Information for Faculty of Prospective Interns
The Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center is now in its 24th year of placing college students in at-sea and land-based internships. Since 1999, MATE has placed over 350 students in internships, more than 200 of which were on University National Oceanographic Laboratory System (UNOLS) vessels. The internship evaluations that we have received from both students and their supervisors have been outstanding, and it is clear that the MATE internship program has been beneficial to both students and the vessels that have hosted them with many internships resulting in job offers.
The MATE Center is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to place 12-15 college students on UNOLS and USCG vessels each year. The funding covers the students’ travel and stipends and the vessels provide the intern with a bunk, food, and a mentor.
Make a difference in the lives of your students—contact Maria Osiadacz, Program Manager, maria@unols.org to learn more.
If you are interested in giving a presentation to your classes about the MATE Internship Program, please contact the Internship Coordinator using the internship contact form.
UNOLS Ship Safety Orientation Video
More videos and information about UNOLS and the US Academic Research Fleet
Responsibilities of the Interns’ Colleges and Universities
By encouraging students to participate in an internship, you are making an important contribution to their education. Internships provide students with critical job experience, help them to focus their educational goals, and give them a chance to develop skills they have learned in the classroom.
Students are required to submit at least one letter of recommendation as part of their application packet. Ideally, they should submit a letter from an instructor or a supervisor, preferably someone who has knowledge of their technical skills and can speak to their work ethic. If you have been asked by a student to submit a letter of recommendation for them, you have two choices. You may either provide it directly to the student in an electronic format and they can submit it with their application packet OR you can submit it direclty to us online 2024 UNOLS-MATE Internship Recommendation Form.
If students from your school are selected for the MATE Internship Program, they will be required to complete all associated paperwork (see "I am a current intern" for more information).
Following the internship, students are encouraged to create a PowerPoint presentation about their internship experience. A template is provided to them. We ask that faculty members help MATE Interns schedule a presentation to a class to share their experience with other students.
