Coasts and Climate Graduate Student Internship Summer 2026

The Surfrider Foundation seeks to identify a graduate student for the Dillon Henry Memorial Internship for the summer of 2026. The intern will receive a $7,500 stipend payment to defray living expenses. This internship will be remote and include regular zoom meetings and conference calls. The position’s responsibilities include providing coastal management policy research support to Surfrider’s Coasts and Climate Initiative. The intern will be supervised under the direction of Surfrider’s Sr. Manager, Coasts and Climate Initiative.

Responsibilities:

Contribute to Surfrider’s annual assessment of state coastal resilience policies:
Primary responsibilities include: conduct policy, law and legislative research and analysis on state laws, rules, and regulations related to sea level rise planning, coastal hazards, development, sediment management, and coastal armoring.
Produce written content for Surfrider’s Coastal Blog and other communication platforms on climate change and coastal policy issues.
Assist Surfrider staff in the development of policy documents, comment letters, and verbal testimony.
Assist in the development of state directed coastal policy memos.

Desired Qualifications:

A passion to address climate change and its impacts on U.S. coasts.
Knowledge of local, state, and national coastal and ocean policy with an emphasis on the Coastal Zone Management Act.
Experience conducting thorough research projects, literature reviews, and policy analysis.
Ability to translate complex policy and law findings into common language.
Ability to effectively communicate, both orally and in writing.
Ability to work independently.
Proficient with Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Zoom.
Currently enrolled in a graduate program focused on coastal policy or environmental management.
The intern's completion of the internship must result in academic credit.

Start Time: June 2026

Duration: Flexible, 10 weeks minimum

Stipend: $7,500

Location: Remote

To Apply:

Please apply via the following application link, You will be asked to attach your cover letter and resume.

Application Deadline: January 16, 2026

For inquiries only, please email: careers@surfrider.org. Please do not submit your resume to this email address.

*Phone inquiries and walk-ins will not be accepted - thank you for understanding.

To comply with the Department of Labor (DOL) and Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Surfrider Foundation can only accept unpaid internships if the intern receives academic credit and/or program hours for their internship participation. Only the academic institution and the student’s academic department can determine whether an opportunity aligns closely enough with the curriculum to warrant academic credit. The Surfrider Foundation has no authority to award academic credit. The unpaid internship is intended as an educational experience for the intern.

JEDI COMMITMENT:

The Surfrider Foundation is committed to fostering a just, equitable, diverse and inclusive organization for all people who protect and enjoy the world’s ocean, waves, and beaches. Our success and impact depends on learning from our community, standing in solidarity with our allies and working towards a more just future, both for our organization and the environmental movement as a whole.

The Surfrider Foundation is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace that is committed to attracting and retaining a diverse workforce. Together we strive to create and maintain working and learning environments that are inclusive, equitable and welcoming. We are committed to equal employment opportunity regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, Veteran status, or any other protected class.

To learn more about our Justice, equity, diversity and inclusion commitments, please visit:

https://www.surfrider.org/pages/diversity-equity-inclusion

The Surfrider Foundation

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Coasts and Climate Graduate Student Internship Summer 2026