Any student who, on April 6, 2006 is in a graduate or professional program in a marine or aquatic-related field at a United States accredited institution of higher education are eligible to apply for a Knauss Fellowship. Students in Florida institutions must apply through Florida Sea Grant. Applications are due at Florida Sea Grant March 9, 2006 by 4 PM EST. Earlier applications are strongly recommended. This allows adequate time for Florida Sea Grant to work with students to strengthen the application. For more information, contact:

   
  The Sea Grant Federal Fellows Program/Dean John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship is now in its 27th year. There have been about 640 participants in this excellent program. About 80 applications are sent to the National Sea Grant Office each year and about 40 fellows are selected (10 legislative; 30 executive). Thirty-six of the 640 have been from Florida universities with all 36 placed since 1982.  Florida had three Fellows in 2001, one Fellow in 2002, 2003, 2004 and three fellows in 2005.

     The program continues to be successful because so many marine and coastal resources are either part of the public trust or a common property resource subject to multiple usages and affected by policy, legal, and regulatory considerations. The program is intended to provide a unique educational experience to students in master’s, doctoral, or professional programs in a marine or aquatic-related field or who have marine related interests in their chosen field. It is not meant to be a training program or to just augment the legislative or executive branch workforce. Activities might include research or drafting of legislation, liaison with other offices, writing policy papers, organizing hearings and witnesses, or interpreting scientific data for management issues. Many interns report a significant impact of this experience on their career plans.

     The legislative and executive branches are all potential hosts for the program. Placement preference should be stated by the applicant but cannot be guaranteed. The following locations are the types of placement available each year, although the list will vary from year-to-year.

Marine Mammal Commission

National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Office of the Under Secretary
Office of Legislative Affairs
Office of Program Planning and Integration
Office of Education and Sustainable Development
Office of Deputy Asst. Sec. of Commerce for International Affairs
Office of Public Constituent and Intergovermental Affairs

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)

Office of Policy
Office of Constituent Services
Office of Habitat Conservation
	Ecosystem Assessment Division
	Habitat Protection Division
Office of Protected Resources
	International Affairs Fellow
	Protected Species Recovery & Conservation Fellowship
Office of Science and Technology
	Senior Social Scientist
	Fisheries Biologist
Office of Sustainable Fisheries
	Foreign Affairs Fellow
	Fishery Management Specialist

National Ocean Service (NOS)

National Centers for Coastal and Ocean Science
			Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment
			Biogeography Program
			Center for Sponsored Coastal Ocean Research
			Coastal Ocean Program
Ocean and Coastal Resource Management
			Estuarine Reserves Division
National Policy and Evaluation Division & Coastal Services Center
			Coastal Management Specialist
National Marine Protected Areas
			MPA Policy Analyst
Office of National Marine Sanctuary Program
			Program Analyst
			Policy Development Specialist
Office of Response and Restoration
			Coral Reef Conservation Program

Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR)
Office of Scientific Support
Office of Global Programs
Oceans and Health Program
Science Advisory Board
External Affairs Team
Archaeological Program Assistant
Science Policy Program Assistant

National Science Foundation (NSF)
Biological Oceanography Program
Division of Ocean Sciences
Office of Polar Programs
Environmental Research and Education

Ocean US

Oceanographer of the Navy

State Department
Office of Marine Conservation
U.S. Coast Guard Marine Safety, Security & Environmental Protection
Environmental Standards Division

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

Office of Public Affairs
	Environmental Education
Office of Water
	Oceans and Coastal Protection Division
	Coastal Management Branch
	Cruise Ship Pollution Discharge Mitigation
	Vessel Standards Development
Office of Waste Water Management
	Industrial Branch
	State/Regional Branch

U.S. Department of the Interior
Coastal Barrier Conservation Fellow
Marine Mammal Conservation Fellow

Legislative Hosts:

House
Representative Thomas Allen (D-ME)
Representative Sam Farr (D-CA)
Representative Neal Abercrombie (D-HI)
Representative Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ)
Representative Ron Kind(D-WI)
House Committee on Resources
Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife & Oceans (R)
Subcommittee on Fisheries Conservation, Wildlife & Oceans (D)
House Science Committee (R)
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation (R)

Senate
Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR)
Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawaii)
Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA)
Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
Subcommittee on Oceans, Fisheries, and Coast Guard (D)
Subcommittee on Oceans, Fisheries and Coast Guard (R)

Selection

The selection criteria will include:

• Quality of the applicant’s personal education and career goal statement.
• Strength of academic performance and diversity of educational background including extracurricular activities, awards
  and honors (from the curriculum vitae   and transcripts).
• Experience in marine or aquatic-related fields, oral and written communication skills, and interpersonal abilities.
• Endorsement/content of the letter from the applicant's Sea Grant Program Director, applicant’s major professor and second letter of recommendation.

