Environmental Management Fellows Program

In Partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RIDEM)

Overview

In partnership with the RI Department of Environmental Management, URI Cooperative Extension has established the Environmental Management Fellows Program (EMFP) for students at URI and the Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) seeking career pathways in environmental protection, resource management and climate resilience. The program creates linkages between industry workforce needs and students engaged in academic programs in natural resources science, geosciences, landscape architecture, civil and systems engineering, communications and marketing, finance, business administration and more.

For students, the EMFP provides:

A year-long, 500 hour PAID experiential learning opportunities with a public or private sector professional working on real-world environmental management projects;
Three credits of academic coursework and training in professional development topics, taught by URI faculty and staff;
30 hour Summer Industry Training featuring micro-lectures, site visits and service learning opportunities with industry professionals; and
Robust professional networking opportunities.
CCRI and URI students can apply directly in Handshake (job listing #9968733) by 10/24/25.

For mentor organizations, the EMFP provides:

Recruitment, screening and onboarding of intern(s) to support existing organizational projects; and
A strong talent pipeline of well-trained candidates seeking early- to mid-level positions in environmental management.

We are seeking organizational mentors to join the Environmental Management Fellows Program team in 2026! If you are interested in helping us to foster the creation of high quality, well-paying jobs that support a resilient Rhode Island economy and environment, please contact Kate Hardesty at kate@uri.edu or complete the form linked in the box below.