MSGC Internships
This page lists internship opportunities located in Montana and sponsored by MSGC.
Montana summer internship applications open January 2025 and close February 28.
Apply in Submittable.
Looking for a NASA Center internship? Check out https://intern.nasa.gov/
Looking for a NASA Academy internship? Check out https://www.academyapp.com/
Looking for other space internships? Check out this resource: https://www.spaceinterns.org/
Requirements and information for all funded internships:
- Awardees must be U.S. citizens enrolled as full-time undergraduate students at a Montana Space Grant Consortium campus. Graduating seniors do not qualify unless you have been accepted to a graduate school in a STEM discipline in the state of Montana.
- Students who have not had previous significant research experience will typically be standard interns. Students who do have research experience and would like to play a larger role in the group by helping less experienced students can apply to be a peer-leader. Peer-leader interns are expected to: 1) be a leader for a small group, either locally or remotely for a state-wide group; 2) act as an MSGC ambassador for their campus; 3) in their application, describe their planned leadership actions, and 4) give a post-internship presentation beyond the traditional end-of-the-summer presentation with fellow interns.
- Pay is $7,000 for a standard intern and $7,500 for peer-leader interns for ten 40-hour weeks, unless otherwise stated. When applying, students will choose if they want to be a standard or peer-leader intern. If a student selects peer-leader but is not chosen for this role, they are still eligible to be considered for a standard internship. For those conducting internships in locations separate from where they live or attend school, we can offer a cost-of-living supplement (must apply here).
- Additional financial assistance is available for those who need help with child care to be able to participate in a summer internship away from home. Students interested in this assistance should describe their need in their personal statement. This support is possible through generous donations to the Hiscock Memorial Fund at the National Space Grant Foundation.
- Complete applications require information about student status, two letters of recommendation, a resume, an unofficial transcript, and a personal statement. Students can start, stop, and save applications before submitting.
- For students already selected by their faculty research mentor, under "Select the internship you are applying for:" choose "Other" and then enter the name of your mentor.
- Application Deadline - February 28, 2025. Letters of recommendation are also due on February 28.
- A final report of at least 2 pages must be completed at the end of the term. Students must also make a presentation about their research. This form is to verify presentations by MSGC-funded students and give MSGC staff the ability to attend the presentations. Finally, interns are asked to submit surveys analyzing the benefits of their participation.
- We will make every effort to notify students if they are offered an internship by the end of March, for the closed positions. For open positions, we'll make decisions ASAP in the first half of April.
- Selected students must complete an award acknowledgment and, prior to starting the internship, theResponsible Conduct of Research (RCR) training course.elect either Physical Sciences RCR or Engineering RCR options, depending on your research.
Resources:
A personal statement is required for all summer internships. In your personal statement, include what you hope to get out of a MSGC summer internship. If you're applying to be a peer-leader, describe your planned leadership actions. Instructions and tips for this statement can be found here.
2024 Summer Opportunities - 2025 Updates Coming Soon
BOREALIS - Engineering
Paid summer internships are available for students from Montana campuses with the Balloon Outreach, Research, Exploration And Landscape Imaging System (BOREALIS) program at Montana State University - Bozeman.
Students work in a mission-like team environment where they are encouraged and mentored to design, develop and deploy experiments to the edge of space (100,000 feet). Students receive training and hands-on experience in using upper level wind forecasts for flight track predictions, balloon inflation and launch and the use of tracking systems for recovery of the experimental payloads. Additional opportunities include training in computer programming and modeling of wind forecasts and simulations.
These positions (approximately 6) are located in Bozeman.
BOREALIS - Atmospheric Science
Paid two-to-four week summer workshop is available for students from Salish Kootenai College, Blackfeet Community College, Flathead Valley Community College, and the University of Montana with the Balloon Outreach, Research, Exploration And Landscape Imaging System (BOREALIS) program at Salish Kootenai College.
Students work in a mission-like team environment where they will learn to fly weather balloons to examine atmospheric dynamics up to 115,000 feet in altitude. Students receive training and hands-on experience in using upper level wind forecasts for flight track predictions, balloon inflation, designing field campaigns, and basic atmospheric dynamics.
These positions (approximately 6) are located at Salish Kootenai College.
Autonomous Aerial Systems Office (Drone Research)
The Autonomous Aerial Systems Office (AASO) mission is
- to coordinate and guide faculty, staff, and students in Montana for understanding and decision-making regarding the implementation of UAS in a changing research and regulatory environment.
- to establish the infrastructure and resources in order to create sustainable autonomous aerial research.
- to stimulate UAS-related innovation, entrepreneurship, and workforce development in the state of Montana.
AASO is considering summer positions for motivated interns interested in working on several possible projects. These positions are located in Missoula, MT on the University of Montana Campus and with Ranch Advisory Partners in Montana, Wyoming, and/or Colorado. Projects include weather research with UAS and assessment of using UAS for quantitative rangeland health monitoring.
In addition to standard internships, AASO also offers peer-leader internship positions. Peer-leader interns have all the responsibilities and opportunities of a standard internship, plus additional duties related to peer mentoring, project management, and research support. Peer-leader positions offer a higher pay rate to compensate for additional responsibilities.
The intern would need to have some experience with or a strong aptitude to learn:
- C++ or Python Coding
- PixHawk Flight Controller Programming
- Infrared Image Processing
- Digital and/or Analog Circuit Design
- GIS experience
- Multispectral image analysis.
