Summer High School Intern Program (Ship)

Summary
Students selected for this competitive volunteer program will participate in cutting-edge research at NIST in-person, and will work closely with NIST scientists and engineers on a specific research problem.
Applications are accepted between December 1st and February 09. The program requires a commitment for a contiguous 8-week period (nominal hours of 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM).
If you have any additional questions, please write to ship@nist.gov
This job is open to

• The public
  U.S. Citizens, Nationals or those who owe allegiance to the U.S.
• Students
  Current students enrolled in accredited educational institutions from High School to graduate level. Includes internships, pathways and other student programs.

Clarification from the agency
The Summer High School Intern Program (SHIP) is a NIST-wide volunteer summer Intern Program for students who will have finished their junior or senior year of High School by the start of the program and are interested in scientific research only. This program is open only to United States citizens
Duties
Interested students must want to participate in scientific research. NIST research is focused on promoting U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life. Descriptions of the types of research going on at NIST, including previous SHIP projects, can be found at www.nist.gov/careers/summer-high-school-intern-program-research.
Requirements
Conditions of Employment
Interested students must want to participate in in-person scientific research. In addition, they must currently be juniors or seniors (at time of application) at an accredited High School who will have advanced to senior status or graduated from High School (and enrolled in an accredited university) by the start of the program. A minimum unweighted GPA of 3.0 is required for consideration into this program. Applications are due by February 09. Late applications will not be reviewed. Only US citizens are eligible to apply for this program.
Qualifications
A minimum UNWEIGHTED GPA of 3.0 is required for consideration into this program.
Education
Students must currently be juniors or seniors (at time of application) at an accredited High School who will have advanced to senior status or graduated from High School (and enrolled in an accredited university) by the start of the program.
Additional information
Only US citizens are eligible for participation in SHIP.
Privacy Act Statement:
Authority: 15 U.S.C. § 272(b)(4), 15 U.S.C. § 278g-1(e)(1) and (e)(3) and 15 U.S.C. § 272(b) and (c)
Purpose: The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) hosts the Summer High school Intern Program (SHIP), which is a NIST-wide summer Intern Program for students who will have finished their junior or senior year of High School by the start of the program and are interested in scientific research. Students selected for this program participate in cutting-edge research at NIST and work closely with NIST staff scientists and engineers on specific research problems.
Routine Uses: NIST will use the information collected to perform the requisite reviews of the applications to determine eligibility, and to meet programmatic requirements. Disclosure of this information is also subject to all the published routine uses as identified in the Privacy Act System of Records Notices: OPM GOVT-5: Recruiting, Examining, and Placement Records ; NIST-1: NIST Associates.
Disclosure: Furnishing this information is voluntary, however if requested information is not provided, the applicant will not be considered for the program.

• Benefits
  A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
  This is a student volunteer program. It does not confer any employment status. During their tenure at NIST, students will not be paid, and must provide their own housing and transportation.
  Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.

How You Will Be Evaluated
You will be evaluated for this job based on how well you meet the qualifications above.
At any time between February 26 and April 1, students may be contacted for a phone or in-person interview or students may receive an offer of a position. While we encourage students to investigate what type of research is currently going on at NIST, students are not required nor encouraged to contact potential mentors. Students should be aware that actively soliciting more than two offers from different mentors will result in disqualification from the program. All students will receive information regarding the final status of their application by April 8-12th.
You may preview questions for this vacancy.

• Benefits
  A career with the U.S. government provides employees with a comprehensive benefits package. As a federal employee, you and your family will have access to a range of benefits that are designed to make your federal career very rewarding. Opens in a new windowLearn more about federal benefits.
  This is a student volunteer program. It does not confer any employment status. During their tenure at NIST, students will not be paid, and must provide their own housing and transportation.
  Eligibility for benefits depends on the type of position you hold and whether your position is full-time, part-time or intermittent. Contact the hiring agency for more information on the specific benefits offered.
• Required Documents
  As a new or existing federal employee, you and your family may have access to a range of benefits. Your benefits depend on the type of position you have - whether you're a permanent, part-time, temporary or an intermittent employee. You may be eligible for the following benefits, however, check with your agency to make sure you're eligible under their policies.
  As part of the application, you must submit:
  
  1. One (1) brief resume which must include name, email, High School, unweighted GPA, and graduation date. Submission of your resume uses the USAJOBS uploaded or resume builder type resume. Be sure to have a resume either uploaded into USAJOBS or build using the USAJOBS resume builder when applying.
  2. Personal statement (maximum of one page) which will include (submitted as an uploaded document in the documents section after transferring from USAJOBS to the NIST system):
     
