Geo-Launchpad

🌎 Ignite Your Geoscience Passion this Summer! 🌎

2025 Program Dates: Late May to early August – exact dates coming soon!

Ready to turn your summer into a geoscience adventure? The Geo-Launchpad Program (GLP) is not just an internship – it’s your ticket to an unforgettable science experience! Open exclusively to community college students in the U.S., GLP is designed to fuel your passion for geoscience and propel you into an exciting world of opportunities.

Applications for summer 2025 are OPEN! Scroll down for instructions and the link to the application.

Program Highlights

💸 Get Paid to Learn: Dive into a paid summer internship with a stipend of $720/week– because your passion should pay off!

🏡 Home Sweet Housing: Enjoy free shared housing, so you can focus on exploration, not accommodation.

🚀 Launch Your Geoscience Journey: No research experience? No problem! Geo-Launchpad welcomes all levels of curiosity and experience.

What to Expect

🔬 Unleash Your Inner Scientist: Work on real projects with a mentor, dive into the details, and get hands-on experience in a supportive environment.

👥 Career Circles: Connect with pros in informal settings, hear their career stories, challenges they’ve faced, and get advice. It’s your chance to explore diverse geoscience pathways.

🌐 Professional Development: Boost your skills beyond academics – from crafting a killer resume to acing interviews. Past workshops covered everything from science poster creation to effective science communication.

🤝 Mentorship Magic: Forge connections with peers and professionals who’ve been in your shoes, offering mentorship and support during the summer and beyond.

🏞️ Local Field Trips: Explore fascinating local areas with fellow interns, past trips have explored the front range of Colorado and New Mexico.

📢 Shine at the Finale: Showcase your summer journey with a scientific poster and a lightning talk during the final presentation week.

🎓 Beyond Summer: Strut your stuff at a professional conference in the fall, with possible funding opportunities for travel.

What does EarthScope look like? Browse our photo galleries to get a glimpse into internships, our instrument facilities, and more.

🤩 What do our alumni say?

“As someone with an untraditional academic background, little to no STEM courses under my belt, and absolutely no idea what the scientific community was like, I was incredibly intimidated. To be frank, in the early weeks of the internship I felt an extreme sense of imposter syndrome that I considered giving into. Thankfully, under my mentor who was extremely understanding, very informative, and energetic about educating us, the negative feelings I had began to subside. Day by day, week by week, I felt more and more confident about what I was doing. By the time we began to finalize our poster and presentation, I felt -and continue to feel- very proud of the work we did this summer. This experience has made me excited for my future in the scientific field. Transferring to a university for a science degree no longer feels like a far-flung dream.” -2022 GLP intern

“Without Geo-Launchpad, I wouldn’t have the confidence, support, and continued drive in Earth Sciences. This summer I made lifelong memories, I met brilliant people, and was inspired to continue to work hard. With your help, I can now navigate the world of science with a little more ease, knowing there are people who want to see me succeed.” -2021 GLP intern

Frequently Asked Questions

Spend eleven weeks working full time (~40 hours per week)
Complete a project under the guidance of a mentor
Present at the end of the internship
Participate in activities such as science communication and professional development workshops, field trips, and presenting at a national conference in the fall
Learn, grow, and have fun!

Most projects are based within Colorado or New Mexico, however, we strive to be flexible in work location. Some projects can be hybrid or 100% remote. If working outside of your home, we will do our best to provide a proper working space.

We will do our best to assign you a project that matches your interests. However, we cannot guarantee specific projects, and project topics will depend on the current work of the project mentors.

Applications typically open in late fall and close on February 15 each year. The summer internship program typically begins in late May and runs until early August (11 weeks).

Yes. Free shared housing is available for the duration of the summer internship.

Yes, the program provides financial assistance with travel.

We require that interns are available to participate for all 11 weeks of the program. While we can accommodate a sick day or two, this is a strict requirement.

Summer classes are not advised. You will be expected to work during the core hours of the day (typically 9am-5pm) and unable to attend classes during work time.

