SCi FELLOWSHIPS

 

At SCi, we believe students need to be able to practice what they learn in the classroom. SCi experiential learning programs allow STEM students to practice new skills and learn from diverse teachers, such as policymakers, community organizers, and health professionals. SCi  programs are rooted in service and designed to complement existing degree requirements, while providing important career development opportunities. 

SCi Experiential Learning Programs:

  • Are part-time, so as not to interfere with graduate education training or research.
  • Compensate students for their time and efforts.
  • Follow best practices in inclusive recruitment.
  • Serve a fellow cohort with diverse interests and career aspirations.

 

“THE SCi FELLOWSHIP WAS A WELCOME OPPORTUNITY TO EXPLORE POLICY FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF A SCIENTIST AT A TIME WHEN THE WORLD SEEMED TO BE FACING ONE CRISIS AFTER ANOTHER.”

SLATER SHARP, STATE HOUSE FELLOW

NEW FOR 2023: SCi CIVIC SCIENCE CLINIC

 

In summer 2023, SCi will pilot a new experiential learning program – the Civic Science Clinic (CSC)!

SCi’s Civic Science Clinic will allow students to work part time over the summer in service to either the Massachusetts State House or a Boston-based community organization. The inspiration for the Civic Science Clinic comes from the origin story of legal clinics, which responded to law student demand to participate in and respond to local community needs. Recent events, from the COVID-19 pandemic to national conversations around racial and social justice, have led to an analogous demand from a new generation of STEM students who want to use their skills in service to society.

 

COMPLETED PROGRAM

Piloting the Massachusetts Summer Science and Technology Policy Fellowship

In 2021, SCi completed a 3-year pilot of its Massachusetts Summer Science and Technology Policy Fellowship (MASSTPF). MASSTPF places STEM graduate students in paid fellowships at the MA State House for 10 weeks over a summer, working part-time as policy advisors to state legislators. The program is an experiential learning opportunity that allows students to engage in dialogue with stakeholders and provides professional development applicable to a variety of careers. It also provides MA legislators a unique opportunity to inform public policies with rigorous technical analysis.

 

Since 2019, 12 students have completed the program (2 in 2019, 4 in 2020, and 6 in 2021). In 2021 SCi admitted two students from MIT’s Technology and Policy Program (TPP). Legislative offices and committees have benefited from working with highly-skilled STEM students, who help with tasks such as researching science and technology-related policy areas and interacting with constituents. Demand to host a fellow has grown from two offices in 2019 to 13 in 2021.

 

FUTURE DIRECTIONS

Expanding the Massachusetts Summer Science and Technology Policy Fellowship

SCi is working to build an inclusive, state-wide Massachusetts State House Summer Science and Technology Policy Fellowship (MASSTPF) open to STEM graduate students across the Commonwealth. SCi will pair the fellowship with additional training that teaches students to apply their technical understanding to develop public policy that actively challenges structural inequalities. Not only will such a program lead to more equitable, evidenced-based public policy, it will also develop new leaders from a range of backgrounds and lived experiences prepared to work in state-level policy. Subject to funding, the expanded program will be offered in summer 2023.