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.  

 

Volunteer Service Hours

Participating students will commit to put in 360 volunteer hours of hands-on work in the public service climate action field (about 12-15 hours a week) during the 2026-2027 academic year (September 28, 2027 - June 6, 2027) and will also receive 90 hours of training in advanced skills related to civic engagement and public service. This will total 450 hours of service and training total.  

Climate Scholars Cohort

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.  

Career and Professional Development

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. 

Education Award

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. 

Climate Scholar Community Service Program Community Host Organizations 

The Community Host Partners are the many non-profit organizations that host College Corps fellows for UCSB. We are very grateful for their mentorship and support of our students. UCSB College Corps has 11 Partners for our Climate Scholars Program.

Climate Scholars Community Host Partners

What Types of Students Are We Looking For?

  • Goal oriented and resilient 
  • Has humility and empathy 
  • Strong communication and collaboration skills 
  • Oriented towards community service and has a demonstrated track record of doing unpaid community service
  • Open to learning new skills and changing your perspectives 
  • Responsible, hardworking, and someone who follows-through on what you say you'll do.
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Climate Scholars

Eligibility Criteria:

To be eligible, applicants must:

  • Excited about community service!
  • have a passion for volunteering your time with the local community and is eager to meet more local non-profits.
  • be a part time or full time undergraduate student at UC Santa Barbara for the 2026-2027 academic year. 
  • not be traveling abroad in the 2026-2027 academic year.
  • be a US Citizen, US National, or a Legal Permanent Resident. Most international students are unfortunately not eligible. AB 540 students are also not eligible for this fellowship.
  • be in good academic standing and have a GPA of 2.5 or higher at the time of application. 
  • be able to volunteer with the program on average 15 hrs. a week.  Time off will be given for school holidays.
  • have enough room in your financial aid award package to accept a $3,000 educational award (awarded at the end of the year) during the 2026-2027 year.  This will processed as financial aid.
  • be 18 years old or older in August 2026.

 

How do I learn more?

Attend an optional information session: Slides from previously offered information sessions Recording from previous info session.

Email Program Director Katie Maynard kcmaynard@ucsb.edu with specific questions.