You are eligible if you are an undergraduate student who has completed at least two years of study towards a bachelor's degree, and you will still be an undergraduate in the Fall after the Summer program. Preference is given to students who are rising seniors. Students from underrepresented groups and institutions with limited research opportunities are especially encouraged to apply. Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. and its possessions. The University of Maryland is an equal opportunity employer and educator.

Besides a wonderful summer immersed in marine science, the Maryland Sea Grant program, with support from the National Science Foundation provides each fellow with a summer stipend of $6,000, housing costs, round-trip travel expenses. Opportunities exist for students to publish or present their summer research finding at regional and national conferences.

Online Application Form and Letters of Recommendation

To begin your application, you will need to complete the online application. The online application will require you to include the name and contact information (email) for the two people you will ask to write letters of recommendation for you. Therefore, you should select and speak with potential referees BEFORE submitting the online application.

Providing your referees' email addresses gives us permission to contact them, via email, so they may use our online letter of recommendation submission system. Since references require significant effort on the part of your referee, please only submit referee information if you intend to complete the full application. Your referees will be asked to complete a short online form and submit (electronically or through the mail) a letter of recommendation.

In a letter of recommendation, your referees will be asked to assess your academic abilities, accomplishments, motivation, work habits, potential as a researcher and your ability to participate in and benefit from a research internship program in estuarine/marine science. The selection committee relies heavily on these comments.

Uploading Other Components of Your Application Packet

After completing the online application, you will be able to use our online system to upload electronic versions of your personal statement, transcripts (if available in electronic format), list of courses in progress and resume.

You must submit these application materials in a Portable Document Format or PDF. To create a PDF version of your application documents, you will need to have Adobe Acrobat on your computer, use a trial version from Adobe or use a free online PDF converter.

A trial version of PDF Online can be found at https://createpdf.adobe.com/. Other freeware options can be found at http://www.doc2pdf.net/converter/ or http://www.pdfonline.com/convert-pdf/. Alternatively, you can ask the computer center at your school how to make a PDF or what computers available to students have Adobe Acrobat for making a PDF. Finally, see if your department can help you with making a PDF.

Submitting Your Application Packet Using Regular Mail

You may also submit all of the required elements of the application in hard copy by regular mail, if you prefer. Letters of recommendation not sent using our online system must be sent either on letterhead with a signature as a PDF by email to mallen@mdsg.umd.edu or as a signed original letter on letterhead by regular mail to Dr. Michael Allen (address below).

Official transcipts, any other application materials, and queries about the program should be sent to:

Dr. Michael Allen, Research and Education Coordinator
Maryland Sea Grant College
4321 Hartwick Road, Suite 300
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20740