Climate Scholars Community Service Fellowship

Climate Scholars Community Service Fellowship 
In partnership with UCSB College Corps

The Climate Scholars Community Service Fellowship is a program designed for UCSB students who have been regularly volunteering in the community before the start of this program and are looking for opportunities to serve more, build their public service skill set, and expand their relationships in the climate action and environmental field. Students will provide service to people of all ages and will grow a better understanding of our local community. Service placements will all be related to climate action and environmental education. We anticipate most students in this program to have one primary placement where they will do the majority of their hours and 1-2 secondary placements to diversify their service experience.  

Participating students will commit to put in 360 volunteer hours of hands-on work in the public service climate action field (about 12-15 hrs a week) during the 2026-2027 academic year (September 28th, 2027 - June 6th, 2027) and will also receive 90 hrs of training in advanced skills related to civic engagement and public service.  This will total 450 hrs of service and training total.  The fellows will be a part of a cohort of other students with a passion and commitment for community service. Fellows will meet with this cohort weekly throughout the year. Since this particular cohort is focused on students who are already volunteering regularly in this field, the training will be more in depth and address more complicated and interesting issues  than in the regular College Corps Climate Action Program.  Students may receive academic credit for their internships (up to 4 units per quarter). Students will also have access to extensive networking opportunities with the local environmental community.  

This program is an offshoot of the UCSB College Corps Program, but comes with a different set of benefits and is structured differently.  Participating students in this program will attend broader cohort meetings for UCSB College Corps and will be invited to regional and statewide gatherings of College Corps.  They will also receive additional training specific to the Climate Scholars program which will go above and beyond the training offered to the broader cohort members. 

Fellows will also receive an education award of $3,000 at the end of the service year when they complete all 450 hours.  For locations not accessible by bus, transportation reimbursements may be available during the year. This fellowship does not come with a stipend and is not a paid job. This is primarily a volunteer position. We are dedicated to the professional development of the fellows in this program and have set aside funding to support training and conferences linked to the work the students are doing as a part of this fellowship. 
 

Timeline