California Sea Grant State Fellowship Program

California Sea Grant State Fellowship Program is sponsored by California Sea Grant. A year-long fellowship offering training in science, communication, policy, and management related to marine, coastal, and watershed resources in California.

Fellowships | California Sea Grant California Sea Grant offers fellowship opportunities in policy, research, and outreach that allow graduate students and post graduates to explore their interests, broaden their experience, and develop themselves in the workforce. Our former fellows have advanced to careers in academia, nonprofit organizations, and state and federal government agencies.

California Sea Grant State Fellows Program Interested Hosts: Interested in hosting a California Sea Grant State Fellow? Fellows are more than students or interns. They are graduating students or recent graduates with PhDs, Masters, and JDs that focus on marine- or aquatic-related fields.

Fellows are selected to participate in the program based on a combination of academic record, statement of career goals, recommendations and endorsements, and relevant experience. They are extremely capable and excited to learn about the process of policy-making.

The fellowship program serves to both increase the capacity of ocean and coastal management agencies in California with highly motivated and talented graduate students, and facilitate the training and development of the next generation of ocean and coastal leaders. Questions? Contact sgproposal@ucsd.

edu APPLICATION DEADLINE: May 29, 2026 California Sea Grant's State Fellows Program provides a unique educational opportunity for graduate students who are interested both in marine resources and in the policy decisions affecting those resources. The program matches highly motivated and qualified graduate students with hosts in municipal, state and federal agencies in California for a 12-month paid fellowship.

In the past, Sea Grant Fellows have been assigned to the California Ocean Protection Council, California Coastal Commission, California State Coastal Conservancy, NOAA Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, San Francisco Estuary Partnership, California Fish and Game Commission, State Water Resources Control Board, and DeltaStewardship Council, among others.

Selection of finalists is made by the California Sea Grant College Program, and assignments are decided in consultation with potential fellowship hosts. Questions? Contact sgproposal@ucsd.

edu APPLICATION DEADLINE: JUNE 12, 2026 John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship The Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship provides a unique educational experience to graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources.

The program, which is sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Sea Grant College Program, matches highly qualified graduate students with hosts in the legislative branch, executive branch, or appropriate associations/institutions located in the Washington, D. C. , area for a one-year paid fellowship .

The program is named after former NOAA administrator John A. Knauss. For additional information on the John A.

Knauss National Sea Grant Fellowship, please contact: sgproposal@ucsd. edu APPLICATION DEADLINE: June 3, 2026 NOAA Coastal Management & Digital Coast Fellowship The NOAA Coastal Management Fellowship was established in 1996 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 and selected by the fellowship sponsor, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office for Coastal Management .

The NOAA Digital Coast Fellowship was established in 2012 to provide on-the-job education and training opportunities in coastal resource management and policy for postgraduate students and to provide technical assistance to help advance the goals of the Digital Coast and its partner organizations. Up to three fellows are placed with Digital Coast Partner organizations every other year, in the even years.

These two-year opportunities offer a competitive salary, medical benefits, and travel and relocation expense reimbursement. For more detailed information about the fellowship opportunity, please visit the NOAA Office for Coastal Management fellowship web page.

No Longer accepting APplications Delta Science Fellowship The purpose of the Delta Science Fellows Program is to train the next generation of science leaders in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (Delta) by bringing together fellows with research mentors and community mentors in collaborative research, data analysis, and synthesis projects relevant to Delta policy and management.

California Sea Grant will administer and manage the fellowship program on behalf of the Delta Science Program. This fellowship funds research projects of up to two years in duration that will advance the state of knowledge underlying high priority science issues that affect the Delta and its management as an integrated socio-ecological system.

The Delta Science Fellowship is normally offered every two years, depending on funding availability. Applications for the 2025 Delta Science Fellowship are now open. To see the 2022 Delta Science Fellows, visit: 2022 Delta Science Fellows .

NOAA Fisheries (NMFS)-Sea Grant Fellowship The fellowship can provide support for up to three years for highly qualified graduate students working towards a PhD in quantitative ecology, ecosystem ecology, population dynamics or related fields of study such as wildlife biology, fishery biology, natural resource management, marine biology, quantitative ecology, applied mathematics, applied statistics, simulation modeling, marine resource economics, natural resource economics, or environmental economics.

