Careers and Internships
Student Internships
- improving the health and well-being of all Americans?
- ensuring that we have clean air, pure water and better-protected land?
Federal Government Hiring for Paid Interns is Changing!
On December 27, 2010, President Obama issued an Executive Order on recruiting and hiring students and recent graduates into the federal government. Check out this summary of the new programs, called “Pathways” (PDF) (1pp., 36KB, about PDF). The U.S. Office of Personnel Management has not yet issued regulations for how and when these programs will be implemented, but you can learn more about the transition to Pathways.
Related Information
How to Get an Internship at EPA
Paid Internships
EPA Internships Paid by EPA
EPA hires high school and college interns for administrative/clerical positions as well as technical positions in areas such as life sciences, program or policy analysis, and engineering. Most positions have salaries ranging from the GS-2 to GS-7 level. All internships paid by EPA appear in the government-wide USAJobs.gov portal. Most internship opportunities for the summer are advertised in March, April and May but some may be advertised earlier. In 2012, internships were advertised in late April and early May.
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You can start your search on the USAJobs.gov Students page.
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You can also view all student jobs, at any agency, across the nation and narrow your search results using the search criteria on the left side of the page.
- Some positions are designated as "summer student hire" so try searching for that phrase if you are looking for a summer job. You might also see internships listed under the position descriptions "program support specialist" or "management support clerk." Many positions are only open for a three-day-long application period, so BEFORE you spot a position in which you're interested,
- create an account in USAJobs.gov,
- upload your resume, and
- upload report cards, transcripts, verification of enrollment and/or a letter of good academic standing.
EPA Internships Paid by Other Organizations
Certain academic institutions and non-profits sponsor and pay for internships, where each intern is assigned to an office in federal government and/or industry. In some instances, the cost is covered by the tuition you have already paid to your college or university. EPA has agreements with the organizations listed below. Note that not all of these organizations place interns with EPA every year:
- American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES): Home page | Summer internships home page
- Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU): Home page | Internships home page
- National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education (NAFEO): Home page | Internships home page
- National Congress of American Indians (NCAI):Home page | Internships home page
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) internships: see information on the EPA Fellowships page
- The Washington Center (TWC): Home page | Internships home page
- Washington Internships for Native Students (WINS): Home page | Internships home page
- Workforce Recruitment Program for College Students with Disabilities (WRP): Home page
Unpaid (Volunteer) Internships
General Information for 2013 Internships
2011 intern Jennifer Woods heads down one of the longest escalators in the Western Hemisphere to her job in EPA's Office of Sustainable Communities. Learn more about her experience.
Unpaid (volunteer) internships are offered by individual EPA offices in Washington and around the nation. A few offices sponsor well-developed volunteer programs. More commonly, offices do not have centralized volunteer internship coordination; particular managers looking for volunteer help may advertise only through job fairs, college guidance or career planning offices, and/or EPA information sessions at colleges.
If you are interested in an unpaid internship, contact:
- your college guidance or career planning office, since they may have a partnership with a specific EPA office to provide interns, and
- EPA offices in which you are particularly interested in working. Use the phone numbers shown on the EPA Organizational Structure page. Ask to speak with the volunteer internship coordinator for that office.
Specific Opportunities for 2013
Please note that the opportunities below have been reported to the EPA Careers webmaster. Many other offices, both at EPA headquarters and around the nation, may have volunteer opportunities available, as described in the General Information section above. Periodically check the information below. Opportunities for work in specific offices will be posted as they open up.
EPA Headquarters
Region 7 (Lenexa, Kansas) Office
Note for Applicants Who Have Already Submitted an Application
If you applied to any of these internships on or before Friday, May 17, please resubmit your application. Technical difficulties may have prevented your application from reaching us. We have corrected the problem, and the deadline has been extended:
- to May 31, 2013 for the social media coordination intern, and
- to June 7, 2013 for the Superfund project intern, and the field screening technology intern.