Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Indian Energy, the Indian Energy Summer Internship Program is now accepting applications for a 12-week internship at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Interns will get first-hand experience with existing tribal renewable energy projects and exposure to issues concerning tribal renewable energy technology use and application.

Current full-time technical undergraduate students with a minimum GPA of 3.2 and graduate students with a minimum GPA of 3.5 are eligible to apply. Successful candidates must meet the following qualifications:

• Official acceptance into an accredited university’s undergradu¬ate/graduate program
• Full-time enrollment during the spring term immediately preceding the internship period (12 undergraduate credit hours or 9 graduate credit hours)
• Ability to work up to 40 hours per week throughout the 12-week internship
• U.S. citizenship
• Interest in renewable energy
• Experience developing operations and maintenance or measurement and verification plans.

Sandia National Laboratories will give preference to American Indian applicants who are members of a federally recognized Tribe, Alaska Village, or Alaska Corporation (not state-recognized Tribes; bands or groups; or first peoples of Guam or Hawaii).

Applicants must pass a pre-employment security check (local and federal law enforcement, driver’s history, personal references, education, credit, and employment checks).

Since 2002, 31 undergraduate and graduate interns with 18 different tribal affiliations and 15 different student majors have completed the Indian Energy Summer Internship.

“This internship has been one of the most motivating and unsurpassed experiences of my life,” said 2008 Tribal Energy Summer Intern Carson Pete. “The summer opportunities were diverse and ranged from working, conversing, and experiencing what the top engineers and leaders in the country have planned and are developing for local and nationwide energy problems.”

Read about the experiences of 2014 interns Tommy Jones and Len Necefer on the DOE Office of Indian Energy blog. Find out about the work 2008-2009 intern Suzanne Singer is doing now to help Tribes use their own resources and live a more sustainable lifestyle.

Applications are due March 27, 2015; applicants are encourage to apply well in advance of the deadline.

For more details on application requirements, essay submissions, and salary, please view the Indian Energy Summer Internship flier.