For Students

The Reserve offers several opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students. National fellowships and paid internships are available on a competitive basis for students interested in estuarine science.

Graduate Research Assistants


The Reserve also provides an opportunity for one Graduate Research Assistant to conduct work within the Reserve. Applicant must be a University of Texas student. Please contact the Research Coordinator (ed.buskey@utexas.edu) for additional details.

Undergraduate Internships


At any time, we may have a small number of internships available for qualified University of Texas undergraduates willing to work semi-independently for at least 20 hours per week for an entire semester. The internship includes the opportunity to acquire research credits (9-12 credit hours) by working as an undergraduate research assistant. Projects focus on furthering our understanding of the Mission-Aransas Estuary and typically involve both field research and laboratory analyses. The internship is located in Port Aransas, Texas at the University of Texas Marine Science Institute. Please contact the Research Coordinator (ed.buskey@utexas.edu) for additional details.

The National Estuarine Research Reserve Association (NERRA) also offers an undergraduate scholarship to conduct ecological, biological, or social science research in cooperation with the professional staff of a Reserve. The scholarship was created to provide one or more students with a scholarship of $750 to $1000, to assist in his/her post-secondary education. This is an annual competition and additional information can be found on the NERRA website



Graduate Research is an important component in the Reserve to help students learn key skills needed to succeed in their career in science. 


Undergraduate intern Samantha Murray records data during a vegetation monitoring project at Mud Island.