This Spring, the University of Maryland Extension (UME) will hire the fifth Cohort for 'Creating Leadership and Professional Development Through Extension Internships,' Summer 2026.
University of Maryland Extension created a summer internship program with seven interns annually paired with competent mentors. Interns will gain hands-on experience and participate in leadership and professional development training. The project will address the eight core competencies in career readiness. Along with professional development and one-on-one pairing with a faculty mentor, interns will have networking opportunities with private industry professionals. The experience will be a ten-week program in which interns work full-time.
The objectives of the project are to 1. Provide experiential learning opportunities in Extension and agricultural research to undergraduate students, including those at community colleges and underserved institutions in Maryland, through creating a summer internship; 2. Develop internal hiring and mentorship skills in UME Faculty; 3) Increase student interns' career-readiness and leadership skills; and 4. Increase the number of students from these institutions continuing their education and entering the agricultural workforce.
The grant supporting this internship program was endowed by the United States Department of Agriculture and sponsored by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture to create a summer internship program that will provide meaningful and technical skills to students at underserved institutions, community colleges, or non-Land Grant institutions to train a future agricultural workforce.
The Application for Summer Internship 2026 is open. For more information and to apply, visit https://go.umd.edu/extensioninternships.