Internships

Yosemite sponsors a number of internships both directly and through partner organizations. The positions are usually 10 weeks to six months, and are open to people of all ages, though some partners may have particular age requirements.

 

 

Internships Through Partners

We hire most of our interns through organizations such as those listed below. Check with each of these for opportunities.

American Conservation Experience

Age: 18-35

American Conservation Experience (ACE) is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing rewarding environmental service opportunities that harness the idealism and energy of a volunteer labor force to help restore America’s public lands. ACE is grounded in the philosophy that cooperative labor on meaningful conservation projects fosters cross-cultural understanding and operates on the belief that challenging volunteer service unites people of all backgrounds in common cause. (This program may accept international applicants.)

AmeriCorps

Age: 17 and up (depending on program)

AmeriCorps is a network of national service programs, made up of three primary programs that each take a different approach to improving lives and fostering civic engagement. Members commit their time to address critical community needs like increasing academic achievement, mentoring youth, fighting poverty, sustaining national parks, preparing for disasters, and more.

Ancestral Land Crews

Age: 17 and up (depending on program)

Our vision is to lead our Nations back to ecological and cultural well-being by engaging underrepresented Indigenous youth and young adults in conservation service programs that reconnect participants to the land, their cultural heritage, and their traditions. We work to remove barriers to participation, education, and employment by partnering with local community organizations, agencies, and institutes of higher learning to create paid service and career training opportunities, personal and professional development, and pathways to postsecondary education and employment.

Conservation Legacy

Age: 18 and up (depending on program)

Conservation Legacy is a national organization dedicated to supporting locally based conservation service programs. We operate and support programs that provide service and work opportunities for a diverse group of individuals to complete important conservation and community projects for the public benefit.

Great Basin Institute

Age: 18 and up

The Great Basin Institute is an interdisciplinary field studies organization that promotes environmental research, education, and service throughout the West. The Institute’s mission is to advance applied science and ecological literacy through community engagement and agency partnerships, supporting national parks, forest, open spaces and public lands. GBI provides a wide variety of environmental services to train and develop the next generation of conservationists and resource managers. (This program may accept international applicants.)

Greening Youth Foundation

Age: 18-35

The Greening Youth Foundation’s (GYF) mission is to work with diverse, underserved and underrepresented children, youth, and young adults in an effort to develop and nurture enthusiastic and responsible environmental stewards. GYF’s cultural based environmental education programing engages children from local communities and exposes them to healthy lifestyle choices in order to create an overall healthy community. GYF believes that youth and young adults from diverse backgrounds can greatly benefit from the career opportunities presented within the state and federal land management sectors. Accordingly, GYF continues to develop and strengthen partnerships with land management agencies to provide service and internship opportunities for youth and young adults thereby creating pathways to conservation careers.

Latino Heritage Internship Program

Age: 18-35

The Latino Heritage Internship Program (LHIP), administered in partnership between the National Park Service, Hispanic Access Foundation, and Environment for the Americas, is designed to train young people in the skills of cultural, historical, natural resource management. The program will raise awareness of our national parks and historic sites, their accessibility and the need for the Latino community’s involvement in their preservation.

Mosaics in Science

Age: 18 and up, enrolled in an undergraduate, graduate, or PhD degree program

The Mosaics in Science Internship Program provides youth that are under-represented in natural resource science career fields with on-the-ground, science-based, work experience with the National Park Service.

National Council for Preservation Education

Age: 18 and up

PreserveNet is designed to provide preservationists with a comprehensive database of regularly updated internet resources and current professional opportunities. Established in 1994 by Cornell University's Michael Tomlan and Bob Pick, PreserveNet was the result of a collaborative effort by preservation students of various universities interested in providing preservation information in what was then a new and exciting arena, the internet. Continually updated and expanded since its establishment, PreserveNet utilizes the many internet resources of various preservation organizations and maintains a current listing of professional and educational opportunities.

Pathways Programs

Age: High school, undergraduate, and graduate students

The Pathways Program offers current students and recent graduates paid internships and streamlined hiring programs to explore federal career opportunities. Pathways consists of three excepted-service programs, the Internship Program, the Recent Graduates Program, and a reinvigorated Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) Program.

Scientists-in-the-Parks (SIP) Program

Age: 18-35

The National Park Service (NPS) actively seeks students and professionals in the natural resource fields who want to use their expertise to help the agency to better understand and manage its natural resources. The program provides participants a unique opportunity to contribute towards the conservation of America's national parks

Stewards Individual Placement Program

Age: 18-35

Stewards Individual Placement Program provides individuals with service and career opportunities to strengthen communities and preserve our natural resources. Participants work with federal agencies, tribal governments, and nonprofits building institutional capacity, developing community relationships, and supporting ecosystem health.

The Student Conservation Association

Age: 15 and up

SCA’s mission is to build the next generation of conservation leaders and inspire lifelong stewardship of the environment and communities by engaging young people in hands-on service to the land.

Youth Conservation Corps

Age: 15-18

The United States Youth Conservation Corps (YCC) is a summer youth employment program that engages young people in meaningful work experiences on national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, and fish hatcheries while developing an ethic of environmental stewardship and civic responsibility. YCC programs are generally 8 to 10 weeks and members are paid the minimum wage for a 40-hour work week. Most YCC opportunities are non-residential programs which provide paid daytime work activities with members who commute to the Federal unit daily.

 

College Internships

While the park does not require that interns be students, Yosemite can sponsor students to perform internships for college credit. Your supervisor can work with your school to certify credit. Some colleges also have programs that financially support students so they can volunteer instead of finding summer jobs. Talk with your college career services department to learn more.

Additionally, Yosemite offers Yosemite Leadership Program internships, primarily for students of UC Merced.

Park-Sponsored Internships

Department of Defense SkillBridge

We often offer SkillBridge internships for active-duty military personnel.

Volunteer Internships

Volunteer internships are posted alongside regular volunteer positions on Volunteer.gov. These may include positions in wildlife research, environmental education, historic preservation, and other professional and vocational career fields. International volunteers may apply for internships, but must be able to obtain a J-1 visa and should be working or studying in a related field.

Current open volunteer positions may be designed as internships (please note that these positions are pulled from Volunteer.gov, and we cannot separate out internships from other volunteer positions). Additional opportunities could be added at any time, so keep checking. Most, but not all, positions are for the summer months.

If you want to be an intern but can't find something that interests you, you can email us.

 

Current Volunteer Opportunities