A research project is at the heart of the Summer Student Fellowship program. All Fellows work on a project selected in collaboration with their sponsor(s) that will provide meaningful results in one summer’s work. Project topics span the vast spectrum of research in ocean sciences and engineering conducted in WHOI’s science departments and the Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center of the U. S. Geological Survey (USGS).

Fellowship recipients have the opportunity to attend and participate in a busy schedule of talks, seminars and a hands-on, one-day ocean sampling cruise onboard the R/V Tioga focusing on data collection and sampling methods with advanced oceanographic technology and instruments.

Fellows also have many occasions to interact with current MIT-WHOI Joint Program graduate students, from the Q&A session designed specifically for that purpose to the Ethics in Science Workshop and a near-peer mentoring program.

Members of groups underrepresented in ocean science and engineering are encouraged to apply.

• Summer Student Fellowships are awarded to undergraduate students who will have completed their junior year at colleges or universities by the start of the fellowship period. Students who will graduate before the fellowship begins are not eligible to apply. The program is designed for students to participate in the last summer of their undergraduate years.
• Preference is given to students studying in any of the fields of science or engineering including but not limited to the fields of biology, chemistry, engineering, geology, geophysics, mathematics, meteorology, physics, oceanography, and marine policy. Students must have at least a tentative interest in the ocean sciences, oceanographic engineering, or marine policy.  Through the Summer Student Fellowship program, WHOI's aim is to provide promising students with a meaningful first-hand introduction to research in oceanography, oceanographic engineering, or marine policy.
• Members of groups underrepresented in ocean science and engineering are encouraged to apply.
• Students in a three year Bachelor's Degree Program, such as those in the UK, must be in their second year
• Students in a five year combined Bachelor/Master's Degree Program must be in the third year of the program