Integrating research, education, and outreach to enhance and preserve freshwater resources.

Visit our undergraduate funding and opportunities website!

Undergraduate Internships and Fall Scholarships Announcements

Summer 2026 AWRI internship applications are now available! Are you a GVSU undergraduate student interested in conducting your own research this summer? Students from any discipline (as long as it can relate to water resources) are encouraged to apply for up to 8 internships that will take place from May to August 2026. Interns will join a lab at AWRI for 40 hours per week for 14 weeks and will receive money for wages, a travel allowance, and supplies for their research. Summer intern applications are due by 5 PM on Friday, February 20, 2026.

Students that will be at the junior, senior, or graduate level at GVSU in fall 2026 are also encouraged apply for the Bill & Diana Wipperfurth Student Research Scholarship. Applicants must be available to conduct research at AWRI for 10 hours per week for 15 weeks in the fall 2026 semester. Students must apply by Sunday, March 1, 2026.

Official internship and scholarship announcements and instructions on how to apply can be found on our website at www.gvsu.edu/wri/undergraduate-fundingopportunities-41.htm.

Apply now to AWRI's graduate research assistantship!

Graduate Research Assistantships

The Annis Water Resources Institute (AWRI) at Grand Valley State University (GVSU) has several Graduate Research Assistantships available to full-time students interested in pursuing a Master of Science degree in Biology with an emphasis in aquatic sciences. Graduate assistantships include a generous 12-month stipend and tuition waiver that is eligible for annual renewal. Accepted applicants will assist with research projects conducted by faculty and staff at AWRI in addition to performing research related to their thesis/project.

AWRI maintains state-of-the-art analytical and molecular laboratories, a mesocosm facility, two research vessels, and several smaller watercraft. AWRI is located on Muskegon Lake in Muskegon, MI, on the shores of Lake Michigan. The Institute is located approximately 30-miles from the main campus of GVSU.

Please visit the AWRI graduate studies website for more information on the application process and on our faculty, facilities, research programs, and educational/outreach initiatives. More information about the Master of Science Program is available on the Biology Department website (www.gvsu.edu/grad/biology/).

Contact: Stuart Jones, (AWRI Executive Director), [email protected]; (616) 331-3749 or Eric Snyder (Biology Graduate Program Coordinator), [email protected]; (616) 331-2417.

Science Instructor Job Openings

Want to work on the water with us? AWRI’s vessel program is accepting applications on a rolling basis for science instructors for the W.G. Jackson, D.J. Angus, and/or land-based programs. Learn more and apply online at https://gvsu.wd1.myworkdayjobs.com/en-US/careers/details/Science-Instructor---AWRI--Temp-Hourly-_R102315.

Lead Captain Job Opening

Fleet Captain Eric Hecox is recruiting a Lead Captain to crew AWRI's passenger vessel W.G. Jackson, located in Muskegon, MI. Read this full job advertisement for more information and details on how to apply.