Internships and Fellowships

The Center for Public Engagement with Science (PEWS) offers a variety of internships and fellowships for UC graduate and undergraduate students, including opportunities related to sustainability, outreach, web and social media, industry, and more!

Outreach Internships

PEWS internships provide opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students from any discipline to sharpen their communication and outreach skills through interaction with the UC and Greater Cincinnati communities.

Science Harvest Intern – Develops and implements hands-on science activities to share monthly at the Northside Farmer’s Market, and helps other UC students and faculty get involved too. Learn more about our Science Harvest initiative here!
Science Fair Mentor – Mentors local elementary students in exploring science through the development of a “showcase” project for the Southwest Ohio Science and Engineering Expo Science Fair. Learn more about our Science Fair project here!
Web and Social Media Coordinator – Helps to spread the word about PEWS and get people involved by developing content for the website and social media.
Video Coordinator – Facilitates public outreach through the development of science-related videos to engage the community.

Graduate Sustainability Fellowships

The Graduate Sustainability Fellows support the PEWS Sustainability Initiative, sponsored by Research2030. Past projects have included planning interdisciplinary sustainability events, assisting with grant submissions, creating a sustainability-based graduate community, and meeting with UC administrators to discuss sustainability and interdisciplinary opportunities for students.

Graduate Industry Fellowships

In summer 2025, PEWS partnered with Michelman, a global developer and manufacturer of specialized sustainable chemistry, on a new kind of internship for graduate students. The PEWS-Michelman intern (Nishat Sultana) supported Michelman’s strategic initiatives to reduce solid waste and enhance environmental sustainability. Read about Nishat’s experience here!

PEWS is continuing to explore and expand internship opportunities for UC students with industry partners. Follow our newsletter to hear when new opportunities become available.

Graduate Engaging Science Fellowships

Engaging Science Fellows are placed matched with a community organization in Greater Cincinnati to contribute to their public-facing work and execute an independent project in public engagement with science. Graduate student Fellows receive $1,000 in professional development funds upon completion. Learn more about the Engaging Science Fellowship here!

University Honors Program (UHP) Pre-approved Experience

UC undergraduate students can enroll in a pre-approved experience with PEWS as part of the UHP program. Students will learn how to effectively engage the community through science, sharpen their science communication skills, and connect with community members around UC and in Greater Cincinnati.

Students will begin by taking the one-credit Sharing Science Experience workshop, and then complete two of these semester-long opportunities: 1.) Enroll in the PEWS Research and Discussion Group, 2.) Community outreach through our Science Harvest program, 3.) Student mentorship through the SCI Fair program. Students can complete two of these opportunities or a single opportunity twice.

Visit the UHP website to learn more, or contact engagingscience@uc.edu.

Additional Undergraduate Opportunities

UHP Discover – Experiential summer learning opportunities at PEWS are available to UC undergraduate students as part of the University Honors Program.
Co-op – PEWS is excited to be developing opportunities for undergraduate students as part of the UC cooperative education program.