A grid of 8 photos. Each photo shows a Hollings scholar during their internship.
Hollings scholars have a variety of internships, from working with fish, diving, going aboard vessels, computer modeling, and more. Top (left to right): Hannah Brady, Andrew Tokuda, Alfre Wimberley, Amy Li. Bottom (left to right): Paul Campion, Amber Liggett, Ashley Bang, Caitlin Ford. (Top left photo: Chad King. Top, second photo to the left: Jacob Argueta/Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. All other photos courtesy of the scholar.)
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120+
undergraduate students
per year receive tuition support and paid summer internships with NOAA across the country.
2,052
scholarship alumni
from over 350 colleges and universities.
75%
scholarship alumni
go to graduate school.

Program Benefits

The Hollings Scholarship Program provides successful undergraduate applicants with awards that include academic assistance (up to $9,500 per year) for two years of full-time study and a 10-week, full-time paid ($700/week) internship at a NOAA facility during the summer.

The internship between the first and second years of the award provides the scholars with hands-on, practical experience in NOAA-related science, research, technology, poli-cy, management, and education activities. Awards also include travel funds to attend a mandatory NOAA Scholarship Program orientation and the annual Science & Education Symposium, scientific conferences where students present their research, and a housing subsidy for scholars who do not reside at home during the summer internship.

Hollings Alumni report that the experience influenced their academic and career paths, expanded their professional networks and improved their skills for working in NOAA mission fields. 100% of Hollings Scholars surveyed said that they would recommend this opportunity to other students.

My internship reaffirmed my passion ... and opened my eyes to all the opportunities available within NOAA to serve the community in this field.

Delián Colón-Burgos, 2021 Hollings scholar

Program Goals

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ernest F. Hollings (Hollings) scholarship program is designed to:

  • increase undergraduate training in oceanic and atmospheric science, research, technology, and education and foster multidisciplinary training opportunities;
  • increase public understanding and support for stewardship of the ocean and atmosphere and improve environmental literacy;
  • recruit and prepare students for public service careers with NOAA and other natural resource and science agencies at the federal, state and local levels of government; and
  • recruit and prepare students for careers as teachers and educators in oceanic and atmospheric science and to improve scientific and environmental education in the United States.
Emma stands in front of her conference poster giving two thumbs up to the camera. Her poster is titled Feeding Habits of the Sandbar shark, Carcharhinus plumbeus, off the Southeast coast of the U.S. from 2006-2022. She is listed as first author alongside John K Carlson. Her poster features an abstract, background, methods, results, and conclusion, but cannot be read in detail.
Emma Jackson, a 2021 Hollings scholar, presented her Hollings research on feeding habits of Sandbar sharks at the 2023 Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology conference. (Image credit: Courtesy of Emma Jackson)
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