UC graduate and undergraduate students are invited to get involved with the UC Center for Public Engagement with Science (PEWS) this year by applying for a paid internship, registering for the Sharing Science Experience workshop, and/or participating in our Science Fair project!
See below for more information, and email engagingscience@uc.edu with any questions.
Internships
PEWS is seeking UC students (both graduate and undergraduate) for several part-time paid internships during the 2026-2027 Academic Year. See below for more information. Deadline to apply: Tuesday, September 1st, 2026.
Science Harvest Intern
Develop and implement hands-on science activities to share monthly at the Northside Farmer’s Market, and help other UC students and faculty get involved too. Science Harvest is an outreach initiative that strives to share science with local communities through two-way conversations about science with participants of all ages. Experience with science outreach with mixed-age participants is desired, as well as a method of transport to get to Northside. Compensation: $5,000 for 4 hours/week September 2026 – August 2027.
Sustainability Fellows
Support PEWS’ involvement in Sustainability@UC Week, including designing and implementing your own sustainability event and assisting with the development of other interdisciplinary activities planned for the week. Interest/experience in sustainability and enthusiasm for public engagement is desired.
We are seeking two sustainability fellows. Compensation: $2,000 per fellow for 4 hours/week for September 2026 – January 2027 (excluding winter break).
How to Apply
If you are interested in being considered for one or more of these internships, please email EngagingScience@uc.edu with:
- Your CV
- A brief application (Word or PDF) which includes the following information:
- your name;
- college and department, program of study, year in that program;
- which position(s) you are applying for and, if more than one, your order of preference among them;
- a one-paragraph statement of your interest in and qualifications for the position;
- a one- or two-paragraph statement of any experience you have with public engagement with science and any previous involvement with PEWS.
Please apply by Tuesday, September 1st. Applications will be reviewed for depth of interest in and experience with public engagement with science, qualifications and relevant experience for internship opportunity, and the collective range of interns’ backgrounds and interests.
Statement about the use of AI in applications: We are especially interested in hearing your voice and personality in answering these brief questions. We have found that the use of AI makes it very difficult for us to tell if a candidate really will be a good fit. We are not concerned about perfectly polished writing; instead, previous successful candidates have used their own words to describe their past experience and interest in the position. Although we will not discard applications that have obviously used AI, we want to make it clear that such use will most likely be to your disadvantage.
Sharing Science Experience Workshop
This two-day workshop provides University of Cincinnati graduate and undergraduate students with an introduction to public engagement with science through a hands-on experience at the Cincinnati Museum Center. Students will learn to communicate their research to a broad audience, create effective public engagement experiences, work across disciplines, and discover new opportunities for publicly engaged science. The workshop is facilitated by a Museum Educator and UC faculty in the sciences and humanities.
This 1-credit workshop (HUM/SOSC/NSCI 7000 for graduates, HUM/SOSC/NSCI 4000 for undergraduates) is offered twice in the Fall 2026 semester from 10am-5pm each day (lunch will be provided):
- October 10th & 11th (Saturday & Sunday)
- November 13th and 14th (Friday & Saturday)
University of Cincinnati graduate and undergraduate students from any discipline can register for the workshop. Students may sign up for either section and whichever area designation of the course best serves them: humanities (HUM), social sciences (SOSC), or natural sciences (NSCI). This is the first of a three-level interdisciplinary Engaging Science curriculum sequence. These courses are part of PEWS’ NSF-funded Innovations in Graduate Education Award.
Science Fair Mentorship
The PEWS Science Fair program engages local elementary students in exploring science through the development of a “showcase” project for the Southwest Ohio Science and Engineering Expo Science Fair, one of the nation’s largest student science fairs. These students are mentored by UC undergraduate and graduate students, who in turn learn how to lead effective public engagement with science activities. The group focuses on philosophy for children (p4c) style discussions, which center the students’ interests through a Community of Inquiry. The core skills cultivated through this program are:
- Seeing how listening to other people’s perspectives can help us to better understand what different answers to our questions might look like.
- The ability to ask and explore questions that interest them.
- Actively listening to others in order to better understand other people’s perspectives and reasons.
- Giving voice to their own perspective and reasons clearly to others.
Interested in being a SCI Fair mentor? Email PEWS Curriculum and Pedagogy Director Dr. Melissa Jacquart at melissa.jacquart@uc.edu.
Faculty and Staff: please share this announcement with any UC students who may be interested in these opportunities.
Questions about any of these opportunities? Email us at engagingscience@uc.edu.
