José E. Serrano Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions (EPP)

The Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions (EPP) is designed as a federal STEM education and future workforce program. EPP strengthens America’s position as a global leader in STEM by educating talent from across the U.S. in NOAA mission STEM disciplines.

EPP has multiple components that support collaborative, cutting-edge research and prepare eligible talent for the future workforce through national competitive awards and hands-on internship, fellowship and professional development opportunities.

EPP supports four Cooperative Science Centers in core NOAA mission fields. Each Center award is made through an open national competition to accredited U.S. academic institutions who support education and training of American students for NOAA and NOAA mission-related enterprises. A Center is a consortium of academic institutions led by a minority serving institution (MSI) with doctoral programs in NOAA mission-aligned disciplines. The Centers build capacity in these disciplines expanding education and research programs and supporting U.S. student education, training, and research at the Centers and NOAA facilities.

NERTO: Required internships for Center-supported graduate students

All graduate students supported by the Centers must complete a graduate internship in residence at NOAA. These internships are called NOAA Experiential Research and Training Opportunities (NERTOs). The NERTO application and review process is comprehensive. NERTOs are supervised by a NOAA mentor at a NOAA facility for a minimum of three months. NERTOs are a win-win opportunity — the students learn about the agency firsthand and gain technical competence in a real-world setting while fostering connections between NOAA and the Center institutions.

Graduate Fellowship Program

The EPP Graduate Fellowship Program is open to students supported by a Cooperative Science Center. The competitive application is open annually. The fellowship includes financial support and a one-year appointment to conduct research and professional development training at a NOAA facility under the collaborative guidance of a NOAA subject matter expert and their academic advisor. Interested students apply through the Centers and are selected by Center directors through a rigorous application process. The program supports up to six fellows annually.