THE UNIVERSITY of NORTH CAROLINA at CHAPEL HILL

We are excited to announce the launch of a new student section of the Water Institute website! This page is aimed at providing resources, updates, and opportunities to UNC students regarding all things water. Since this is your space, your feedback is welcome!

Get involved

If you are a UNC student interested in getting involved with the Water Institute check out the links below. Please note, these links take you to Microsoft 365 and will only work if you have a UNC-Chapel Hill email address.

  • If you are interested in receiving email communications for students, join our Outlook Group.
  • Are you a UNC student interested in getting involved with the Water Institute? Send inquiry.

Announcements

  • 1/8/2024 - Happy new year and welcome back to all our students returning to campus this week! Hope the spring semester begins well for each of you and we are excited to continue working on research and other projects with you
  • 8/18/2023 - A warm welcome back to campus to all new and returning students! We hope your semesters are successful and look forward to working with you on Water Institute projects and initiatives

Funding opportunities

This listing contains links to potential funding and job opportunities for Water Institute students and will be updated on a regular basis to inform students of new opportunities under the following categories: Special Opportunities, North Carolina Organizations, National Organizations and Global Opportunities

Water Institute Student Job Opportunities

The Water Institute at UNC is recruiting a graduate student to fill the role of a part-time Conference and Communications Associate. This position begins in Spring 2024 and continues into the 2024-2025 academic year with flexibility for remote/hybrid work and potential for full-time work during the summer. Compensation is $16-$21/hour depending on experience and qualifications. For more information and to apply, please email your CV to waterinstitute@unc.edu

North Carolina Organizations

NC AWWA-WEA

NC AWWA-WEA is a volunteer association operating jointly under one Board of Trustees as a Section of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and a Member Association (MA) of the Water Environment Federation (WEF).

  • Scholarships are available for community college and university students at the undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as for educators at the elementary, middle, and high school levels. The One AWWA Operator Scholarship can be used by operations professionals for certification/licensure, two-year water related associate degree, technical school program, professional training program, books and manuals, and operator related conferences.

North Carolina Ground Water Association

  • Worth Pickard Scholarship: The NCGWA offers scholarships to eligible students who are currently enrolled or who have been accepted into an accredited college or university. Consideration will also be given to those seeking specialized courses of study, if the applicant is employed or otherwise involved in some area of the ground water industry.

North Carolina Public Health Association (NCPHA)

  • Scholarships: Applicants should be an individual who has worked in the field of public health for at least five (5) years and is pursuing graduate-level training that would qualify him/her for a leadership position in public health, and has been a paid member of NCPHA for at least two (2) consecutive years.

Professional Engineers of North Carolina (PENC)

  • Scholarships: Rising Juniors and Seniors in Engineering: Application deadline is the published date. You may be a resident of any state, but you must be a US citizen. You must be a rising Junior or Senior (academically) undergraduate student in an engineering degree program certified by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology at one of the 16 UNC campuses.
  • Apply for this year's scholarships by May 1, 2024

North Carolina Sea Grant Fellowships

  • The NC STEM Policy Graduate Fellowship provides graduate students from North Carolina colleges and universities with opportunities to serve full-time for a year in high-level state government offices, focusing on policy topics related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
  • The NC Sea Grant – NC Space Grant Graduate Research Fellowship offers a graduate research fellowship focused on addressing high-priority research needs within North Carolina’s nearshore environs and coastal watersheds.
  • National Marine Fisheries / National Sea Grant Fellowship provides doctoral students hands-on research experience, while also fostering a direct connection with NOAA. Each fellow will work with a mentor from NOAA Fisheries.
  • John A. Knauss Marine Fellowship: NOAA offers the prestigious fellowship through the National Sea Grant Office and the program places graduate students in Washington, D.C. to work on federal policies and processes that affect ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes issues.

Water Resources Research Institute of the UNC System

  • NC WRRI and North Carolina Sea Grant again will offer a joint competitive funding opportunity for full-time graduate students at North Carolina’s colleges and universities. Applicants should propose research they will conduct under the guidance of a faculty advisor.

UNC Chapel Hill Grants and Scholarships

  • Grants come from federal, state, University and private funding. Grants are applied directly to college costs, are based on need, and do not require repayment. Eligibility for grants is determined each year when you apply for financial aid. Keeping up with deadlines and any items on the Financial Aid “To Do” list in Connect Carolina is an important part of the financial aid application process.
  • You can begin applying for financial aid on October 1 for the upcoming academic year.

National Organizations

American Water Works Association (AWWA)

  • Scholarships: AWWA supports students through discounted memberships and more than 17 scholarships (in addition to national scholarships, you can search for North Carolina focused one through this webpage). Some of the scholarship programs include:
  • AECOM: This $5,000 academic scholarship funds a graduate student pursuing an engineering degree in innovative solutions to improve drinking water in urban communities.
  • American Water Scholarship: Founded in 1886, American Water is the largest investor-owned U.S. water and wastewater utility company. This $5,000 scholarship provides funding to a graduate level student.
  • Arcadis Scholarship: Driven by its core value to build and leverage a diverse and inclusive workforce, Arcadis offers this $5,000 scholarship award to assist graduate-level students from underrepresented racial and ethnic minority groups (Black, Latinx, American Indian or Alaska Native) in STEM fields with the potential to provide leadership in the water service industry.
  • Dave Caldwell Scholarship: Established in recognition of Brown and Caldwell co-founder Dave Caldwell. This $5,000 scholarship funds a female and/or minority graduate level student pursuing an engineering degree in the drinking water field.
  • Hazen and Sawyer Fellowship: Awarded to a graduate level candidate who reflects these values, and is committed to leading the industry by advancing solutions to today's most pressing challenges in the fields of drinking water, water reuse, and water resources. Is worth up to $10,000.
  • Application period open September - December, 2024

American Membrane Technology Association

  • NWRI-AMTA Graduate Fellowships for Membrane Technology: The American Membrane Technology Association (AMTA) and the National Water Research Institute (NWRI) fellowships are awarded to graduate students at U.S. universities and colleges who are conducting research that advances membrane technologies in the water, wastewater or water reuse industries.

NOAA – National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

  • Undergraduate Scholarships: NOAA Office of Education's student scholarship programs provide opportunities for undergraduate students to gain hands-on experience while pursuing research and educational training in NOAA-mission sciences. The Hollings and EPP/MSI Undergraduate Scholarship share a common application and students who are eligible for both programs are encouraged to apply to both.
  • NOAA Coastal Management/Digital Fellowship: These fellowships provide on-the-job education and training opportunities in coastal resource management and policy for postgraduate students and provide project assistance to state coastal zone management agencies and other key NOAA partners.

Global Opportunities

  • Josh’s Water Jobs: Includes scholarship and internship opportunities
  • Sanitation Workers Knowledge and Learning Hub serves as a platform for the dissemination and exchange of resources and information regarding sanitation workers. It comprises a library of publications, research, reports and other resources on sanitation workers' rights.  

Innovation Accelerator Awards

Perhaps no issues are more important to human health, economic development, environmental conservation/protection, and peace and security than water and sanitation. The Water Institute and the Conflict Management Initiative at UNC are collaborating to provide awards to undergraduate students who wish to take practical steps in managing issues surrounding challenges in the areas of environmental justice, drinking water, sanitation, transboundary water, peace, and security, be it on a local, state, national, regional or global level.
More info coming soon!

Let's create a water secure future together.

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