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

  • 4/20/2023 - Good luck to all students wrapping up spring semester classes and preparing for final exams!
  • 1/9/2023 - Happy first day of classes! We are excited to welcome back returning WI students and wish everyone a great semester and new year

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

Special Opportunities


The Voyager Scholarship-Obama Foundation 

  • The Obama-Chesky Scholarship for Public Service is available for students who plan to enroll full-time in their junior year of study at an accredited four-year college or university in the United States in Fall 2023. The scholarship gives college students financial aid to alleviate the burden of college debt, meaningful travel experiences to expand their horizons, and a network of mentors and leaders to support them.
  • Application Deadline: March 22, 2023

Inspiring Women in Science 2023 Awards

  • The aim of these Nature journal sponsored awards, in partnership with The Estée Lauder Companies, is to celebrate and support the achievements of  women in science, and of all those who work to encourage girls and young women to engage with STEM subjects and who work to support women to stay in STEM careers around the world. Awards will be given in two categories: science outreach and scientific achievement.
  • Application Deadline: May 8, 2023

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.
  • Application Deadline: March 23, 2023

North Carolina Ground Water Association

  • Worth Pickard Scholarship: The NCGWA is offering 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.
  • Application Deadline: April 15, 2023

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.

North Carolina Sea Grant Fellowships

  • The NC STEM Policy 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.

Water Resources Research Institute of the UNC System

  • Graduate Student Funding: 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. Some of the scholarship programs include:
  • AECOM - The AECOM $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.
  • Dr. Philip C. Singer Scholarship - This award was established in 2020 in honor of Dr. Philip C. Singer to recognize an outstanding graduate student pursuing research on topics related to drinking water quality, environmental science, and public health. The scholarship will provide $3,000 to a student who is pursuing research that will provide actionable and timely outcomes to address current challenges faced by the water 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.

American Membrane Technology Association

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.

Southeast Desalting Association (SEDA)

  • Scholarship opportunities: SEDA annually awards scholarships to eligible, undergraduate and graduate students pursuing a degree relating to the drinking water and wastewater treatment industries.  The scholarship provides reimbursement of tuition, books, and fees through the College/University Financial Aid Department and is generally disbursed to the school in the fall of the year the scholarship is awarded.
  • Deadline: April 30, 2023

Water Environment Federation (WEF)

  • Scholarships: In October 2017, the WEF Board created the George S. Hawkins Scholarship to the WEF Water Leadership Institute. The WEF Board has approved additional funds which will allow us to offer additional scholarships this year.  These scholarships cover part or all of the tuition cost, and are need based.  Funds will be allocated after the participants have been accepted to the program. 

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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