Marine Education Fellowship
The Marine Education Fellowship is designed for recent college graduates who would like teaching experience in marine science and coastal ecology.
UGA Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant offers year-long education fellowships for recent graduates at the Marine Education Center and Aquarium on Skidaway Island, Georgia. These fellowships, which serve as a bridge experience between college and professional positions, are offered to recent college graduates with a degree in a coastal or education related disciplines (education, environmental science, marine science, or other natural, physical, or social sciences) or a completed degree with relevant coursework. Fellows train and work for 50 weeks to gain experience in environmental education, aquarium husbandry and coastal extension.
The education fellowship has three distinct tracks that focus on marine education and outreach, aquarium education and husbandry, and coastal extension. Each track includes teaching pre-k-12 school groups and summer camps, program development and delivery, basic aquarium husbandry duties, organizing and leading the annual Youth Ocean Conservation Summit, and additional but varying responsibilities.
Important Info
Application period: Jan. 25 – Feb. 24, 2023
Contact:
Nina Sassano
Email: marineinternship@uga.edu
Phone: 912.598.2353
When applying, please indicate which of these tracks you are most interested in and why. Track preference will be considered during the hiring process, but not guaranteed.
Track 1: Marine education and outreach fellows will gain experience teaching diverse audiences in a variety of settings, including:
- Serving as the primary leads for aquarium outreach.
- Developing, organizing, and leading public programs alongside the public programs coordinator.
- Assisting in the development of new curricula and updating current teaching materials while assisting with some administrative tasks.
- Supporting efforts to expand programs that incorporate JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) practices in education initiatives.
Track 2: Aquarium education and husbandry fellows will focus on the daily operations of the UGA Aquarium, including:
- Working behind-the-scenes in the aquarium weekly and gaining advanced aquarium husbandry skills.
- Updating existing educational materials about the aquarium and displays in the aquarium.
- Delivering a public program focused on the aquarium.
- Participating in animal collecting, trading, and releasing trips.
Track 3: Coastal extension fellows will focus on community outreach and extension work, including:
- Working closely with research and extension specialists to incorporate information about their efforts into educational programming, including school programs, summer camps and public programs.
- Building a network of local researchers working on the coast and potentially assisting them with their projects.
- Assisting with daily tasks in the shellfish research laboratory.
- Assisting with ongoing projects conducted by the coastal resilience program.
- Assisting in the coordination of the annual Research Symposium, Coastal Tourism Conference and other large-scale events.
The fellowship positions are 40 hours per week, typically Monday-Friday with at least one required Saturday per month. The UGA Aquarium does not house marine mammals or conduct marine mammal research. SCUBA, snorkeling, or kayak classes are not offered.
How to Apply
Applications open on Jan. 25, 2023 and must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. on Feb. 24, 2023 via the online submission system, eSeaGrant:
Instructions for registering through eSeaGrant and filling out the application are available here: eSeaGrant Marine Education Fellowship Application Instructions
For questions about application submission and approval process or the eSG system, please email marineinternship@uga.edu.
Fellowship Qualifications
Applicants must meet the following qualifications:
- B.S. or B.A degree in a coastal related discipline (education, environmental science, marine science, or other natural, physical, or social sciences), from an accredited college or university, awarded within the last four years. Degree must be awarded before fellowship begins. Applicants with graduate courses or previous multiple internships are not eligible for this program.
- Completion of marine science courses (i.e., biology, marine biology, marine science, ecology, invertebrate zoology and ichthyology).
- Previous experience teaching or working with children or students.
- Physical ability to carry out internship duties including teaching outdoors during hot summers and cold winters and lifting objects up to 50 pounds.
- U.S. citizenship or U.S. work visa. If selected, UGA will provide intent to employ documents for visa application. Background checks are required for UGA employment.
- Fluency in English – bilingual applicants (English/Spanish) are encouraged to apply.
Teaching Facilities
The Marine Education Center and Aquarium provides year-round residential and day programs. Student groups (grades 5-college) make arrangements for half, full, or multi-day experiences at the Marine Education Center and Aquarium’s facilities.
Two-hour day programs provide hands on lessons for children in pre-kindergarten to 4th grade. The facility also offers outreach to schools and provides public programming on site and at coastal festivals. Summer months are filled with marine science camps for ages 6-14 and teacher/graduate workshops.
The Marine Education Center and Aquarium facility that fellows will teach at is rather unique. Although the outdoor classroom is the most important teaching space, the main building houses a public aquarium containing indigenous fish, invertebrate and reptile species, teaching laboratories, multipurpose classrooms, an auditorium and flow-through touch tank rooms.
The small public aquarium is used daily as a teaching classroom, but does not house marine mammals or marine mammal research activities. Although fellows will spend a great deal of teaching time on the water, the Marine Education Center and Aquarium does not SCUBA or snorkel.
The rest of the Marine Education Center and Aquarium facilities include nature trails and observation platforms, docks and vessels (a 43-foot trawler and skiffs), an 88 bed dormitory, and a full service cafeteria.
Other institutions sharing the campus include the University of Georgia’s Shellfish Research Laboratory, the University of Georgia’s Marine Science Library, Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary, and the Georgia Southern University Applied Coastal Research Laboratory.
