California Sea Grant State Fellowship

California Sea Grant State Fellowship

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: California Sea Grant
Amount: Approximately US $60,624
Last Updated: April 01, 2026

Summary

The California Sea Grant State Fellowship Program offers graduate students a unique chance to engage in coastal and marine resource management in California. Modeled after the Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, it provides hands-on experience by matching fellows with agencies and organizations focused on marine policy. Since 1987, this program has successfully placed 350 graduates, enhancing their career prospects in marine and coastal management. Hosts benefit from the skills of motivated fellows while contributing to their professional development.

Overview

Program Description The California Sea Grant State Fellowship Program provides a unique educational and professional opportunity for graduate students who are interested in coastal and marine resources in California, and the policy decisions affecting those resources. Modeled after the highly successful national Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship Program, the State Fellowship Program is designed to provide recent graduates an opportunity to acquire "hands-on" experience in the planning and implementation of coastal and marine resource policies and programs in the state of California. The program matches highly motivated and outstanding graduate students (near completion of degree or recently completed) with "hosts" in California municipal, state, or federal agencies, as well as research and conservation organizations in California with mandates in coastal or marine research, policy, or management. The fellowship program serves to both increase the capacity of ocean and coastal management agencies in California with highly motivated and talented graduate students, and to facilitate the training and development of the next generation of ocean and coastal leaders. Since the inception of this program in 1987, 350 graduate students and recent graduates have been successfully placed in a variety of local, state, and federal agencies that address California coastal and marine resource issues. This fellowship program has helped jumpstart the careers of coastal and marine policy professionals. You can read about current and past State Fellows at https://caseagrant.ucsd.edu/students/fellowship-alumni. Prospective hosts will provide an educational opportunity to fellows who will, in turn, provide substantial professional contributions to the office. Hosts are expected to supervise, mentor, and provide opportunities for fellows to be involved in substantive issues that support the fellow’s professional and educational goals. The fellow will be expected to engage with the host office at a full-time equivalent, remotely and/or on-site and with other staff and/or leadership, as appropriate. Hosts and fellows are responsible for agreeing on remote/virtual, on-site, and hybrid arrangements. Prospective fellows submit fellowship applications through California Sea Grant (via the online application system eSeaGrant) and are screened for appropriate academic background, employment history, career and education goals, community and extracurricular activities, interest in the fellowship, and for professional skills such as initiative, leadership, adaptability, communication, and analytical skills. Extension Project Opportunity Over the course of the twelve-month fellowship, California Sea Grant State Fellows will have the opportunity to engage with the California Sea Grant Extension Program through optional Extension Projects. These projects are meant to be collaborative opportunities offered to enhance the fellowship experience, expose fellows to CASG extension specialists and what extension work is, provide additional professional development to fellows, and engage fellows on familiar and/or new topics that complement their fellowship tasks. California Sea Grant Extension Specialists work with state and federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, local businesses, and members of the California coastal community to identify emerging marine resource problems and opportunities, conduct applied scientific research, and share findings with stakeholder groups. State fellows will be able to choose one extension project that aligns with their fellowship assignments or with their professional and career interests. Fellows are anticipated to contribute no more than ~320 hours (two months) spread out over the year on these extension projects. As each Extension Specialist, project, fellowship position, and individual fellow is different California Sea Grant will provide flexibility as best possible to create organic collaborative opportunities through the extension projects for state fellows. Host agencies are expected to allow State Fellows to participate in extension projects for up to ~320 hours of their time, if a State Fellow chooses to do so. Stipend and Expenses Prospective hosts are expected to contribute at least 75% of the costs to support a fellow. If a host is requesting more than one fellow, the host will pay 100% of the costs associated with any additional fellowships. California Sea Grant will administer the monthly stipend payments, health insurance, and travel reimbursements for each fellow. Hosts are expected to contribute at least 75% of the total direct costs of their first fellowship award (includes stipend, health insurance reimbursement, and travel costs) plus administrative support (calculated at 12% of the full direct cost per fellow for 2026) plus applicable indirect costs (IDC). Hosts will contribute 100% of the total direct costs of any additional fellowships, plus administrative support, and applicable IDC. A summary of costs to potential hosts is as follows: Direct annual cost of fellowship award (stipend [$57,792], health insurance [$3,732], travel [$2,500])= $64,024California Sea Grant Administrative Support (12% of direct costs for 2026)= $7,683Indirect cost rate= varies by Prime Funding Source Future Budget Considerations For 2027, fellowship costs will be increased as follows: stipend $58,656, health insurance $3,792, and travel $2,500, for a total direct annual cost of $64,948 for a fellowship, plus administrative support and applicable IDC. Once hosts are confirmed, they are expected to work with California Sea Grant and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Office of Contract and Grant Administration to put into place a cooperative or interagency agreement for each fellowship award prior to the start of fellowships in winter 2026. Fellows are NOT ALLOWED to start work until the funding agreement is completed. If a host agency is unable to complete an agreement before the start of the fellowship (January–March 2026), California Sea Grant may ask the host to defer to the next fellowship class. California Sea Grant is the final arbiter of decisions regarding undertaking cooperative or interagency agreements with prospective host agencies. *If a host has more than one fellow, California Sea Grant’s contribution of 25% may be applied evenly among the fellows for contracting purposes at California Sea Grant's discretion.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Applications may be submitted by a graduate student close to completing a degree (Masters, Ph.D., or J.D) in a field related to conservation, management, protection, stewardship, public policy, or law of marine, coastal, and/or watershed environments, or areas that impact those environments, at a California university. Graduate students who recently completed their degree at a California university with a graduation date [i.e. date the degree was awarded by the university] after May 1, 2022 are also eligible to apply. Fellows must complete all degree requirements before starting the fellowship.