Climate Change Research and Education Fund

December 30th, 2024: This page will receive some small changes when the application opens in late February or early March. The description of the fund, the eligibility, and the deadline will not change.

The Climate Change Research and Education Fund (CCREF) supports unpaid (and underpaid) summer opportunities for student leadership, research, education, and engagement on issues related to climate change adaptation or mitigation. This fund can support:

Internships in ��ջ� College offices and departments which create opportunities for students to contribute to college infrastructure in support of climate change adaptation or mitigation.
Internships which support students working in nonprofits or governmental agencies focused on climate change adaptation or mitigation.
Student research opportunities in collaboration with ��ջ� professors, or advisers at another institution, on topics related to climate change adaptation or mitigation.

Award amounts will be up to $4,700 for a minimum of 320 hours over 8–10 weeks during summer break. Both in-person and remote opportunities will be considered.

This fund has been made possible thanks to the generosity of the Henner Family. The award is administered by the Center for Life Beyond ��ջ�.

Application Deadline

Wednesday April 2nd, 2025 at 12 PM noon pacific

Eligibility

Applicants must

be currently enrolled at ��ջ�;
be a first year, sophomore, junior, or spring/fall senior;
be in good academic standing.

Students studying abroad through a college approved program are considered to be currently enrolled at ��ջ� for the purposes of this program and are eligible to apply. Students who are on leave in spring semester are not eligible to apply.

Students are encouraged to apply to multiple funds, but students may not accept this award in addition to another ��ջ� College-funded summer award intended to fund a full time opportunity over the summer.

Institutional Review Board Approval

If your research opportunity involves conducting research on a human subject, then you will need to apply for approval from ��ջ�'s Institutional Review Board (IRB) in tandem with your CCREF application. Please see the IRB website for more information.

If your opportunity does require IRB approval, it's possible that you could be awarded funding before receiving IRB approval. In that case your award would be conditional while waiting for approval.

To Apply

All applications will be submitted online in Handshake. The Handshake portion of the application consists of a resume, cover letter, budget, and a short survey. Your resume, cover letter, and budget need to be bundled together into one PDF and uploaded in Handshake where it asks for a resume. Please include your name in the file name.

If you are selected for funding, a letter or email of confirmation for your opportunity (internship supervisor or research adviser) will also be requested and required.

Resume

An up-to-date one page resume or a CV summarizing any work, volunteer, and course experiences relevant to the opportunity for which you are applying.

Cover Letter

No more than 1,000 words with the following components:

One-paragraph introduction that succinctly summarizes your proposed internship or research opportunity, and its impact on issues related to climate change adaptation or mitigation.
Description of the mission and purpose of your host organization (if internship), or main research focus of your intended adviser or lab (if research).
Description of the work/project/activities you anticipate doing.
Description of your interest in examining or working on climate change.
Summary of the skills, knowledge, or other relevant preparation you will bring to this position.
Outline of the desired educational outcomes of this experience and how they apply to your goals.
Describe the outreach that you’ve made, and with whom you’ve connected. Please give the contact information (names, telephone numbers, and email addresses) for your host organization contacts.

Detailed Budget

Upload an itemized budget of your expenses and an explanation of how you will cover any expenses that exceed the award amount. Please use CLBR’s budget template. Please consult the section on budgets in CLBR’s Summer Internship Awards FAQ first if you have questions about the budget.

Note: if you currently receive financial aid from ��ջ� College, we will automatically increase your budget request by $2,000, up to the maximum award of $4,700. You do not need to take any action, or note this in your budget. CLBR staff will contact the financial aid department directly for this information.

The application will open in Handshake in late February or early March.

Review

Proposals will be judged on a competitive basis on:

Relevance to climate change adaptation or mitigation
Connection to your field of study or career goals
Previous experience that will help you be successful in the internship or research experience
Thoughtfulness and feasibility of your proposed plan and adherence to CCREF guidelines
Articulation of learning outcomes and the ability of the organization to support your learning

Successful applicants will respond fully to each of the essay prompts and provide a coherent and compelling narrative outlining their motivation to pursue the proposed plan as well as the anticipated outcomes.

Travel Restrictions

��ջ� College does not permit college-funded travel to other countries that are . Travel to countries on a level 3 advisory warning might be allowed on a case-by-case basis, but there would need to be a strong case made in the application for why the travel is necessary to the project, and how it can be done safely.

Intended travel countries must not be restricted at the time of application. If a travel country becomes restricted after you are awarded funds, we will work with you to find alternative plans. If alternative plans don't work out, it could be possible that you would be required to return some or all of the funding.

Questions? Please contact clbrfellowships@reed.edu

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