Sustainable Stanford Fellowship Program

Click Here to Apply. Applications open until all positions are filled.

Program Overview:

The Sustainable Stanford Fellowship Program provides students with unique hands-on opportunities to lead sustainability initiatives that meaningfully advance the university's operational goals. This program emphasizes leadership, organizational change, and project management, fostering professional development while addressing critical sustainability challenges.

In partnership with the Office of Sustainability, the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability, and the Bill Lane Center for the American West, the program engages fellows in pre-vetted campus sustainability projects. Fellows collaborate with a wide range of departments and operational units across campus, including (but not limited to) Land, Buildings & Real Estate, Residential & Dining Enterprises, Jasper Ridge Biological Preserve, Business Affairs, and the O'Donohue Family Educational Farm.

Position Description:

Over the academic year, fellows will lead projects in areas such as renewable energy, waste systems, carbon sequestration, transportation, food systems, climate action, and environmental justice. Each fellow works under the guidance of an operational topic-area expert, with support from a project-specific advisory board composed of subject-matter experts and industry professionals.

Fellows are required to enroll in an associated one-unit course during the Fall term and present their project outcomes at the end of the academic year.

Responsibilities:

Project Management: Plan, execute, and manage sustainability projects, ensuring timely delivery and alignment with operational objectives.
Stakeholder Collaboration: Build and maintain relationships with faculty, staff, students, and advisory boards to foster input and expertise for project success.
Research and Analysis: Conduct research, gather data, and analyze metrics to inform strategies and measure progress toward sustainability goals.
Education and Outreach: Develop and deliver educational materials, outreach programs, and events to promote sustainability practices, engage stakeholders, and share project outcomes.
Reporting and Evaluation: Document project outcomes and present findings to leadership and stakeholders through detailed reports and an end-of-year symposium.

Key Details:

Commitment: 10 hours per week during the 2025-2026 academic year (September to June). Some fellows may continue during the Summer as agreed upon by their mentor.
Compensation: $25/hour.
Eligibility: Open to full-time Stanford undergraduate and graduate students with excellent communication skills, time management abilities, and a passion for sustainability.

Accepting applications until all positions are filled.

Projects for AY 2025-2026

View Fellowship Projects for 2025-2026

In Their Own Words: Insights from the 2023-2024 Living Lab Fellowship Cohort

"This fellowship was an awesome experience! Incredible opportunity to help make meaningful change on- and off-campus! Would recommend it to anyone. Learned a ton and feel like I gained such impactful work and life experience. I don't think I'd have gotten the job I'll be at post-grad if not for the skills I learned from the fellowship."

- Jeremy Rubin

"I will wholeheartedly recommend this fellowship to future students, as it has been a transformative experience for me and a great source of inspiration for my PhD research! Through this fellowship, I developed skills in change management, had the privilege of meeting renowned experts, and got to practice the art of adding just enough detail to a document to strike the right level between simplicity and complexity."

- Eleni Alexandraki

"Project management for systems change intervention is incredibly complex and not something I would have been able to learn without this hands-on experience."

- Emily Blackwell

"Very valuable experience. Will be recommending to others!"

- Sam Bunke

"The Living Lab Fellowship was more than an internship, extracurricular, or class to me. Instead it helped showcase that the goals and values that I strive to achieve are present here at Stanford while giving me pathways to continue my journey."

- Justin West