Marine Energy Fellowship Postgraduate Track 2027: Up to $6,667 Monthly Stipend and $10,000 Travel and Education Support

Marine Energy Fellowship Postgraduate Track 2027: Up to $6,667 Monthly Stipend and $10,000 Travel and Education Support

The U.S. Department of Energy Marine Energy Fellowship Program offers a paid research appointment for recent graduates whose work connects to marine energy, water technologies, or related H2O research priorities. The Postgraduate Track is administered by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE). It combines a defined project at a Department of Energy approved host facility with a substantial monthly stipend, a health insurance supplement, and additional money for travel and education.

The 2027 application year has two entry windows. The summer 2027 cycle opened on September 14, 2026 and closes on December 11, 2026. The fall cycle opens on December 21, 2026 and closes on March 26, 2027. Summer appointments are expected to begin between May and July 2027; fall appointments are expected to begin between August and October 2027. The official page says fellows and mentors coordinate a 12-month appointment, and research may be conducted virtually, in a hybrid arrangement, or onsite, subject to the host facility’s arrangements.

This is a focused research fellowship rather than a general scholarship or an entry-level job board. The application asks you to propose a project, identify a host-facility mentor, and show that your skills and research goals match marine-energy needs. A strong applicant will therefore do substantial preparation before opening the Zintellect application, including contacting a plausible mentor and making sure the proposed work can be completed in a 12-month appointment.

Key details at a glance

The stipend figures are the amounts published for the Postgraduate Track. They are not a promise of an employee salary: ORISE states that participants are program participants and do not enter an employee-employer relationship with ORISE, ORAU, DOE, or the host facility.

What the fellowship provides

The main benefit is a research appointment with a host facility working in an area aligned with the Department of Energy’s H2O mission and marine research priorities. The project can be performed virtually, in a hybrid format, or onsite, depending on what the host can support. That flexibility can help a candidate whose best mentor is not located near home, but it does not remove the need for a real host arrangement. Appointments are subject to completion of the arrangements with the host facility.

The monthly stipend is tiered by the highest relevant completed degree: $5,000 for a post-bachelor’s participant, $5,833 for a post-master’s participant, and $6,667 for a postdoctoral participant. The page also lists a health insurance supplement. A travel and education allowance of up to $10,000 can support eligible professional or research-related costs. Candidates who temporarily relocate or travel to a host facility may receive a pre- or post-appointment travel allowance of up to $4,000 when eligible.

The program also creates a structured professional-development experience. Participants are expected to complete the research objectives in their plan, follow Department of Energy ethical guidance, and demonstrate professional judgment. At the end, they submit a final report about the fellowship experience and complete a post-appointment survey. These requirements mean you should treat the appointment as a deliverable-based research project, not as an open-ended period to explore any topic you like.

Who is eligible

The published eligibility rules require that applicants be U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. Applicants must be recent graduates of an accredited U.S. college or university. The qualifying degree can be a bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree, but it must come from a program requiring a thesis. If you are still pursuing the degree when you apply, it must be conferred by the appointment start date. If you have already graduated, the degree must have been conferred within 36 months of the anticipated appointment start date.

The research, development, or testing background must align with the H2O mission and marine research priorities. That does not mean your degree has to carry the words “marine energy.” The relevant evidence could come from an engineering thesis, laboratory project, numerical model, field study, controls work, materials research, environmental analysis, or another technical project that genuinely supports a marine-energy question. The application should make that connection explicit rather than asking reviewers to infer it from a broad degree title.

The program lists the same opportunity without regard to race, color, age, sex, religion, national origin, disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, or covered-veteran status. A candidate should still check every current condition on the official page and in the specific Zintellect posting, since the host project may include additional technical or scheduling requirements.

How to choose a project and mentor

The proposed project is the center of the application. ORISE asks for a title and description covering the project’s aims and learning objectives, how the work supports the host facility’s mission, the host facility and mentor’s role, a timeline, expected outcomes, and relevance to Department of Energy marine-energy priority areas. A concise project that answers each of those questions will be easier to review than a broad essay about the importance of clean energy.

Start by reading the current research opportunities catalog and the host-facilities information on the official Marine Energy Fellowship site. Identify a project area where your existing skills are useful within a 12-month term. Then contact a potential mentor with a short note that includes your degree status, one or two relevant projects, the problem you want to study, and why that host’s facilities or expertise are needed. Ask whether the mentor is available for the 2027 cycle and whether a virtual, hybrid, or onsite arrangement is realistic.

Do not wait until the final week to request the required mentor letter. The letter must show that the mentor knows and agrees with the proposed project and will host you if you are selected. A generic recommendation that never mentions the project will not demonstrate the host-facility support the review rubric asks for.

How to apply in Zintellect

Applications are submitted through Zintellect, ORISE’s online application management system. Create the profile early so that you can learn the document fields and confirm that your account can upload searchable PDFs. The official instructions say email, postal-mail, and fax submissions are not considered. Supporting documents must be uploaded as PDF files, each no larger than 10 MB, and files should not require a password or special certificate to open. Documents must be in English or include an official English translation.

