Pacific Internship Programs for Exploring Science

The Pacific Internship Programs for Exploring Science (PIPES) operates as an umbrella program for three internship opportunities and works to coordinate a collaborative program for all participants in the three internship programs each summer. At the start of each summer all PIPES student interns participate in a mandatory 4-day orientation held in Hilo, Hawaiʻi and then participate in a 10-week internship experience focused on conservation science, natural resources management, and/or environmental education and outreach. Interns work on mentored research projects with mentors from university, Federal, State, and Counties agencies, as well as non-profit organizations. All internships are paidexperiences. Housing and travel expenses are provided through the REU program only, however, some housing opportunities may be available through the UHHIP program (contingent on funding). The opportunities available through PIPES are:

• Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU): The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo's Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Program is a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded internship program. Each summer 10 student interns participate in a 4-day orientation and a 10-week research focused internship experience focused on tropical ecology, evolution, climate change, and natural resources management. Interns work on mentored research projects with university and local agency researchers. The focus of this program is to give those students who have limited or no research background the opportunity to gain invaluable experience in the exciting field of conservation biology. The program goal is to connect under-represented undergraduates, especially kamaʻāina (born and raised in Hawaiʻi) and those of Native Hawaiian ancestry, to internship opportunities to explore the scientific research process and to explore career and graduate school opportunities for the future.

• University of Hawaiʻi Hawaiian Internship Program (UHHIP): The University of Hawaiʻi Hawaiian Internship Program (UH-HIP) was developed in 1997 in response to the observed lack of local representation within Hawaiʻi's conservation workforce, in particular a lack of Native Hawaiians. The program goal is to connect undergraduates who are kamaʻāina, especially those of Native Hawaiian ancestry, to internship opportunities with agencies and organizations responsible for research, management, and education relating to environmental issues in Hawaiʻi and the Pacific region. Our vision is that more Native Hawaiian and local students will enter into fields of study and ultimately careers related to the natural resources of this state. We do this through working with our partners to coordinate a 4-day orientation and a 10-week project-based summer internship experience for successful applicants with host agencies throughout the state. Interns are generally hired by their host agencies for 10 weeks at 40 hours per week. Funding for some positions are also provided through Kamehameha Schools, EPSCoR Hawaiʻi IMUA III, Hawaiʻi Cooperative Studies Unit (HCSU), and the Hauʻoli Mau Loa Foundation.

• Micronesia and American Samoa Student Internship Program (MASSIP): In 1994 the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant Extension Service in collaboration with the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo developed a summer internship program for undergraduates from the U.S.-affiliated Pacific islands. The goal of the program was to encourage more Pacific island students to explore environmentally related careers through this internship opportunity. The program was developed to address a growing concern in the region regarding the limited number of students from Pacific islands entering into environmental fields and returning to their home islands to pursue related positions. This program has been continuously supported by the USDA Forest Service Institute of Pacific Islands Forestry, and the agencies which host interns. Students from U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands who are currently attending UHH accepted into the program would be flown to their home island for 10 weeks to take part in a project-based internship mentored by agency researchers in the Pacific. Roundtrip travel from and back to Hawaii as well as a stipend is provided by the program.  Potential opportunities vary by summer, please contact program staff for more information on current projects