Grants and Opportunities
We offer collections travel grants, mentorship programs, and other opportunities to support students, researchers, and lifelong learners.
Opportunities include
- The Student Collections Study Award supports travel costs for undergraduate and graduate students to visit NHMLAC collections to conduct research. Please use this application form.
- UNLAB (Understanding Nature and L.A. Biodiversity through museum collections and field-based research) is a year-long, paid research training and mentorship program for recent college graduates who didn't have the opportunity to do research as students. UNLAB is funded by the National Science Foundation through the RaMP program (Research and Mentoring for Postbaccalaureates) and in February 2023 is accepting applications for the first group of participants. See the project page for more details and application information.
- Some Research and Collections departments also support research and travel programs separately from the Research and Collections funds. Check the individual department webpages for more information.
- Volunteers work in all our collections, and are critical to the work we do! Learn more about the NHMLAC volunteer program. To find out about specific opportunities, talk to a staff member in your area of interest.
- The Marine Science Teen Internship Program for Boyle Heights students is developed and run by the museum's Education team. Participants meet researchers and see collections, among many other activities.
- The Dinosaur Institute Summer Internship in Fossil Conservation focuses on developing student skills and experience in vertebrate fossil conservation and museum science. It is open to undergraduate students from Howard University and the University of Chicago, with an April 19th, 2024 deadline.
- The Dinosaur Institute Fellowship Fund supports Postdoctoral scientists and PhD students conducting paleontological research in the Dinosaur Institute. It aims to expand NHM's research, training, and outreach missions and cement our crucial role as an incubator for future museum scientists
The NHMLAC Postdoctoral program supports the training of the next generation of museum scholars conducting original research across diverse disciplines. NHMLAC Postdoctoral Fellows are supported through a variety of means, including national fellowships, external grants, donor funds, and endowments.
Specific opportunities for local students
Students from many local institutions work with our Research and Collections staff through for-credit internships/externships, work-study jobs, research internships, or volunteering. Recent institutional partners include USC, Occidental, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Glendale Community College, UCLA, Cal State LA, and the Claremont Colleges. If your college or high school has a program that supports students in learning or work programs off-campus, it's likely we can participate.
