We advertise the Summer Jobs Program in November to students at each of the Consortium campuses. Students are asked to rank potential employers by preference, from a list of employers who have already provided materials about their companies and their activities. Our interpretation of suitable space related activities is broad, including for example aerospace, electrical, and mechanical engineering, as well as astronomy and planetary science, and life sciences in a space context. We endorse NASA's goal of emphasizing opportunities for women and minorities, and we ask employers to consider the merits of applicants from all our Consortium affiliates. We distribute applications to participating employers in early January.
Employers find varied ways of reviewing applicants.
All employers are invited to send a representative to Massachusetts to interview candidates. Some employers choose to interview their selected applicants by phone. Based on employers' choices students' indicated preferences, Space Grant matches students to employers and notifies the employers who then contact students. We encourage employers to make offers before mid March. Student typically have other opportunities in hand by this time and will be making their decisions for the summer.