Description

We are looking for undergraduate students (U.S. citizens and permanent residents) for a six-week (June 12-July 26, 2026) intensive field internship conducting research in a recently established coffee experiment, investigating effects of shade, nitrogen source, and fungicides on fungal community composition and diversity. Four U.S. students will work closely in pairs with Costa Rican students, assisting the research team and designing and completing independent field projects in coffee. 

Field work will be in Las Cruces Biological Station, San Vito, Costa Rica during the rainy season, often under hot and humid conditions. 

Round-trip flights to Costa Rica, transport to the field station, and room and board in shared dorms at the field station will be paid for by the project. In addition, each student will receive a weekly stipend.

Requirements

Applicant should be a current undergraduate in the natural or agricultural sciences, interested in learning about cryptic fungi while working closely with Latin American students and farmers. Need to be comfortable living in close quarters with other students full-time for six weeks. Students bilingual in Spanish and English and from groups that are traditionally underrepresented in the sciences are especially encouraged to apply. To apply, submit 1) unofficial transcripts, 2) curriculum vitae, 3) names and emails of three people able to provide references, and 4) a half-page statement explaining your interest in and goals for the internship as a single PDF file to Drs. Laura Aldrich-Wolfe and Efraín Escudero Leyva at laura.aldrichwolfe@ndsu.edu by February 20th