Ultimately, students should gain first hand experience in research and contribute to their group's work. Application to the program is open to United States residents, and students usually apply at the begining of spring semester their sophomore and junior years . Projects, application procedures, and deadlines vary from school to school, so students should visit the NSF list of projects and the list maintained by UIUC for more information. UGS is a year-round educational program that provides students with relevant research experience while they pursue an undergraduate degree. The research complement the student's academic program and introduces the student to the intellectual and physical resources present at DOE laboratories.
Fellowships are available during the spring, summer, and fall terms.
Global change research encompasses a wide variety of study areas, including atmospheric sciences, ecology, global carbon cycles, climatology, and terrestrial processes. A major goal of GCEP is to involve undergraduate students at the end of their sophomore or junior year in BER-supported global change research, then continue this experience during subsequent undergraduate summers. Through the Cooperative Education Office, Co-op students alternate semesters of work with semesters of study, generally 3 to 4 times with the same employer. Completion of the co-op program requires one calendar year of work experience with the same employer, so students need to figure out when they will work and when they will stay on campus for classes. The Cooperative Education Office handles internships as well as the co-op program.