Above: 2017 Science writing intern Paige Bellamy (VCU, 2018) hoists a blue catfish while on assignment covering the work of Virginia Sea Grant Graduate Research Fellow Joe Schmitt in the background.

Virginia Sea Grant (VASG) is pleased to announce two paid summer internships in coastal and marine science communication. These internships are the result of a partnership with Central Virginia’s PBS & NPR stations’ educational program, Science Matters. Students will develop their interviewing, analysis, reporting, pitching, writing, storyboarding, design and video production skills, and will have the opportunity to feature their work on the multimedia platforms of TV, web, social media and radio.

The following opportunities are available:

1. Science Writing: This internship, funded by VASG, will allow an undergraduate/graduate student to initiate new writing projects that tell the story of how VASG brokers science to community stakeholders, and of how Science Matters inspires local communities to value science and to understand its importance to our future. The science writing intern will work under and be mentored by the manager of the VASG Communication Center to report and write pieces that communicate complex scientific information to non-scientists, and decision-makers. The intern’s articles about the work of VASG researchers, fellows and extension staff, and partners will appear on both the VASG and Science Matters websites and will be shared through both organization’s social media channels. The intern may also complete shorter writing and editing projects for fact sheets, brochures, or other communication products.
2. Multimedia Production: This internship funded by VASG will allow an undergraduate/graduate student to initiate new visual storytelling projects, and support stories covered by the science writing intern, as they cover how VASG brokers science to community stakeholders, and how Science Matters inspires local communities to value science. The multimedia intern will work under and be mentored by the manager of the VASG Communication Center to propose, storyboard and cover stories to communicate complex scientific information to non-scientists, decision-makers, and the general public. The intern’s products covering the work of VASG researchers, fellows and extension staff and partners will appear on both the VASG and Science Matters websites and will be shared through both organization’s social media channels. The multimedia intern can anticipate working independently on his/her own stories and producing work as a cohort with the science writing intern.

Virginia Sea Grant is a seven-university, federal-state partnership whose Charter calls for us to enable integration, collaboration, and leveraging of our collective coastal and marine capacity to address pressing societal problems in Virginia, the region and nation. We serve as a bridge between scientific expertise and the needs of people who manage, conserve, enjoy, and make their living from the Chesapeake Bay, America’s largest and most productive estuary.

Science Matters couples excellent national PBS and NPR content with compelling locally produced segments which feature community partners involved in exciting Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) activities in Virginia. Their community outreach events and the new Science Matters Community Events Calendar are additional vehicles for engaging audiences of all ages in ongoing discovery and exploration of all things science

Eligibility

Any student, regardless of citizenship, who are enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program in communication, journalism, science writing, graphic design, photo or visual journalism, or another related field at an accredited institution of higher education in the U.S., is eligible for the internship. All qualified students from across the U.S. are encouraged to apply; however, qualified applicants from Virginia institutions will be given priority.

The intern will receive a $4,000 stipend for the 40-hours per week, 10-week summer internship located at VASG’s headquarters at Gloucester Point, along with reimbursement for assignment-related travel. There is only one position available for each of the above.

Read more about these and other opportunities and how to apply here:

For more information, please contact the Communications Center Manager Ian Vorster: igvorster@vims.edu / 804-684-7632