Every year, the Scientists in Parks (SIP) work experience program places hundreds of aspiring professionals across the National Park System to work on natural resource management needs. Past projects have mapped sand dunes at Fire Island National Seashore, surveyed towering cacti at Saguaro National Park, and protected nesting sea turtles at Padre Island National Seashore. Others assessed pika populations at Rocky Mountain National Park, measured soils beneath the mangrove forests of Everglades National Park, and restored colorful corals beneath the waves at the National Park of American Samoa.

The program is committed to providing all aspiring professionals—especially those underrepresented in science—with a unique opportunity to work on important real-world projects while building professional experience and a life-long connection to America’s national parks.

Scientists in Parks Fellows, managed by the Ecological Society of America, are a subset of available SIP projects that target highly motivated undergraduate and graduate students with advanced skills in a range of disciplines to complete highly rigorous projects. Upon successful completion, SIP Fellows are eligible to be hired without competition into the National Park Service and other bureaus under the Department of the Interior’s Direct Hire Authority.