The Harvard Oceanography Committee
Undergraduate opportunities
Harvard University

   Summer research opportunities       Semester research opportunities       Contact us       See also   

Summer Undergraduate Opportunities

Harvard undergraduates are invited to take advantage of exciting summer research opportunities in oceanography by applying for a fellowship from the oceanography committee. Successful applicants will be able to join research activities, including research cruises, at an oceanographic institution such as the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (Woods Hole, MA, http://www.whoi.edu) or the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (San Diego, CA, http://scripps.ucsd.edu). Oceanography is an exciting field, with ample opportunities for science majors in physics, math, chemistry, biology, engineering, Earth sciences, and more. Going on a research cruise or doing a summer research project is a wonderful way to be exposed to this field. Research topics include Marine Biology, Physical Oceanography, Marine Geology & Geophysics, Marine Chemistry & Geochemistry, and Applied Ocean Physics & Engineering.

We encourage you to write to us and apply for a fellowship. Example summer applications could involve participation in

  • The WHOI guest student program, http://www.whoi.edu/gueststudent/,
  • The WHOI summer undergraduate program http://www.whoi.edu/main/undergraduate-programs.
  • The Scripps Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) https://scripps.ucsd.edu/undergrad/surf or this.
  • Summer cruises, see schedules for the WHOI http://www.whoi.edu/marops/cruise_planning/synopses.html and Scripps http://shipsked.ucsd.edu/Schedules research cruises in order to contact the Chief Scientist for research cruises that are of interest to you.

    The fellowships from the Harvard Oceanography Committee will cover travel expenses involved in getting to the cruise or summer research project and back, and a small stipend. Funding is normally also available from the chief scientist of the cruise. To learn more about volunteering for science cruises, see also https://scripps.ucsd.edu/ships/planning/volunteering. Please see application guidelines, and feel free to write the contact information below for further details.

    Semester Undergraduate Research Opportunities

    The oceanography committee also offers Harvard undergraduates opportunities to do research with university research groups during the semester. This program is offered in partnership with the Harvard Center for the Environment (HUCE) and is analogous to the Harvard Faculty Aide Program, which funds undergraduate research up to $1500/year per faculty, and to the Harvard College Research Program (HCRP) whose term-time support is up to $1000 per student (see their FAQ). See a partial list of relevant oceanography research groups. Please see again the application guidelines and write the contact information below for further details.

    Contact us

    We urge you to consider these opportunity to broaden your science experience. Please contact us for further assistance or information.

    The Harvard Oceanography Committee:
    Eli Tziperman,
    Daniel Schrag,
    Marianna Linz,
    Peter Huybers.

    Contact information:
    Priya Putta lakshmi_putta@fas.harvard.edu
    Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
    Harvard University
    24 Oxford St
    Cambridge, MA 02138
    Telephone: 617-384-9005

    See also

    Related Harvard opportunities for funding undergraduate research in environmental sciences, climate and oceanography can be found

  • The Harvard Center for the Environment's (HUCE) Summer Undergraduate Research Fund.
  • Ocean Scholars @ Harvard University.