Application

A total of five applicants can be submitted by Florida Sea Grant to the national competition. The Florida Sea Grant Director will make the final determination on the Florida applicants to be submitted. Only those deemed qualified and competitive at the national level will be submitted. Applicants should be in a graduate or professional program in a marine or aquatic-related field or have marine interests in their chosen field at the time of application (April 6, 2006). The applicant’s major professor or supervisor will be the principal investigator on the grant if the applicant is successful.

Each application shall include:

• Personal and academic curriculum vitae (not to exceed two pages using a 12 point font with 1 inch margins).
  
• Statement from the applicant (not to exceed 1000 words, 12 point font) emphasizing the applicant’s abilities and what the prospective Fellow expects to obtain from the experience in the way of career goals and development. In the past we have found it advantageous to structure the statement in the form of a proposal that addresses the student’s objectives (why do it), background (qualifications), and expected benefits (what each side will gain). Use these items as headings. Placement preference in the Executive or Legislative Branches of the Government may be stated and will be honored to the extent possible.
  
• Two letters of recommendation including one from the student’s major professor. If no major professor exists, the faculty member who is most familiar with the applicant academically may be substituted. The Florida Sea Grant Director will write a third letter. The letters are extremely important. Make sure you choose two people that will write strong, informative and supportive letters.
  
• Not more than one page listing classes taken/to be taken and/or plans for spring 2006, summer 2006 and fall 2006.
  
• Official copy of all undergraduate and graduate transcripts.
  
• Budget sheet. A stipend amount of $33,000 per Fellow and a total grant of $41,500 per application is allowed. The stipend can be in both per diem and salary. Salary is the taxable item. Students are advised to read IRS Publication 520 on Scholarships and Fellowships for guidance. The remaining $8,500 will be used to cover mandatory health insurance for the Fellow and for moving expenses. Each institution is responsible for ensuring that health insurance coverage is provided the Fellow for the full year. This can be done through the university or by use of a portion of the $8,500. Reasonable moving expenses to and from Washington are allowed and at least one round trip fare equivalent. In addition, any remaining funds shall be used during the Fellowship year, first to satisfy academic-degree-related travel, and second for Fellowship-related travel. During the fellowship, the host may provide supplemental funds for work-related travel by the Fellow.  Indirect costs are not allowable for either the Fellowships or for any costs associated with the Fellowship [15CFR917.11(e), Guidelines for Sea Grant Fellowships]. No matching funds are required, except for fellows chosen for the Legislative Branch.  During the fellowship, the host may provide supplemental funds for work-related travel by the fellow. Below is a sample budget and we can assist you with budget preparation. Florida Sea Grant will provide travel funds for the November 2006 interview week.
  
• Appropriate signed forms by the institution's Sponsored Programs Office.

• Florida Sea Grant will add $1,500 to pay for the interview trip for students selected for finalists, to reach the $41,500 total award.

There is no need to receive anything else from the sponsoring institution. Letters of endorsement from members of Congress, relatives, or others will not be considered. In this way all applicants are treated fairly. Past successful applications “stand out” in terms of the student’s strong qualifications which make him or her a valuable professional asset to a legislative or executive branch staff.  No prior contacts/arrangements are to be made with potential host offices.

This Florida call for applications is patterned after the national guidelines which may be viewed at: http://www.seagrant.noaa.gov/funding/fundingfellowships.html. All information in this application, if incorrect, is superseded by that contained in the Federal Register announcement which will be available at the above website when published.

For additional information on past Florida Knauss Fellows and other Florida Sea Grant student programs, please go to the Faculty/Student section of our website for a Pdf version of our student publication "An Investment in Florida's Future: Sea Grant Sponsored Graduate Education."

To download the 90-4 budget form, click here: 90-4.