Undergraduate Internship Opportunities with SRC

The undergraduate internship application period for 2025 has passed, with a deadline of September 22. Please keep an eye on our website and social media accounts for when the application opens next fall!

The Shark Research and Conservation Program offers dynamic, field-based internship opportunities to University of Miami undergraduates. Our internships offer students the chance to gain skill sets ranging from field experience, vessel operations, and animal restraint to sample handling and processing, data management, and career development. As an interdisciplinary program, SRC welcomes applications from students of any academic major that is related to our mission, which intersects science, policy, education, and conservation. Below you will find information on our two internships: the Shark Research Internship and the Creative Internship.

At this time, we are only able to accept applications from current University of Miami undergraduates, and due to the high volume of applications we receive, we will only consider applications from students who have completed their first year at the University. We select new undergraduate interns in the Fall semester, with applications closing in September. Successful applicants will need to commit to one full year (two semesters) with SRC, including field days (minimum of two a semester) and attendance at bi-weekly lab meetings on main campus.

Shark Research Internships

Shark Research Interns are an integral part of the SRC field team. Every year, undergraduate students contribute to SRC’s research and outreach missions as volunteer interns. Our goal is to equip our interns with tangible skills for their future careers while supporting their growth as students and scientists.

Here is what research interns can expect from us:

Extensive mentorship from graduate students, staff, and Program Director
Career development opportunities through workshops and outreach and networking with partner organizations
Opportunities to develop field skills including the maintenance and use of scientific fishing gear, safe animal handling practices, safe line handling practices, and data and sample collection
Opportunities to learn more about and engage with active graduate student research projects

The responsibilities of a Shark Research Intern are ever-evolving as our program expands. Currently, expectations of our interns include:

Attending outreach activities (boat-based, shore-based, or virtual) and research trips. Interns must be available for a minimum of two boat days a semester and for bi-weekly lab meetings on the Coral Gables campus.
Participate and make themselves available for required training sessions. We offer one boat-based training day after interns are hired but before we add them to regular research trips. We also offer opportunities for interns to participate in non-boat based fieldwork and lab technique workshops.
Engage with our participants. We are a teaching vessel, and expect our interns to connect with students on board and to support peer learning.
Willingness to learn, open-mindedness, and supportive team mentality.

Our ability to offer independent research projects to our undergraduate interns is dependent on availability, and at present, no additional undergraduate projects are available. However, all undergraduate interns will be actively involved in data collection for lab projects and will have opportunities to learn more about and engage with research in the lab.

Creative Internships

Explore the relationship between art, communication, and marine science with SRC’s creative internship. SRC’s education and outreach mission gives us the opportunity to be storytellers: combining imagery from the field with science to take our audience on educational journeys.

Each year, we welcome new Creative Interns to the team to help us document our research and participant experiences. While most interns work with SRC for at least a year, opportunities for short-term media projects are sometimes available.

Here is what Creative Interns can expect from us:

Mentorship from our media manager, internship coordination team, and program director
Opportunities to develop photo and/or video portfolios
Potential for exposure to major media outlets
Guidance and skill-refinement from the SRC media team
The opportunity to learn about media platforms outside of your own specialties

Creative intern responsibilities include:

Subject-area expertise in photography, video production, design, and/or general multimedia projects.
Strong foundation in your expertise and relevant editing space (i.e., Lightroom).
Timely creation of a photo album that can be shared with participants after research trips
Self-motivation, willingness to learn, and interest in creating compelling imagery of field research
Attendance at SRC training sessions, lab meetings, and media-specific trainings. Interns must be available for at least three research trips a semester and for bi-weekly lab meetings on the Coral Gables campus. We will offer a mandatory training day at the start of your internship.
The ability to respond quickly and flexibly to urgent media requests and needs. All creative interns will be required to produce a set number of social media posts or content each semester.

While creative interns spend significant time on our research trips capturing the day’s activities and providing photo products to our outreach trip participants, this is not a research internship. There may be opportunities to learn some field skills, but these opportunities are not guaranteed.

Financial Assistance

As a non-profit organization, unfortunately all undergraduate opportunities are offered on a volunteer basis. If you would like to apply for financial assistance to support your internship or project, please feel free to explore the following options: