Summer High School Intern Program (SHIP) (Volunteer) Job

Vacancy No. SHIP-2025-0001 Department National Institute of Standards and Technology
Salary $0.00 to $0.00 Grade 0 to 0
Perm/Temp Temporary FT/PT Full-time
Open Date 11/1/2024 Close Date 1/31/2025
Job Link Apply Online Who may apply Public
Locations:
Boulder, COGaithersburg, MD


Summary

Students selected for this competitive volunteer program will participate in cutting-edge research at NIST in-person, and will work closely with NIST scientists and engineers on a specific research problem.

Applications are accepted between November 1st  and January 31st. The program requires a commitment for a contiguous 8-week period (nominal hours of 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM).

If you have any additional questions, please write to ship@nist.gov

This job is open to

Clarification from the agency

The Summer High School Intern Program (SHIP) is a NIST-wide volunteer summer intern program for students who will have finished their junior or senior year of high school by the start of the program and are interested in scientific research only. This program is open only to United States citizens and applicants must live within 50 miles of the site location.

Duties

Interested students must want to participate in scientific research. NIST research is focused on promoting U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life. Descriptions of the types of research going on at NIST, including previous SHIP projects, can be found at www.nist.gov/careers/summer-high-school-intern-program-research. 

Requirements

Conditions of Employment

Interested students must want to participate in in-person scientific research. In addition, they must currently be juniors or seniors (at time of application) at an accredited high school who will have advanced to senior status or graduated from high school (and enrolled in an accredited university) by the start of the program. A minimum unweighted GPA of 3.0 is required for consideration into this program. Applications are due by January 31st. Late applications will not be reviewed. This program is open only to United States citizens and applicants must live within 50 miles of the site location.

Qualifications

A minimum UNWEIGHTED GPA of 3.0 is required for consideration into this program.

Education

Students must currently be juniors or seniors (at time of application) at an accredited high school who will have advanced to senior status or graduated from high school (and enrolled in an accredited university) by the start of the program.

Additional information

Only US citizens are eligible for participation in SHIP.

Privacy Act Statement:

Authority:    15 U.S.C. § 272(b)(4), 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)

Purpose:  The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the Summer High school Intern Program (SHIP), which is a NIST-wide summer intern program for students who will have finished their junior or senior year of high school by the start of the program and are interested in scientific research. Students selected for this program participate in cutting-edge research at NIST and work closely with NIST staff scientists and engineers on specific research problems.

Routine Uses:  NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices:  OPM GOVT-5: Recruiting, Examining, and Placement Records ; NIST-1: NIST Associates. 

Disclosure:  Furnishing this information is voluntary, however if requested information is not provided, the applicant will not be considered for the program.

Benefits

A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.

This is a student volunteer program. It does not confer any employment status. During their tenure at NIST, students will not be paid, and must provide their own housing and transportation.

Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated

You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.

At any time between February 26th  and April 18th, students may be contacted for a phone or in-person interview or students may receive an offer of a position.  While we encourage students to investigate what type of research is currently going on at NIST, students are not required nor encouraged to contact potential mentors.  Students should be aware that actively soliciting more than two offers from different mentors will result in disqualification from the program. All students will receive information regarding the final status of their application by April 18th.


You may preview questions for this vacancy.

Required Documents

As part of the application, you must submit:

  1. One (1) brief resume which must include name, email, high school, unweighted GPA, and graduation date. Submission of your resume uses the USAJOBS uploaded or resume builder type resume. Be sure to have a resume either uploaded into USAJOBS or build using the USAJOBS resume builder when applying.
  2. Personal statement (maximum of one page) which will include (submitted as an uploaded document in the documents section after transferring from USAJOBS to the NIST system):
    1. Description of scientific areas of interest.
    2. Description of reason for a particular choice of NIST Laboratory.  (See www.nist.gov/careers/summer-high-school-intern-program-research for a list of NIST laboratories and previous SHIP projects in each.)
    3. Description of future plans after graduation from high school.
  3. One (1) copy of school transcript.  (Either official or unofficial is acceptable here.  If accepted into the program, an official transcript is required. Submitted as an uploaded document in the documents section after transferring from USAJOBS to the NIST system.) Your transcript must indicate you are in 11th grade or a Junior, or 12th grade or a Senior.
  4. Availability Form signed by you and your parents/legal guardians indicating your commitment to volunteer in-person at NIST for all days of the work week for a contiguous 8 week period during the summer if a position is offered and you accept. (Submitted as an uploaded document in the documents section after transferring from USAJOBS to the NIST system.) This can be found at www.nist.gov/careers/summer-high-school-intern-program-application-process 
  5. Two (2) letters of recommendation are required, one of which must be from a science, engineering, mathematics, or technical education teacher and the other from either another teacher or professional reference such as a club leader, club sponsor, Girl/Boy Scout club leader, coach, volunteer supervisor, work supervisor, etc. Your recommenders must submit their recommendations by 11:59PM ET, February 4th, 2025.

Please note: By design, SHIP application data entry fields are not intended for the insertion of sensitive personally identifiable information (SPII), and may contain data or detail which, in aggregate context, can be particularly sensitive or confidential. Please take Federal best practice precautions in not inserting any extraneous data or any data which is not explicitly requested.  For example, since social security number and passport numbers are NOT requested, please do not enter this SPII in any SHIP data fields.  You should only provide the requested information. 

If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:

Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.

Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.

How to Apply

In order for your application to be considered, you must complete the online questions and submit the required documents by the close date with the exception of the recommendations. Your recommenders must submit their recommendations for you before the close date of the announcement which is midnight eastern time on January 31st, 2025. But we recommend encouraging them to submit early. Please see the above section “Required Documents” for guidance on what is required and how to submit.

  1. To begin, log in to your USAJOBS account or create a new account at https://my.usajobs.gov. Click Apply Online to access the online application. Follow the prompts. This vacancy accepts USAJOBS built or uploaded resumes and uploaded documents. Please be sure to create or upload a resume on USAJOBS. PDF is the preferred format for all documents.
  2. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation, and submit the application.
  3. Upon clicking submit at the end of the application process, you will receive an on-screen notification that you have successfully submitted your application. Select Return to USAJOBS to verify your updated status in the USAJOBS Applications section.
  4. To verify the status of your application, log in to your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, and select Track this application. The Application Status page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and your responses submitted to the online application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process. 
  5. In the status information, you can also see the status of your letters of recommendation. For example, if one letter has been received you will see “1 of 2 references received”. References have up to 4 calendar days after the announcement closing date to submit their letters. If you notice a letter missing and it is close to the deadline, you may want to give your reference a friendly reminder. The system will also send an automated reminder to your reference 7 days before the final due date.
  6. To return to your saved applicationwhile the announcement is open, log in to your USAJOBS account at https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login and click Applications. Click on the position title, then select Edit my application. You may update your application at any time before the closing of the announcement.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit the online application and supporting documents well before the announcement closing date. 

Problems Completing Your Application: If you have problems completing your online application, including problems submitting your supporting documents, please email ship@nist.gov. 

You must complete this application and submit all required documents by 11:59PM EST on the announcement closing date. 

Note: Paper applications will not be accepted. 

Agency contact information

Chantale Denis
Address
National Institute of Standards and Technology
100 Bureau Drive
Mail Stop 1090
Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899
United States
Learn more about this agency

Next steps

If you are accepted into SHIP, additional documentation will be required.  Please see www.nist.gov/careers/summer-high-school-intern-program-selection-process for more information.


Note: We cannot accept applications on behalf of Federal Agencies. Application instructions are listed within the Job Description.


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