These positions (approximately 6) are located in Missoula.
Science Education Intern
The Montana American Indians in Math and Science (MT AIMS) program provides hands-on STEM-related summer experiences for students from Montana’s tribal communities. There are 3 components to MT AIMS:
- Gatherings – a 10 day in-person experience for middle school students.
- Pathways – a 5 day in-person experience for returning middle school students.
- Journeys – a 12 day in-person experience for returning 9-10th grade students
The summer intern will help in developing and implementing NASA and/or STEM-related daily activities for the Gathering participants and longer 5 – 10 day focused projects for the Pathways and Journeys participants. These residential programs run in June and July on the University of Montana campus. The intern will work from mid-May through the end of July.
This position is located in Missoula.
Space Science and Engineering Laboratory (SSEL)
Up to three students, sophomores through seniors, from MSGC Affiliate campuses will have the opportunity to participate in the development of space science/engineering experiments at the Space Science Engineering Laboratory at the MSU – Bozeman campus. Students will receive complete training and mentoring from MSU students and SSEL staff experienced in space hardware design. SSEL programs to design, fabricate, test, and fly systems in the space and near-space environment include rockets, balloons, and satellites. Visit the SSEL website for more project information.
This opportunity is designed to enable college students to participate in a missionlike team environment where students design, build, and fly space hardware. Approximately twenty people will work in the SSEL over the summer on various group or individual projects, making the environment rich and supportive.
In addition to standard internships, SSEL also offers peer-leader internship positions. Peer-leader interns have all the responsibilities and opportunities of a standard internship, plus additional duties related to peer mentoring, project management, and research support. Peer-leader positions offer a higher pay rate to compensate for additional responsibilities.
These positions (approximately 2) are located in Bozeman.
Yellowstone Ecological Research Center
YERC has a long history of long-term field research and state-of-the-art remote sensing projects for natural resource and ecological applications. These intern positions would focus on a habitat mapping project in Park County, MT area and possibly in Yellowstone National Park, WY. This is an approximate 50% field project and 50% lab work either at MSU or the YERC geospatial analysis lab in Bozeman, MT.
The intern would collect and manage additional habitat-type training data for AI models. Intern work in the lab would use lidar and NASA satellite data (STAC protocols) from Microsoft’s Planetary Computer (MPC). These datasets would be coregistered and applied to an AI training model to produce accurate habitat maps to be updated on an annual cycle. The intern would need to have some experience with or a strong aptitude to learn:
- GIS experience and the aptitude to learn with simple tutorials
- The basics of image processing
- Managing and handling datasets
- R or Python coding is not required but useful
- Moderate hiking and fieldwork in a team setting
- Field measurement of vegetation structure and composition
These positions (approximately 2) are located in Bozeman.
Plant Physiological Ecology Laboratory
Our research seeks to use leaf spectra to monitor and predict physiological responses of high-elevation pines to drought, with a focus on using plant carbon dynamics as an early predictor of drought-induced tree mortality. By utilizing a greenhouse-based approach to study these relationships between leaf spectra and plant non-structural carbohydrates at the individual tree level, we hope to improve predictions of tree mortality at landscape scales using hyperspectral remote sensing platforms. We are currently seeking highly motivated and enthusiastic interns to join our team for a summer internship working in the lab and greenhouse. As a summer intern in our lab, you will work closely with a PhD student to contribute to ongoing research projects aimed at developing innovative methods for predicting tree mortality. Join us in making a positive impact on the environment through groundbreaking research!
Intern Responsibilities:
- Greenhouse: Collect leaf spectra and physiological data from various tree species in a controlled greenhouse environment.
- Lab: Process and prepare samples for analysis of non-structural carbohydrate content, including grinding and weighing tree tissues.
- Data Analysis: Process and analyze the collected leaf spectra and physiological data to identify patterns and correlations related to tree health and mortality.
Qualifications:
- Strong interest in the intersection of remote sensing and physiological ecology research.
- Excellent communication and teamwork skills.
- Ability to work independently and take initiative.
These positions (approximately 3) are located in Bozeman.
GenAI Integration into Computer Science and/or STEM Classrooms
The research goal is to identify how GenAI can be positively integrated into the college Computer Science / STEM classroom to enhance or expand in-class assignments and discussion and/or in-class research. Understanding what types of GenAI tools are available, what GenAI tools are capable of, the advantages and disadvantages of GenAI, and how and when to apply GenAI in the classroom can help teachers and trainers leverage and integrate today's powerful GenAI technology into the curriculum. Included will be the development of a significant amount of instructional CS / STEM curricular material that will be developed GenAI enhanced.
These positions (approximately 2) are located in Helena.
Biological and Electronic Microfabrication Laboratory
- Build a three-axis Helmholtz magnetic coil system. The magnetic coil system consists of an NI voltage output module, 6 analog power supplies, and 6 magnetic coils. A LabVIEW control program will be developed to arbitrarily control the generated magnetic field.
- Fabricate magnetic microrobots. The magnetic microrobots will be fabricated by additive manufacturing techniques using biodegradable matrix material and magnetic nanoparticles.
- Control and navigate magnetic microrobots. The fabricated magnetic microrobots will be navigated by controlling the strength and direction of the magnetic field.
- Juniors or seniors
- Self-motivated and has a strong aptitude to learn
- Has hands-on lab work experience
- Has LabVIEW programming experience
This position is located in Bozeman.