2026 - 2027 Climate Justice Internship Application

SFSU Climate HQ’s Climate Justice Internship Program places 15-20 undergraduate students in a semester-long paid internship with partner organizations committed to climate justice. Selected students will be matched with an organization to complete a project that advances that organization’s work and gives students the opportunity to learn from seasoned organizers, activists, advocates, and other professionals. We expect to match 2-5 students at each organization. Currently, students apply in fall semesters for internships in spring semesters.

SPRING 2027 INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Application Opens

August 24, 2026

Deadline for Submission

October 1, 2026 @ 11:45pm (application closes then)

Dates of Internship Work

January to May 2027

Stipend Amount

Up to $3000, in two payments ($500 in February, $2500 after completion of work)

Student Eligibility

• Undergraduates from any major at SFSU can apply, regardless of immigration or visa status
• Interns must be full-time students enrolled at SFSU during their Spring 2027 semester
• No citizenship requirements

Requirements & Expectations

• Selected interns must:
  • Enroll in and pass a 1-unit seminar, BIOL 681: Climate Action for Real World Change in Spring 2027. This course provides support, community, and professional development during your internship.
  • Work an average of 10 hours per week for 15 weeks (150 hours total) with the matched organization.
  • Participate in a showcase during Earth Week.

Before the deadline, submit the following through our application survey (link below):

• Pro-tip! we recommend writing out answers to the 3 essay questions ahead of time and then pasting them into the survey link when you go to submit.

ACCESS THE APPLICATION SURVEY & SUBMIT IT BY CLICKING HERE (opens August 24, 2027 @ 8am)

Application Questions

The application consists of 3 parts and will be available in full on August 24, 2026. 

• PART 1: Student Information and Eligibility Questions

  This section asks for your name, student ID number, email addresses (2), major, expected graduation date; to confirm your eligibility; to note your availability for interviews; and to tell us how you heard about this program.

   

• PART 2: Organization/Project Preferences

  This section asks your preferences about which organizations and projects you are most interested in working with in Spring 2027. Click here to view the possible organizations and projects.

   

• PART 3: Essay Questions

  This section asks you to answer 3 short essay questions (200-300 words each) so we can learn more about you, your life, your lived experience, and your journey toward climate justice. Feel free to share as much about your personal lived experience as you want. We are looking for honest, authentic answers based on your own life. While there is a lot of information available online about climate justice, we are more interested in your own voice, experiences, and understanding. Please do not use Chat GPT, Claude or other large language models for these questions. 

   

  Questions:

  1. Please share a little bit about you or your community (in any of the diverse ways you might define community). How has climate disruption or climate change informed or impacted your community or your own experience? (200-300 words)
  2. What do you hope your role will be in advancing climate justice in the future? (In your answer, be sure to emphasize the justice component of climate justice.) (200-300 words)
  3. While we're not guaranteeing that interns will get their first choice of project/organization, please share which project/organization you put as your first choice and why (i.e. what drew you to this project/organization, and how does it align with your interests). (200-300 words)

• Aug 24, 2026: Spring 2027 Internship Application process opens
• September 8, 2026: Information session: 11am-1:30pm, LIB 121 (part of Climate Certificate Open House)
• October 1, 2026 @ 11:45pm: Applications due
• November 2026: Selected students notified & matched with organization/project
• November 2026-January 2027: Selected students work with organization to co-develop work plans
• January-May 2027: Internships run (1 week of Spring Break with no work requirement)

Students who would like to learn more can: 

• Send an email to climatehq.internships@sfsu.edu

• Attend the information session

  • Info session: Information session: time & place TBD (part of Climate Certificate Open House)

• Drop into the office hours of the co-leads of the program (office hours start week of Sept. 7, 2026)

  • Professor Gopal Dayaneni, gopaldayaneni@sfsu.edu

    • In-person office hours, Mondays, Sept 14, 21, 27, time/location TBD 

  • Professor Autumn Thoyre, athoyre@sfsu.edu

    • Online office hours, Fridays, Sept 11, 18, 25, 10-11am at this zoom link