🌎 Dive into Geophysics Research this Summer! 🌎
2025 Program Dates: early June to mid August (flexible)
Ready to turn your summer into a geophysics adventure? The Research Experiences in Solid Earth Sciences for Students (RESESS) is not just an internship – it’s your ticket to an unforgettable science experience! Open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents who are current undergraduate students, RESESS offers the chance to conduct geophysics research with a faculty mentor at colleges and universities across the country.
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 a generous housing stipend, so you can focus on exploration, not accommodation.
🚀 Launch Your Geophysics Journey: Looking for research experience? RESESS 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 research 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.
🏞️ Fieldwork Fun: Many (but not all) mentor projects include the opportunity for summer interns to spend some time outside working with geophysical instrumentation.
📢 Attend a Conference: All interns travel to attend the world’s largest geophysics conference in December and present a poster on their summer research project. *Funding for 2025 conference attendance is provisional pending future grant awards from NSF
🎓 Beyond Summer: Connections forged with fellow interns, as well as geophysics faculty, can jump start your graduate school and geophysics career journey.
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
🚀 Ready to Ignite Your Geophysics Passion?
RESESS Internship Requirements*
At the time of applying, you must:
- a be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident of the United States or its possessions.
- be enrolled and currently attending classes in an institution of higher learning through the current academic year (through spring).
- be at least 18 years old by the start of the summer program (mid-May).
- have taken two semesters of both Math & Physics (Recommended)
- Prior experience or coursework in seismology or geophysics is not a requirement.
- Computer programming experience (python, matlab, C++, etc.) is a plus!
- have a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. (Recommended or lower with justification)
*While we have created a list of minimum qualifications for the program, there is no single path to geophysics. Thus, the selection committee is interested in your training in physics, math, geoscience, and computer skills and takes a holistic approach to the selection process.
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 geophysics exploration starts here! Apply for RESESS and make this summer the one you’ll always remember. Your journey to becoming a geophysics superstar awaits!
Application Instructions
RESESS 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?
- 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 RESESS 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 a RESESS internship?
- Academic Record: Do you feel your academic record accurately reflects your abilities and potential? Why or why not? Please describe any adversity 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 RESESS Internship Program!
Questions? Please contact internships@earthscope.org
The Research Experiences in Solid Earth Sciences for Students (RESESS) program provides summer undergraduate independent research experiences in geophysics. Students are welcomed into a mini-graduate school like atmosphere and offered mentorship and support. The experience culminates in a presentation and participation in a national conference. This program is hosted by EarthScope Consortium and funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant Nos. 1724794 1724509, and 1852339.