For more than 30 years the Our World-Underwater Scholarship Society™ (OWUSS) has offered a variety of experience-based internships. Our goal is to foster the development of future leaders of the marine environment. We continue to believe that by investing in special young people, through exposure to a broad array of activities in the underwater community with access to influential people who are leaders in aquatic disciplines, we are investing in the future of our oceans and lakes.
The OWUSS summer internships are offered for a 1 to 3 month period and are primarily directed at college undergraduates and graduating seniors. Internship recipients will receive a grant to help fund travel to/from the location of the internship, room and board, and a stipend to cover basic living expenses.
OWUSS plans to offer several internships next summer. Internship descriptions are listed below. Be sure to read the full internship document for more details. More internships may be offered, so please check this website periodically for updates. The application deadline is 15 January 2026.
The Mitchell Scientific Diving Research Internship provides undergraduates who already have an active AAUS Scientific Diving Certification with experiences to build upon their scientific diving education and to further help prepare them for a future in science, research diving, or scientific diving-related fields. The chosen intern will participate and assist in scientific diving with an AAUS Organizational Member.
The program has a great degree of flexibility and daily activities may include planning scientific dives, preparing dive equipment, assisting in scientific diver training, participating on research projects, diving, collecting data and/or samples, and spending time on research boats. The internship may include advanced training in Scientific Diving Program Management as well. This training provides insights into operational standards, proper dive planning and documentation, and operation and maintenance of equipment and facilities. Available opportunities will depend on the aptitude and motivation of the intern as well as the fit with the host institution(s).
The Lee H. Somers AAUS scientific diving internship provides undergraduates who have not yet earned their AAUS Scientific Dive Certification with the experience and opportunities necessary for a future in science, diving for research, or scientific diving-related fields. Intern applicants can be students from colleges and universities with an interest in science and diving. The program runs primarily from mid-May through August and will include training at one of several AAUS organizational member sites. This training will give the intern the necessary dive qualifications to allow participation in research projects requiring scientific diving and introduce the student to careers that utilize scientific diving as a tool. Once trained as an AAUS-recognized Diver-in-Training, interns will participate in underwater fieldwork at one or more locations or research facilities associated with AAUS.
PLEASE NOTE: Applicants who have NOT yet been awarded an AAUS Scientific Diver certification will be prioritized during the selection process.
This internship experience exposes the selected applicant to the research and education initiatives at Divers Alert Network (DAN) with a special focus on research- and safety-related outreach initiatives, like creating email campaigns, social media content, video and editorial content for DAN’s Alert Diver and Newsletters, and other dive industry partners’ publications.
In addition, this internship will be flexibly tailored to the recipient’s interests based on the available experiences and projects being conducted by DAN at the time of the internship. The selected intern will have the opportunity to participate in continuing education courses; gain a deeper understanding of diving physiology and medicine; learn to prepare, plan, and conduct scientific experiments; and manage diving research and safety-related marketing campaigns. The intern will be interacting with other DAN departments and divers both during research and outreach events while communicating DAN research to the diving community at large.
Eligibility:
A background in communication, marketing, the life sciences, or other diving-related field is preferred. Ideal candidates must be organized, demonstrate excellent communication skills, clearly exhibit how participation in this program will help them achieve their career goals, and demonstrate an established commitment to diving. While diving is not required during the internship, all activities are diving focused, and candidates should thus be certified scuba divers with some experience.
If you have a question about this internship, please contact [email protected].
This internship experience exposes the selected applicant to DAN’s risk mitigation and dive safety resources and initiatives. The intern will have the opportunity to participate in continuing education courses, learn about pressure vessels such as hyperbaric chambers and scuba cylinders through training materials, seminars, and field trips, and participate in DAN’s safety and training programs by assisting in field assessments of hyperbaric chambers and other related facilities. This internship will be personalized to meet the specific interests and personal goals of the individual selected for the internship within the scope of DAN’s projects as noted above. This is an experience that does not directly involve diving but supports the need for ongoing education among divers.
Eligibility:
A background in the sciences with a technical focus is preferred. Ideal candidates must be organized, demonstrate excellent communication skills, clearly exhibit how participation in this program will help them achieve their career goals and demonstrate an established commitment to diving. While diving is not required during the internship, all activities are diving focused, and as such, candidates should be certified scuba divers with some experience.
This internship will provide a unique opportunity to work with leading scientists, underwater photographers, and archaeologists in the National Park Service and other agencies in the American state and federal government. A solid foundation in marine science and scientific diving is highly preferred. The internship could involve a specific project in a single park or a larger project in multiple parks. Specific work projects will be determined based upon interests of the intern as well as the needs of associated projects. The internship will be based in Denver, Colorado, but it is expected that the intern will travel to projects within the continental United States and potentially overseas as part of this internship.
Interns typically spend 1–3 weeks in each park they visit and assist the park dive teams with ongoing projects, gaining a broad understanding of dive operations, research methodologies, and ecosystems at each park. These projects may include biological assessments of coral reefs or kelp forests in places like Dry Tortugas or Channel Islands National Park; assistance with training at national training seminars for NPS divers; interpretation, outreach, and education with parks like Biscayne National Park; public safety diving with our law enforcement rangers at numerous parks throughout the system; or underwater archaeology, maintenance diving, or filming and photography work with the Submerged Resources Center. In addition to fieldwork, the intern may have the opportunity to visit Washington, DC, to observe, first-hand, the crafting and implementation of NPS ocean policy and planning.
Offered in Key Largo, Florida, the Dr. Jamie L. King Marine Conservation Internship provides undergraduates and recent graduates the opportunity to experience working at a nonprofit marine conservation organization. Outside duties include environmental presentations to local and visiting school, university, dive and public groups; working with other local marine conservation entities; and opportunities for conducting marine life surveys during local dives. There will also be opportunities to assist with lionfish research (an invasive species that is changing the local reef ecosystem), outreach, and control programs in FL. Office duties include recording and entering exotic species reports into the database, assisting with the development of outreach materials, entering marine life survey data, answering e-mails and dealing with the public.
The Paul L. Schutt Underwater Photography Internship gives the selected intern the opportunity to develop their underwater photography skills while working alongside industry professionals. The intern will receive underwater photography instruction and experience primarily through participation in the Backscatter Digital Shootout, a two-week workshop full of seminars and diving, held annually in mid- to late June. Hosted by Backscatter Underwater Video and Photo, the Shootout is designed to help workshop participants take their underwater photography or videography to the next level, whether they are beginning or experienced underwater shooters. Additional internship experiences beyond the Shootout may be available to the intern and will be determined based on current Backscatter opportunities and recipient interests.
Eligibility:
Applicants must be scuba certified and have some dive experience. They must have a strong interest in photography, though underwater photography experience is not required. In addition to the internship application, applicants must submit a sample of 10-20 of their own images that represent their photography interests and style.