Graduate Trainees (from Core Awards) Future world economic, resource, and technology issues will require individuals with the skills and perspectives necessary to solve marine resource problems. The Sea Grant trainee program is producing future generations of scientists, business people, and policymakers.

Research projects sponsored by California Sea Grant generally include support for at least one graduate student trainee, who is selected by the research scientist. Approximately 900 students have been involved in the California Sea Grant trainee program since its inception in 1968.

The Sea Grant traineeship program allows graduate students to conduct research under faculty guidance with the dual purposes of performing important research and satisfying education requirements for master's and doctoral theses in fields as diverse as oceanography, ecology, engineering, law, geology, and food science.

Students working on Sea Grant projects are acquiring skills and experience that will allow them to complete their own thesis research. Where are these former trainees now? A survey showed that the largest group currently holds faculty or research positions at colleges, universities, and other academic institutions, followed by federal, state, or local government programs, and private industry.

Other trainees are now pursuing postdoctoral degrees, teaching at the secondary level, or are in the legal profession.

California Sea Grant Extension Fellowships Extension fellowships provide opportunities for graduate students who have recently completed their degrees to engage with the dynamic team of California Sea Grant extension specialists who work with state and federal agencies, municipalities, nonprofit organizations, local businesses, and members of the California coastal community, to identify emerging marine resource problems and opportunities, conduct applied scientific research, and share findings with stakeholder groups.

Together, the statewide extension team will support, and connect extension fellows to appropriate stakeholders (i.e. academic researchers, non-profit organizations, non-government organizations, and K-12 educators).

Extension fellows will gain on-the-job experience in planning, implementation, and management, providing a unique educational opportunity for recent graduate students interested in outreach, marine resources and the policy decisions that affect them.

California Sea Grant extension specialists work with state and federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, local businesses, and members of the California coastal community to identify emerging marine resource problems and opportunities, conduct applied scientific research, and share findings with stakeholder groups.

The work of our extension specialists effect behavioral change through programs focused on outcome-based objectives using a variety of educational processes and techniques over time. While California Sea Grant extension specialists are locally based, working to help address local concerns and needs, they also work on broader state–regional-national (and in some cases, international) projects.

See below for our current opportunities Delta Extension Fellowship This two-year fellowship, developed in partnership with the Delta Stewardship Council , is based at the University of California, Davis and focuses on helping communities in the Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta prepare for and adapt to changes in water management.

Hosted by a California Sea Grant extension specialist at UC Davis, the Fellow will collaborate closely with the Delta Stewardship Council and work with residents across towns and cities throughout the Delta region to understand their concerns, share research findings, and build local capacity to respond to emerging challenges.

Key activities include leading outreach and analysis for a 2027 community survey to gather residents’ perspectives, researching and communicating how water management decisions affect Delta communities, and partnering with residents to identify priority challenges and develop and deliver targeted training programs to address local needs. Questions? Contact sgproposal@ucsd.

edu APPLICATION DEADLINE: March 31, 2026 North Coast Seafood Extension Fellowship This two-year fellowship, developed in partnership with the North Coast Growers’ Association (NCGA) , Ashley’s Seafood , Noyo District Harbor , and the West Center for Business Development based in Humboldt County and focuses on helping fishing communities thrive along California’s North Coast (Mendocino, Humboldt, and Del Norte counties).

Hosted by NCGA, the Fellow will work to connect California Sea Grant resources with local harbors, seafood businesses, and economic development groups across the three-county region.

The Fellow will support efforts to improve how fishers sell their catch, access training and resources, and plan for harbor improvements, including helping fishers market their seafood more effectively by developing systems to track where fish comes from, coordinating dockside sales programs and expanding access to broader regional markets, creating and delivering training programs based on fisher-identified priorities, and supporting harbor planning efforts by working with port managers to identify needed infrastructure improvements.

Questions? Contact sgproposal@ucsd. edu APPLICATION DEADLINE: March 31, 2026 Funding, fellowship, and job announcements Russian River Salmon & Steelhead Program Delta Stewardship Council Funding/Fellowships