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STRI Internship Program

Internship
Opportunities

Start here to learn about project
opportunities for internships at STRI!

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Internships

Working alongside scientists
from around the world

As a STRI academic appointee, Erin Dillon has pioneered methodology
that uses shark scales from modern and fossil reefs to piece together
changes in shark communities over time. Here, she works on a 
fossil outcrop in the Dominican Republic during an expedition
with Aaron O’Dea lab.

Read “Where are the sharks?” story
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (STRI)

Internships

Working alongside scientists
from around the world

As a STRI intern Dylan Gomes led a research project
that was published in the journal Science.

Read Dylan's story

Overview

Join our active scientific community for an amazing, hands-on research experience in the tropics. Internships offer a way-in for undergraduates, recent graduates and beginning graduate students. At the same time that you learn more about the research process, scientists get to know you, leading to future opportunities.

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Internship Programs

The Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama offers different types of internship programs.

Pasantías financiadas por investigadores

A veces, un proyecto de investigación tiene su propio financiamiento, y un científico o estudiante de post grado puede pagar a un pasante. Para obtener información sobre las oportunidades actuales, consulte nuestra cartelera de oportunidades de pasantías.

Oportunidades de pasantía

Internships funded by researchers

Description

Sometimes a research project has its own funding, and a scientist or graduate student is able to pay an intern. For information about current opportunities, visit our Internship Opportunities page.

View Internship Opportunities

Self-funded internships

The intern is funded by their own university or another source. You have the option to  contact directly a potential mentor from the list of our scientific staff and research associates or learn about our Internship Opportunities page. Once you have identified a project and mentor, please contact the academic programs office at STRIFellows@si.edu to let you know the next steps.

View Internship Opportunities

RaMP-UP Tropical BioDiversity Fellowship

Program Description

The RaMP-UP Tropical Biodiversity Fellowship is a one-year paid research experience with Smithsonian scientists and a cohort of peers in the Tropics. Fellows will spend the year engaged in a biodiversity project (visit our webpage for a list of possible projects you can get involved in), and will be embedded in the tropical landscapes of Panamá practicing rigorous methodologies to make a lasting impact on tropical biodiversity.

Deadline

March 16, 2025

Program Dates

July 26, 2025- July 26, 2026

Eligibility Criteria
  • Must have graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in the past 4 years (in or after May 2021) from a U.S. accredited institution.
  • Cannot be enrolled in, nor have completed, a graduate degree.
  • Must be a U.S. citizen.
Learn more

Bridge Internship Program

Call for applications closed.

Application Deadline 

March 22, 2025. Applicants will be notified of acceptance into the program approximately 4 weeks after the application deadline.

Description

Through the SENACYT Academic stays Program, we are looking for undergraduate or master’s students who wish to complete their thesis during a paid 9-month internship at STRI.
Thanks to a generous donation, we are ALSO looking for undergraduates from universities in Latin America who have completed coursework or post baccalaureates (recent graduates) to conduct a paid 9-month internship at STRI.

Program Details
  • Duration: 9-month paid internship
  •   Cohort Model: Includes a two-week orientation
  •   Teaching Sessions during the Internship: Practical workshops will be organized to strengthen skills in research, data analysis, scientific writing, and professional development in the STEM field.
  •   Program Dates: April to December 2025
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