting practices that other organizations could adopt.
- Applications will be accepted until the position is filled.
- Find more info here
City of Gaithersburg
- Sustainability Coordinator
  - The candidate will perform difficult and responsible administrative, planning, technical, and professional work in organizing, developing, and coordinating the City’s environmental and sustainability programs
  - Find more info here
- Sustainability Administrator
  - The candidate will perform complex and responsible administrative, planning, technical, and professional work in organizing, developing, and coordinating the City’s Climate Action Plan and environmental sustainability program
  - Find more info here
Reduction In Motion
- This zero waste and sustainability consulting group is hiring for positions in the DMV area
- Visit their careers page for openings
Faculty Research Assistant at University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC)
- The Tracy Lab at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (IMET) (UMBC/ UMB) in downtown Baltimore is hiring a Faculty Research Assistant. Research in the IMET Lab focuses on the health of marine ecosystems in a changing ocean, including the ecology and evolution of host-parasite interactions and the microbiome, spatial ecology, fisheries management, aquaculture, and restoration.
- Find more info here
Deep tech research fellowships with DOE and Chain Reaction Innovations
- CRI, the entrepreneurship program at the DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory, is looking for scientists and engineers to join its next cohort. Applications open on September 4th and close at 5 p.m. on November 8th, 2024.
- Find more info here

Green Internships

Climate Defiance is hiring paid campus fellows to organize against fossil fuel extraction. They are a new, youth-led group focused on using peaceful, direct action to call on Biden to stop fossil fuel leasing on federal lands. This fellowship begins immediately and involves 10 hours per week of work. The hours are flexible, and pay is $17 an hour. Apply >>

The ORISE Research Participation Programs at the EPA are educational and training programs designed to provide college students, recent graduates, and university faculty opportunities to participate in project-specific EPA research and developmental activities. Discover open opportunities here

Appalachian Conservation Corps is hiring for over 20 internships at National Parks and Battlefields in Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. These positions include work on plant and resource management, science communication, and preservation roles. Find more info here.

Deloitte Government and Public Services (GPS) is seeking to recruit undergraduate applicants from a sustainability background for internships and full-time positions. Jobs will be posted on Handshake in the coming weeks. Find more info here.

Work With Us

Looking for internal opportunities at the Earth Commons? Work with us on the development and implementation of a variety of environment and sustainability initiatives as well as research and teaching. Check out job openings on our “Work with Us” page.

Visit Page