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N.C. Plant Sciences Initiative

Professional Development Opportunities

Events and Conferences
Internships and Fellowships
Other Opportunities
Additional Resources

Events and Conferences

BASF’s 2025 North American Research Forum

BASF invites Ph.D. students and postdoctoral researchers to apply for the 2025 North American Research Forum. The Research Forum includes an all-expenses-paid visit to showcase your research and learn about careers at BASF.

Application Deadline: Friday, May 2, 2025
Location: Wyandotte, MI
Date: July 7-9, 2025

Learn more and apply 

SAPLINGS “AI in Ag” Graduate Student Training Award

The SAPLINGS “Al in Ag” Training Award provides 1 year of support to N.C. PSI-affiliated Ph.D. students engaged in machine learning and Al research to identify new solutions in agriculture. We invite N.C. PSI-affiliated faculty to nominate a doctoral student for this 1-year award. Research should focus on the application of Machine Learning, Data Science and/or Al to plant science or agricultural use-cases.

Application Deadline: May 16, 2025 at 5 p.m.

Learn more and apply 

N.C. PSI Science Communication & Art Award

Three awards of $1000 each will be awarded to N.C. PSI-affiliated graduate students who will collaborate with a PSI Artist in Residence, Leah Sobsey, to create a plant science art installation for fall 2025. The exhibit will communicate research through art, and aims to engage visitors to the N.C. PSI to view agricultural research through new perspectives. 

Applications Due:  5/15/2025

Learn more and apply

2025 N.C. PSI Hackathon

The N.C. PSI Hackathon is an exciting opportunity for students to tackle real-world challenges at the intersection of agriculture, technology, and data science. By participating, students gain hands-on experience applying their skills in coding, design, and problem-solving in a dynamic, interdisciplinary environment. The hackathon offers 3 tracks of different difficulty levels, and prizes for winning teams in each track. 

Hackathon Dates: September 12-14, 2025

Learn more and Register

NC State Career Fairs

Explore upcoming career fairs and events offered by various colleges and disciplines across NC State!

Office of University Interdisciplinary Programs

Discover OUIP’s list of interdisciplinary events across NC State

2026 Field Days

Explore commodity-specific events across the state

Conferences

SAS Innovate 2025

May 6-9, 2025
Orlando, FL

Learn more and register 

2025 NC ACE Women’s Network Annual Conference

May 30, 2025
Greensboro, NC

Learn more and register 

18th International Symposium on Soil and Plant Analysis

June 9-13, 2025
Durham, NC

Learn more and register 

International Conference on Plant Vascular Biology

July 7-11, 2025
Osaka, Japan

Learn more and register 

2025 SEB Annual Conference

July 8-11, 2025
Antwerp, Belgium

Learn more and register 

Esri User Conference

July 14–18, 2025
San Diego, California

Learn more and register 

Plant Biology 2025

July 26-30, 2025
Milwaukee, WI

Learn more and register 

Upcoming PSI Events

All PSI Events
May 28

Wednesday9:00 AM

N.C. PSI Pitch Open Session
May 30

Friday1:30 PM

SAS Viya for Learners Faculty Workshop
Jul 18

Friday12:00 PM

STEPS: Research Experience for Teachers Poster Session

Internships and Fellowships

CEFS Graduate Fellowship

The goal of the CEFS Fellows program is to support future food and agriculture systems leaders through networking and professional development. The Fellowship provides graduate students with $5,000 per year. Master’s students may apply for one year and Ph.D. students for two years.
Open to graduate students
Application Deadline: Friday, May 30, 2025 at 11:59 p.m.
APPLY NOW!

NSF I-Corps Program

The I-Corps Program at NC State offers a NSF training program aimed at helping scientists and engineers extend their ideas, research and inventions into the marketplace. This program consists of a four-session course focused on entrepreneurship and exploring the commercial viability of innovations.

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
Program Dates Vary 
*If accepted, your team will be placed in the next available cohort.
Learn more and apply

Learn more and apply 
Man in a research lab

SMART Scholarship-for-Service Program

Offers STEM students who are currently pursuing a bachelor’s, master’s, or Ph.D. a full scholarship, internships, annual stipends, and guaranteed employment with the Department of Defense.

Applications Deadline: December 1 at 5:00 p.m. EST
The SMART Program accepts applications annually from August 1 to December 1.

Learn more and apply 
Oak Ridge National Labs

Student Opportunities at Oak Ridge National Laboratory

Enhance your expertise and collaborate with many of the nation’s leading science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) experts as you complete your research. Opportunities are available for current undergraduate and graduate students to participate as members of research teams at ORNL. All internships come with a stipend.

Learn more 

NC State LanchPad

NC State Innovation and Entrepreneurship has developed an incubator program to support early-stage undergraduate and graduate student startups.

Learn more and apply

Other Opportunities

N.C. PSI Educational Outreach Opportunities

There are many ways to get involved with the N.C. PSI’s Educational Programs for K-12 students. Whether its developing activities from your research, talking with students about career paths, or getting hands-on in the demo lab, the possibilities are endless. Click the link below to learn about some of the ways you can help out!

Learn More and Volunteer
N.C. PSI graduate students teach high school students how to perform experiments in the Demo Lab.
N.C. PSI graduate students teach high school students in the CAALS 3D program how to perform experiments in the Demo Lab.

Resources

Career resources

The Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR) Job Board

International and domestic postdoctoral, faculty, research, field technician positions and more are listed for those interested in plant science careers.

Visit 

Plantae’s Career Center

Search for jobs, internships and mentorships in the US and abroad across a variety of industries and types of institutions.

Visit 

Ag Career Job Board

Search by sector, specialty and career type for job opportunities in every stage of the food system.

Visit 

National Society of Professional Engineers (NSPE) Job Board

Job opportunities in ag engineering and all other engineering disciplines.

Visit 

NC State Career Development Center

Take advantage of university career resources available to all NC State students

Explore 

N.C. PSI Certificate Programs

N.C. PSI offers two certificate programs, one for Ag Data Science and the other for Regulatory Science in Agriculture.

Discover