Internships

North America

American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) Mitchell Scientific Diving Research Internship

The Mitchell Scientific Diving Research Internship provides undergraduates with experiences to build upon their scientific diving education and to further help prepare them for a future in science, research diving, or scientific diving- related fields. The Mitchell Scientific Diving Research Internship is designed for current undergraduate students who already have an active AAUS Scientific Diving certification. The internship will provide opportunities to participate and assist in scientific diving with an AAUS Organizational Member. Daily activities may include planning scientific dives, preparing dive equipment, assisting in scientific diver training, participating on research projects, spending time on research boats, diving, interacting with divers, and logging dives. The program has a great degree of flexibility. The internship may include advanced training in Scientific Diving Program Management. This will provide greater insights into operational standards, proper dive planning and documentation, and operation and maintenance of equipment and facilities. The opportunities open will depend on the aptitude and motivation of the intern and the fit with the host institution(s).

2024 Recipient

Ayden Jacobs

University of New Hampshire

Dr. Lee H. Somers American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) Scientific Diving Internship

About Dr. Lee H. Somers

The AAUS scientific diving internship will provide undergraduates with the experience and opportunities necessary for a future in science, diving for research, or scientific diving-related fields. Intern applicants can be students from colleges and universities with an interest in science and diving. The program runs primarily from mid-May through August and will include training at one of several AAUS organizational member sites. This training will give the intern the necessary dive qualifications to allow participation in research projects requiring scientific diving and introduce the student to careers that utilize scientific diving as a tool. Once trained as an AAUS-recognized Diver-in-Training, interns will participate in underwater fieldwork at one or more locations or research facilities associated with AAUS.

PLEASE NOTE: Applicants who have NOT yet been awarded an AAUS Scientific Diver certification will be prioritized during the selection process.

2024 Recipient

Teagan Cunningham

Bowdoin College

About Dr. Glen H. Egstrom

Dr. Glen H. Egstrom Divers Alert Network (DAN) Diver’s Health and Safety Outreach Internship

Dr. Glen Egstrom was an avid diver and brilliant scientist, recipient of DEMA’s Reaching Out Award, mentor to many, and pioneer in diving safety research and communication. He dedicated a significant portion of his career to diving safety by improving diver and instructor training, diving equipment, fitness to dive, diver conditioning, and underwater performance. This internship experience exposes the selected applicant to the research and education initiatives at Divers Alert Network (DAN) with a special focus on research- and safety-related outreach initiatives, like creating email campaigns, social media content, video and editorial content for DAN’s Alert Diver and Newsletters, and other dive industry partners’ publications.

This internship will be flexibly tailored to the recipient’s interests based on the available experiences and projects being conducted by DAN at the time of the internship. The selected intern will have the opportunity to participate in continuing education courses; gain a deeper understanding of diving physiology and medicine; learn to prepare, plan, and conduct scientific experiments; and manage diving research and safety-related marketing campaigns. The intern will be interacting with other DAN departments and divers during research and other outreach events and communicating these to the diving community at large.

Eligibility:
A background in communication, marketing, the life sciences, or other diving-related field is preferred. Ideal candidates must be organized, demonstrate excellent communication skills, clearly exhibit how participation in this program will help them achieve their career goals, and demonstrate an established commitment to diving. While diving is not required during the internship, all activities are diving focused, and candidates should thus be certified scuba divers with some experience.

If you have a question about this internship, please contact research@dan.org.

2024 Recipient

Darby Lambert

Florida State University

Divers Alert Network (DAN) Diver’s Safety Internship

This internship experience exposes the selected applicant to DAN’s risk mitigation and dive safety resources and initiatives. The intern will have the opportunity to participate in continuing education courses, learn about pressure vessels such as hyperbaric chambers and scuba cylinders through training materials, seminars, and field trips, and participate in DAN’s safety and training programs by assisting in field assessments of hyperbaric chambers and other related facilities. This internship will be personalized to meet the specific interests and personal goals of the individual selected for the internship within the scope of DAN’s projects as noted above. This is an experience that does not directly involve diving but supports the need for ongoing education among divers.

Eligibility:
A background in the sciences with a technical focus is preferred. Ideal candidates must be organized, demonstrate excellent communication skills, clearly exhibit how participation in this program will help them achieve their career goals and demonstrate an established commitment to diving. While diving is not required during the internship, all activities are diving focused, and as such, candidates should be certified scuba divers with some experience.

2024 Recipient

Daniel Kim

Cornell University

National Park Service Research Internship

The National Park Service Research Internship provides a unique opportunity to work with leading underwater photographers and scientists in the National Park Service. In 2024, the internship will be focused on underwater photogrammetry - the creation of structure-from-motion 3D visualization utilizing a combination of underwater photography and computer processing. The internship will be based in Denver, Colorado but will travel to projects within the National Park System and beyond assisting the SRC with advanced photogrammetry surveys involving the NPS SeaArray— a unique and world-class multi-camera, high resolution imaging system. The internship will include acquisition via scuba diving, field data management and post processing to generate large-scale, high quality 3D visualizations for park management and educational use.

Typically, the internship runs about 3-4 months, depending on use of funds and projects in parks, and involves extensive diving and interactions with NPS dive teams. The intern will support and assist with photogrammetric model creation and also be responsible for writing a blog describing their experiences over the course of the internship.

2024 Recipient

Leeav Cohen

University of Miami

Dr. Jamie L King Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF) Marine Conservation Internship

About Dr. Jamie L. King

Offered in Key Largo, Florida, the Dr. Jamie L. King Marine Conservation Internship provides undergraduates and recent graduates the opportunity to experience working at a nonprofit marine conservation organization. Outside duties include environmental presentations to local and visiting school, university, dive and public groups; working with other local marine conservation entities; and opportunities for conducting marine life surveys during local dives. There will also be opportunities to assist with lionfish research, outreach, and control programs in FL. Office duties include recording and entering exotic species reports into the database, assisting with the development of outreach materials, entering marine life survey data, answering e-mails and dealing with the public.

2024 Recipient

Diana Phillips

Nova Southeastern University

Paul L. Schutt Underwater Photography Internship

About Paul Schutt

The Paul L. Schutt Underwater Photography Internship gives the selected intern the opportunity to develop their underwater photography skills while working alongside industry professionals. The intern will receive underwater photography instruction and experience primarily through participation in the Backscatter Digital Shootout, a two-week workshop full of seminars and diving, held annually in mid- to late June. Hosted by Backscatter Underwater Video and Photo, the Shootout is designed to help workshop participants take their underwater photography or videography to the next level, whether they are beginning or experienced underwater shooters. Additional internship experiences beyond the Shootout may be available to the intern and will be determined based on current Backscatter opportunities and recipient interests.

Eligibility:
Applicants must be scuba certified and have some dive experience. They must have a strong interest in photography, though underwater photography experience is not required. In addition to the internship application, applicants must submit a sample of 10-20 of their own images that represent their photography interests and style.

2024 Recipient

Owen Bornhorst

University of Miami