There is no one “typical” Cal Energy Corps host. We work towards providing students with a wide range of opportunities from across the globe. Successful Cal Energy Corps partnerships usually involve climate and/or energy research, policy, technology, or business in both public and private sectors. The best way to find out if your organization is a good fit for Cal Energy Corps is to directly get in touch with us. We look for a diverse range of partners to provide students with unique and rewarding opportunities.

Eligible applicants to the Cal Energy Corps are highly motivated and talented UC Berkeley undergraduate students in good academic standing, from a wide range of disciplines and majors. They tend to have a passion and curiosity for addressing energy and climate issues by conducting hands-on research in areas such as renewable energy, carbon policy, buildings efficiency, and sustainable design.

Student interns will be selected on a rolling basis. Interested students submit applications online which includes a 3-page Statement of Purpose, academic transcript, a Letter of Recommendation from a UC Berkeley faculty member or approved supervisor, resume, as well as indicates placement preference(s). 

An interdisciplinary selection committee reviews all eligible applications to identify top student candidates on the basis of merit and matches each internship opportunity with qualified applicants. We then provide candidate materials to host organizations for consideration and to confirm for us whether they would like to proceed with interviewing the student(s). Upon receiving confirmed approval to proceed, Cal Energy Corps will notify students of selection into the program and connect them with the host organization for scheduling interviews. Hosts are under no obligation to proceed with hiring candidates subsequent to the interview if not deemed the right fit. We then continue to provide you with other qualified candidates as may be available until one is successfully selected for hire.

Internship placements take place over the summer (between mid-May to mid-August) and are anywhere from 8-12 weeks depending upon the needs of the host and the availability of the student to work. The minimum duration is 8 weeks and the maximum duration is 12 weeks.

1. Offer one or more full time placements (40 hours per week for 8-12 weeks) in the summer for selected intern(s).
2. Assign a supervisor that can provide for direct mentorship of the intern(s) and serve as a communications liaison between your organization and Cal Energy Corps over the course of the internship process; from candidate selection to the end-of-program Symposium.
3. Provide us with brief details regarding your internship plan requirements for the student (e.g.product deliverables such as reports, presentations, posters; frequency/type of check-ins, etc.). If these are not known at the beginning of the internship, please provide details to us once known.
4. Cover salary costs at an hourly rate that meets or exceeds the City of Berkeley’s current minimum wage requirements for the duration of the internship. The program’s current hourly rate is set at $17 per hour, but is subject to change based on any increases to the City’s minimum wage requirement that would exceed this rate at the time of employment. The hourly rate offered to interns may be higher at the host’s discretion with notice provided to Cal Energy Corps.

Over the years, we’ve heard from program partners and students that it is often preferred when host organizations are able to hire students directly, though we are also able to hire the students here at Cal. We work with our UC Berkeley HR and payroll departments to directly employ and pay the student. You don’t have to deal with FICA, withholding, and other employment paper work. Host organizations are then billed once for all student internship costs at the end of the program. Note that if the student is directly hired at Cal that benefits, insurance and administrative costs will be accounted and invoiced for, in addition to the salary paid.

  The Cal Energy Corps offers a competitive salary in order to attract the best and brightest of our students to the program. We want to ensure that all students, regardless of their financial means, can participate in the program. This helps us to base our selections on the merit of the candidate alone. At this time, we are unfortunately not able to support program partners in finding external funding for internship placements. If your organization cannot cover costs then it will not be able to participate in this year’s program.

Thank you for your interest! Please fill out our non-binding Host Intent Form, and we will be in touch with further information. Those organizations interested in participating should register as soon as possible, but by no later than December 31, 2021. You should expect to be connected with potential interns by no later than April 15, 2022, with internships able to start after school ends (mid-May) and ending 8‐12 weeks later. All internships must end before the start of the Fall semester (mid-August).

We appreciate your support for the Cal Energy Corps program. Please visit our Donate page to learn more about other ways of supporting the program. The Cal Energy Corps program under UC Berkeley is a non-profit organization. Any gifts, including those that directly support an internship placement, are entirely tax-deductible.