     1. Description of scientific areas of interest.
     2. Description of reason for a particular choice of NIST Laboratory. (See www.nist.gov/careers/summer-high-school-intern-program-research for a list of NIST laboratories and previous SHIP projects in each.)
     3. Description of future plans after graduation from High School.
  3. One (1) copy of school transcript. (Either official or unofficial is acceptable here. If accepted into the program, an official transcript will be required. Submitted as an uploaded document in the documents section after transferring from USAJOBS to the NIST system.)
  4. Availability Form signed by you and your parents/legal guardians indicating your commitment to volunteer in-person at NIST for all days of the work week for a contiguous 8 week period during the summer if a position is offered and you accept. (Submitted as an uploaded document in the documents section after transferring from USAJOBS to the NIST system.) This can be found at www.nist.gov/careers/summer-high-school-intern-program-application-process
  5. Two (2) letters of recommendation, one of which must be from a science, technical education, engineering, or mathematics teacher. These are requested electronically through the application. You will be prompted to enter the names and email addresses of your recommenders and they will be sent an email through the system with a link used to access the system and submit the recommendation on your behalf.
  
  Please note: By design, SHIP application data entry fields are not intended for the insertion of sensitive personally identifiable information (SPII), and may contain data or detail which, in aggregate context, can be particularly sensitive or confidential. Please take Federal best practice precautions in not inserting any extraneous data or any data which is not explicitly requested. For example, since social security number and passport numbers are NOT requested, please do not enter this SPII in any SHIP data fields. You should only provide the requested information.
  If you are relying on your education to meet qualification requirements:
  Education must be accredited by an accrediting institution recognized by the U.S. Department of Education in order for it to be credited towards qualifications. Therefore, provide only the attendance and/or degrees from schools accredited by accrediting institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Education.
  Failure to provide all of the required information as stated in this vacancy announcement may result in an ineligible rating or may affect the overall rating.
• How to Apply
  In order for your application to be considered, you must complete the online questions and submit the required documents by the close date with the exception of the recommendations. Your recommenders have up to 10 business days after the close date of the announcement to submit your recommendation. But we recommend encouraging them to submit early. Please see the above section "Required Documents" for guidance on what is required and how to submit.
  
  1. To begin, log in to your USAJOBS account or create a new account at https://my.usajobs.gov. Click Apply Online to access the online application. Follow the prompts. This vacancy accepts USAJOBS built or uploaded resumes and uploaded documents. Please be sure to create or upload a resume on USAJOBS. PDF is the preferred format for all documents.
  2. Complete the online application, verify the required documentation, and submit the application.
  3. Upon clicking submit at the end of the application process, you will receive an on-screen notification that you have successfully submitted your application. Select Return to USAJOBS to verify your updated status in the USAJOBS Applications section.
  4. To verify the status of your application, log in to your USAJOBS account, https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login, and select Track this application. The Application Status page will display the status of your application, the documentation received and processed, and your responses submitted to the online application. Your uploaded documents may take several hours to clear the virus scan process.
  5. In the status information, you can also see the status of your letters of recommendation. For example, if one letter has been received you will see "1 of 2 references received". References have up to 5 days after the announcement closing date to submit their letters. If you notice a letter missing and it is close to the deadline, you may want to give your reference a friendly reminder. The system will also send an automated reminder 2 days before the final due date.
  6. To return to your saved applicationwhile the announcement is open, log in to your USAJOBS account at https://my.usajobs.gov/Account/Login and click Applications. Click on the position title, then select Edit my application. You may update your application at any time before the closing of the announcement.
  
  Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit the online application and supporting documents well before the announcement closing date.
  Problems Completing Your Application: If you have problems completing your online application, including problems submitting your supporting documents, please email ship@nist.gov.
  You must complete this application and submit all required documents by 11:59 PM EST on the announcement closing date.
  Note: Paper applications will not be accepted.
  Agency contact information
  Chantale Denis
  Phone
  000-000-0000
  Fax
  301-975-2722
  Email
  chantale.denis@nist.gov
  Address
  National Institute of Standards and Technology 100 Bureau Drive Mail Stop 1090 Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899 United States
  Next steps
  If you are accepted into SHIP, additional documentation will be required. Please see www.nist.gov/careers/summer-high-school-intern-program-selection-process for more information.
• Fair and Transparent
  The Federal hiring process is set up to be fair and transparent. Please read the following guidance.
  
  • Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Policy
  • Reasonable accommodation policy
  • Financial suitability
  • Selective Service
  • New employee probationary period
  • Signature and false statements
  • Privacy Act
  • Social security number request

Required Documents
As part of the application, you must submit:

1. One (1) brief resume which must include name, email, High School, unweighted GPA, and graduation date. Submission of your resume uses the USAJOBS uploaded or resume builder type resume. Be sure to have a resume either uploaded into USAJOBS or build using the USAJOBS resume builder when applying.
2. Personal statement (maximum of one page) which will include (submitted as an uploaded document in the documents section after transferring from USAJOBS to the NIST system):
   
   1. Description of scientific areas of interest.
   2. Description of reason for a particular choice of NIST Laboratory. (See www.nist.gov/careers/summer-high-school-intern-program-research for a list of NIST laboratories and previous SHIP projects in each.)
   3. Description of future plans after graduation from High School.
3. One (1) copy of school tra...