Student Opportunities

Environmental Policy students Hannah Ditty, Libby Mohn, Liz Hoffius, Molly Ryan, and Diego Tabilo at the IMPAC5 conference in Vancouver, Canada posing as if surfing — Environmental Policy students Hannah Ditty, Libby Mohn, Liz Hoffius, Molly Ryan, and Diego Tabilo at the IMPAC5 conference in Vancouver, Canada in February of 2023, learning about MPAs and the work that goes into them (community support, finance, enforcement, etc).

The Center for the Blue Economy supports the student experience by providing opportunities for funded fellowships and graduate research assistant positions, as well as networking and career exploration.

Megan Spitzer looking happy and smiling, wearing glasses, long black hair, in an indoor setting with skylights — Student Megan Spitzer worked with the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary for her Summer 2023 CBE Fellowship. In 2023, she won the highly competitive California Sea Grant and was placed with NOAA Tijuana River National Estuary Research Reserve.

Funded CBE Fellowships

Students enrolled in the Environmental Policy & Management masters program who are pursuing the specialization in Ocean and Coastal Resource Management are eligible for funded Center for the Blue Economy Fellowships throughout the year, with larger projects each summer. The CBE Summer Fellows process begins in early spring to identify opportunities with innovative and internationally recognized marine organizations. The Center provides a list of possibilities, and students may suggest additional fellowship organizations. Each project must positively impact ocean and coastal sustainability, help the host organization fill a critical need, and better prepare our students for their future careers. More information on the fellowships is available on the Summer Fellows page.

Report cover for WWF report on Central Arctic Ocean--iceburg with pink sky — Environmental Policy Student Alex Shahbazi was credited on this 2022 WWF report for his research and analysis contributions, an opportunity funded by the Center for the Blue Economy and the University of Alaska.

Funded Graduate Research Assistants

The Center for the Blue Economy funds graduate research assistant positions in the fall and spring semesters, and student efforts are vital to our research projects. Students have the opportunity to gain valuable research skills and experience while pursuing groundbreaking work. In some cases, student research has been published in the Center’s online Journal of Ocean and Coastal Economics or credited in studies with outside organizations. Additionally, we facilitate paid research positions with our partner organizations, which sometimes expand to credit-bearing internships through the Professional Service Semester program.

A very happy alum Nico de Golia showing off his Microsoft badge — OCRM Alum Nico De Golia hired as Senior Manager and Global Head of Sustainable Logistics at Microsoft in 2022.

Networking & Alumni Success

Environmental Policy graduates who have the Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) specialization have done very well in the job market, with approximately 94% currently employed in the ocean and coastal resource management field. The Center for the Blue Economy founded and supports the OCRM specialization within the Environmental Policy and Management program (formerly the International Environmental Policy program). Each year the Environmental Policy program enrolls approximately 20–25 full-time graduate students, of whom about 8–10 pursue the OCRM specialization. Those students are then considered part of the “ocean crew,” which opens up opportunities for funding from the Center for the Blue Economy such as summer fellowships, research assistantships, and networking opportunities.

Ms. Nwamaka Agbo, smiling brightly, wearing glasses and jean jacket, with gold jewelry — Nwamaka Agbo, CEO of the Kataly Foundation and Managing Director the Restorative Economies Fund spoke on “Reimagining our Economy through Restorative Economics,” in the fall of 2020.

Learning from the Experts: CBE Speaker Series

The Center for the Blue Economy, along with generous support from the Hayward Family Foundation, hosts a series of lectures and events each year, primarily to support the students in the Environmental Policy and Management master’s degree program, but most lectures are open to the public. In the fall, we focus on the oceans, coasts, and marine ecosystems and in the spring, topics include broader environmental issues. This is an opportunity to network and learn from leading experts in the field, many of whom are our own OCRM alumni. These events, whether in person or on Zoom, are professional networking and career exploration opportunities funded by the CBE & our generous donor, the Nancy Eccles and Homer M. Hayward Family Foundation.