NOAA's Office of Education administers four scholarship programs for students pursuing degrees in NOAA mission sciences. Through the Educational Partnership Program (EPP) Undergraduate Scholarship and the Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship, approximately 120 students are selected annually for a two year scholarship. Scholars have the opportunity to conduct a ten-week summer internship at a NOAA facility and travel to a national conference to present their internship results. The Graduate Sciences Program is aimed primarily at providing training and career work experience for students in NOAA-related fields while conducting research and completing their academic requirements at minority serving institutions (MSIs) when possible. The Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program supports independent graduate level research, particularly by female and minority students, in oceanography, marine biology and maritime archaeology.

Opportunities are also available for students at the five NOAA supported Cooperative Science Centers, each led by a minority serving institution, with 33 partner institutions. These centers are responsible for increasing the number of students from underrepresented populations who graduate with degrees in NOAA mission critical fields as well as strengthening NOAA's research capacity. Between 2001 and 2006 the EPP more than doubled the number of African Americans across the United States who earned doctorates in atmospheric and environmental sciences.

This presentation will discuss the opportunities available to students pursuing degrees in the NOAA mission sciences through the four scholarship programs and the NOAA Cooperative Science Centers.