Studies show that a multi-level mentoring approach is important and fosters student success through providing help and encouragement. We support our interns with a variety of mentors. Each intern has a science mentor (or team of science mentors) who guides them through their research project and a communications mentor who works with the student on refining their research paper and other communication deliverables.

Student interns work closely with a geoscience expert throughout the summer on a research project. We try to match the interests of the student with a relevant project. In their second summer, interns are encouraged to seek out their own research opportunities at another university, government lab, or petroleum company within the continental U.S. .

Potential topics of interest include:

• Earthquakes & seismology
• Geophysics (including plate tectonics and more)
• Hydrology and water quality
• Petroleum geology
• Glaciers
• Volcanoes
• Sedimentology
• Geomorphology
• Quaternary geology
• Physics of the Earth

See our Alumni pages for more details on past projects.