The Community College Internship (CCI) program at PPPL is for students interested in technical careers relevant to plasma physics and fusion energy research. Students work under the guidance of laboratory staff scientists or engineers, on projects supporting PPPL's research. Internship appointments will last 16-weeks during the fall/spring terms (respectively), 10-weeks in the summer, and students are offered a stipend of $650/week.

2023 spring CCI term dates (16-weeks): On or around the second week of January through the end of April

2023 summer CCI dates (10-weeks): JUNE 5, 2023 through AUGUST 11, 2023

2023 fall CCI dates (10-weeks): On or around second week of September through the end of December

What is Expected of Each Participant:

The CCI program is intended to support the intellectual and professional development of students who have the desire to be involved in an intensive technical training experience. Selected students have the following program obligations:

• Must have proof of coverage under a health insurance plan for the duration of their internship. It is the responsibility of each participant to secure insurance coverage before arriving at the appointment site.
• Participants must conduct their internship within the United States and its Territories.
• Must complete the full 10 - week program. Students should expect to spend approximately 40 hours a week, or the equivalent of 400 hours/term under a flex-schedule, working on their projects or participating in the provided training and professional development activities.
• Must complete all required program deliverables on time.
• Must complete the entrance and exit surveys through the online system provided at the beginning of the internship. Host laboratories may choose to withhold initial or final stipend payments until the surveys have been submitted.
• Must behave in a responsible and professional manner.
• In advance of completion of their appointment, CCI participants must make a poster presentation on the outcome of their CCI related project activities, and complete and submit a 6 – 8 page project report. Report requirements and submission instructions will be provided at the beginning of the internship period.
• To help maintain accountability and accuracy of its federally-mandated assessment and reporting functions, WDTS requires funded work to appropriately acknowledge its support in the presentations and publications resulting from its funding. When acknowledging WDTS support, please use the following statement - “This work was supported in part by the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Science, Office of Workforce Development for Teachers and Scientists (WDTS) under the Community College Internships Program (CCI).”

Eligibility for the CCI program requires that all applicants:

• Must be currently enrolled as a full-time student at a community college or accredited two-year college and completed at least one semester at the time of applying. A full-time student is defined as a student who is enrolled for the number of hours or courses the school considers to be full-time attendance (as defined by the Internal Revenue Service).

• Must have completed at least 6 credit hours in science, mathematics, engineering, or technology course areas, and completed at least 12 credits hours towards a degree.

• Must have an undergraduate cumulative minimum Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale for all completed courses taken as a matriculated student at the applicant's current (or recently-graduated) institution and at any undergraduate institutions attended as a matriculated postsecondary student during the 5 years preceding the start of the current enrollment. (This does not include college or university courses taken while solely a high school student.)

• Must be 18 years or older at the time the internship begins.

• Must be a United States Citizen or Lawful Permanent Resident at the time of applying.
  
  Proof of U.S. Citizenship or Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR) status will be requested at the time an internship offer is accepted. Acceptable form of proof of U.S. Citizenship includes, but is not limited to, a Certified Birth Certificate, an U.S. State Government Issued Enhanced Driver’s License, U.S. Passport, U.S. Passport Card, Naturalization Certificate, Certificate of Citizenship, Consular Report of Birth (of U.S. citizen) Abroad, or Certification of Birth. Lawful Permanent Residents must have a current United States Permanent Resident Card (USCIS Form I-551).

• Must have earned a high school diploma or General Educational Development (GED) equivalent at the time of applying.
  
  Proof of an earned High School diploma or for passing all five GED tests required to achieve a Certificate of General Educational Development should be provided on the applicant’s undergraduate transcripts.

Additional Eligibility requirements:

• Applicants are limited to participation in CCI program to no more than two internships.
• Applicants can apply to the CCI program a maximum of three times.

Click here for previous CCI student presentations

Click here for CCI deliverables guidelines

For additional information on the CCI program and to apply, please visit the Department of Energy CCI website.  

For more information about the program, please [email protected]