Student Employment

Student Employment

NIST employs students and recent graduates of all ages and backgrounds through the Pathways Program. The Pathways Program offers clear paths to Federal internships for students from high school through post-graduate school and to careers for recent graduates, and to provide meaningful training and career development opportunities for individuals who are at the beginning of their Federal service.

• Recent Graduate Program 
  The Recent Graduates Program affords developmental experiences in the Federal Government intended to promote possible careers in the civil service to individuals who have recently graduated from qualifying educational institutions or programs. To be eligible, applicants must apply within two years of degree or certificate completion (except for veterans precluded from doing so due to their military service obligation, who will have up to six years after degree completion to apply). Successful applicants are placed in a dynamic, developmental program with the potential to lead to a civil service career in the Federal Government. The program lasts for 1 year.
• Internship Program
  The Internship Program provides students who are enrolled in or accepted for enrollment in a wide variety of qualifying educational institutions with paid opportunities to work a flexible schedule in agencies and explore career paths related to their academic fields of study or career interests. Students who successfully complete Program requirements are eligible for non-competitive conversion to a term or permanent position in the civil service with any agency. However, conversion is not guaranteed.

Other NIST programs include:

• NIST NRC Postdoctoral Research Associateships Program
  NIST's Postdoctoral Research Program supports a nationwide competitive postdoctoral program administered in cooperation with the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council. The program brings research scientists and engineers of rare promise and ability to perform advanced research related to the NIST mission. The program shares NIST unique research facilities with the U.S. scientific and engineering communities and provides a valuable mechanism for the transfer of research results from NIST to the scientific and engineering communities.
• Professional Research Experience Program (PREP)
  PREP provides valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students.
• Summer High School Intern Program (SHIP)
  SHIP is a summer volunteer program for high school juniors and seniors. SHIP provides cutting-edge research experience for students interested in science.
• Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF)
  A multi-week program, SURF offers opportunities for undergraduate students to engage in world-class research at NIST's unique research facilities.
• Graduate Student Measurement Science and Engineering Fellowship Program (GMSE)
  GMSE offer unique research experiences, mentorship, and financial assistance to doctoral-level graduate students. Collaborative research relationships are developed between NIST, the doctoral-level graduate students and the students' academic institutions in research areas that are pertinent to the measurement science and engineering research priorities at NIST.
• Post-Secondary Student Program
  The Post-Secondary Student hiring authority is for students currently enrolled in a degree-seeking program at a four-year college/university or graduate school. This authority allows an agency to non-competitively appoint a post-secondary student who is enrolled or accepted for enrollment in an institution of higher education and pursuing a baccalaureate or graduate degree on at least a part-time basis to a temporary or term position at or below the GS-11 level. Appointments made under this hiring authority may convert a post-secondary student to a permanent appointment in the competitive service, within that same agency, without further competition if the student has completed the course of study leading to a baccalaureate or graduate degree and meets the qualification standards for the position to which converted.
• College Graduates Program
  The College Graduate hiring authority is for recent college and graduate students who completed their degrees within the past two years. This authority allows an agency to noncompetitively appoint an eligible and qualified College Graduate to any position classified by OPM in the administrative or professional series at or below the GS-11 level to a permanent position.