The EarthScope Consortium offers multiple internship opportunities at various academic levels, beginning with Geo-Launchpad at the community college level.

EarthScope’s research internship, RESESS, is targeted at upper division undergraduate students from underrepresented groups in the geosciences and serves as an authentic research experience.

EarthScope’s Student Career Internship Program offers internships that are real-world work experiences for upper division undergraduates, graduates, and post-graduates that relate to the students’ major or career goal.

The Geo-Launchpad internship is designed for community college students (only) who are early in their academic career with no prior research experience.

You should apply, and if you are accepted, we will discuss what kind of arrangements would be best for your family and we will make every effort to meet those needs.

🚀 Ready to Ignite Your Geoscience Passion?

Internship Requirements

At the time of applications, you must:

be a U.S. citizen.
be enrolled and currently attending classes in a U.S.-based community college through the current academic year (through spring) with plans to transfer to a 4-year university.
be at least 18 years old by the start of the summer program (mid-May).
have an interest in science, technology, or engineering.
have completed or are currently enrolled in college algebra (or equivalent).
have completed or are currently enrolled in at least one science course.
have a cumulative GPA of 2.5 or higher.

No prior research experience is required!

We strongly encourage applicants to respond to the questions on a separate document, have a trusted person review your work, then copy/paste your responses into the application!

🌟 Your summer of geoscience exploration starts here! Apply for Geo-Launchpad and make this summer the one you’ll always remember. Your journey to becoming a geoscience superstar awaits!

Application Instructions

Geo-Launchpad is now accepting applications for the 2025 summer program!

Deadline to apply is February 15, 2025 at 11:59PM Eastern Time.

YOU MUST COMPLETE AN APPLICATION WITHIN THE SUBMITTABLE SYSTEM TO BE CONSIDERED FOR THESE INTERNSHIPS.

Please have your official or unofficial transcripts in PDF form ready to attach to the application.

Additional information:

You will need to create a free Submittable account or sign in with Google or Facebook credentials to submit to these forms.
You can save a draft of your work if you would like to finish filling out the form at a later date.
If anything changes with the information you submitted, please request to edit the submission Submittable works best on Google Chrome, Firefox, and Safari. Internet Explorer is not supported. Please make sure you are using a supported browser.
We will follow-up with you about your submission by email. Please be sure to safelist notification emails from Submittable and check the email you used to sign up for your Submittable Account regularly.

Application Questions

Below are the short answer “Getting to Know You” questions you can expect on the application, each have a response limit of 200 words.

Introduce Yourself: Please tell us about how you became interested in the earth, environmental sciences, or geophysics. What drives your passion for Earth science?
Diverse Backgrounds: Our program values diversity. How do your personal background and experiences, whether academic, cultural, or personal, contribute to the richness of perspectives within the geoscience community?
Topics of Interest: Please indicate which topics interest you the most in the Earth and environmental sciences. You may list as many topics as you like.
Career and Academic Goals: What are your career and academic goals? How would participation in the Geo-Launchpad program contribute to the pursuit and fulfillment of these goals? How do you plan to leverage this opportunity to grow?
Technical Skills and Learning Goals: What coding languages or scientific computing tools have you used? If applicable, describe your level of experience with each. Additionally, what new skills or tools would you like to develop during the Geo-Launchpad internship?
Academic Record: Do you feel your academic record accurately reflects your abilities and potential? Why or why not? Please describe any adversity (physical, mental, educational, economic, social, or otherwise) that you have overcome in pursuing your academic goals.
Extracurricular Activities: Please list any extracurricular activities (clubs, employment, volunteer work) you have participated in.
Proudest Achievement: What do you consider to be your proudest achievement? (It need not be related to science or academia)

Click here to apply to the Geo-Launchpad Internship Program!

Questions? Please contact geolaunchpad@earthscope.org

The Geo-Launchpad Program is a summer internship program dedicated to introducing early academic career students to research and increasing diversity in the geosciences. This program is hosted by EarthScope Consortium and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant Nos. 1724794 and 1724509.