A complete Postgraduate Track application includes the following items:

1. A completed Zintellect profile.
2. The proposed project, including aims, learning objectives, host role, mentor role, timeline, expected outcomes, and marine-energy relevance.
3. Academic records showing current degree enrollment or a qualifying degree from a thesis-required bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral program.
4. A letter of support from the proposed host-facility mentor.
5. A professional summary describing your knowledge, skills, and background in an area aligned with marine energy.
6. A current resume or CV limited to two pages.

The application page says eligibility and compliance are checked first. Eligible applications then move to Department of Energy merit review. The review rubric allocates 40% to skills and research alignment, 30% to relevance to marine energy, and 30% to host-facility support. Use that weighting as a practical editing checklist: your documents should establish technical capability, explain the marine-energy problem, and show that the mentor and facility can actually support the work.

Timeline and deadline planning

For the summer 2027 appointment, the application opened September 14, 2026 and closes Friday, December 11, 2026. Summer starts are expected between May and July 2027. The fall 2027 application opens Monday, December 21, 2026 and closes Friday, March 26, 2027, with expected starts between August and October 2027. The page does not give a single selection-notification date, so do not invent one in your planning. Instead, allow time after the deadline for eligibility review, merit review, host coordination, and any requested follow-up.

A useful schedule is to spend the first week checking degree timing and citizenship status, the next two weeks identifying host projects, and the following weeks drafting the project description and requesting the mentor letter. Reserve several days before submission to convert documents to searchable PDFs, check page limits, and verify that every required field is complete. If the summer window is not feasible, the fall window is a genuine second opportunity in the same 2027 application year.

What reviewers need to see

The strongest submission will connect three kinds of evidence. First, show that you can do the proposed work: cite a thesis method, codebase, experiment, dataset, design, publication, or technical role that demonstrates relevant skills. Second, define the marine-energy problem precisely. Explain what will be measured, modeled, built, tested, or analyzed, and why the result matters to a DOE marine-energy priority. Third, show a credible host match. Name the facility’s capability, explain the mentor’s contribution, and identify what access or expertise you cannot obtain alone.

Keep the scope proportional to twelve months. A project with two measurable aims and a realistic timeline is more persuasive than a national-scale plan with no path to completion. State the assumptions that affect the work, such as data access, equipment availability, simulation inputs, or field constraints. Reviewers are not asking for certainty, but they do need to see that you have considered how the project will proceed if one method fails.

The professional summary and two-page CV should reinforce the same story. Put the most relevant technical evidence near the top, define specialized terms, and make your individual contribution clear when a project was collaborative. A mentor should be able to read the package and understand both what you already know and what the fellowship will teach you.

Common mistakes to avoid

A common error is applying with a topic that is merely about the ocean or climate but has no clear marine-energy connection. Tie the research to a device, system, resource, environmental interaction, modeling problem, materials issue, controls question, or other marine-energy need. Another mistake is treating the mentor letter as a formality. The letter is part of the 30% host-support criterion, so it should confirm the project and the mentor’s commitment.

Do not exceed the two-page CV limit, upload unreadable scans, or send documents outside Zintellect. Do not assume that a degree from any institution qualifies without checking the accredited U.S. college or university rule and thesis requirement. Do not describe the stipend as a salary or imply that the fellowship creates employee benefits beyond the listed health insurance supplement. Finally, do not promise an onsite arrangement before the host facility confirms that it can be provided.

Frequently asked questions

Can an international graduate apply?

The published Postgraduate Track eligibility requires U.S. citizenship or lawful permanent residence. A non-U.S. citizen who does not hold lawful permanent resident status should not assume that a host invitation changes that rule.

Must the appointment be onsite?

No. The official page allows virtual, hybrid, or onsite research at an H2O-approved host facility. The actual arrangement must be coordinated with the mentor and completed with the host.

What if I am still finishing my degree?

You may apply while pursuing the degree, but the qualifying degree must be conferred by the appointment start date. Build enough time into your plan for the institution to issue the required academic record.

Is the fellowship an ORISE or DOE job?

No. ORISE states that participants are not employees of ORISE, ORAU, DOE, or the hosting facility. The stipend and allowances are fellowship support under the program’s appointment terms.

Is the $10,000 allowance automatic?

The page describes a travel and education allowance of up to $10,000. Treat “up to” as a ceiling, not a guaranteed payment, and verify eligible expenses and approval procedures in the current posting.

Where can I ask questions?

ORISE lists [email protected] for Marine Energy Fellowship questions. For technical problems with the Zintellect system, the official page lists [email protected].

Official links and next steps

Start with the official ORISE Postgraduate Track page for the current eligibility, allowance, timeline, and document rules. Review the current research opportunities catalog to identify a project and host facility, then create the required Zintellect profile. Before submitting, ask your proposed mentor to confirm the project description and support letter, check that your degree date falls within the 36-month window, and upload searchable PDFs well before the December 11, 2026 summer-cycle deadline.