U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) offers students and recent graduates several paths to Federal employment through enriching experiences. There is no better time than the present to make the career -related decisions that will create valuable opportunities that support your career path.
NIFA is part of USDA’s Research, Education, and Economics (REE) mission area. The agency administers federal funding to address the agricultural issues impacting people’s daily lives and the nation’s future and provides leadership and funding for programs that advance agriculture-related sciences. We invest in and support initiatives that ensure the long-term viability of agriculture. NIFA applies an integrated approach to ensure that groundbreaking discoveries in agriculture-related sciences and technologies reach the people who can put them into practice.
NIFA offers different pathway opportunities for students and recent graduates to work in the agricultural, science, technology, math, environmental, management and business fields.
Pathways for Students and Recent Graduates
The Pathways Internship Program provides year-round paid work experiences for current degree-seeking high-school, undergraduate, and graduate students. Interns may work during the summer, fall, spring or year-round and are eligible for non-competitive conversion upon program completion.
This program is for graduates within two years of degree or certificate completion, and for veterans within 6 years of obtaining a degree. Fellows are placed in a one-year career development program that may be non-competitively converted upon completion of program requirements
Presidential Management Fellows
The Presidential Management Fellows Program is the flagship leadership development program for advanced degree candidates. In addition to salary and benefits, fellows earn a two-year appointment that may be converted to a permanent appointment.
1890 National Scholars Program
As a partnership between USDA and the 1890 historically black land-grant colleges and universities, the USDA 1890 National Scholars Program provides full tuition, fees, books, room and board to selected students pursuing a bachelors degree in agriculture, food, natural resource sciences, or related academic disciplines at one of 19 designated 1890s land-grant universities. When the student has completed the academic and summer work requirements of the scholarship, USDA may at its discretion convert the student to a permanent employee without further competition.
1994 Tribal Scholars Program
The USDA 1994 Tribal Scholars Program seeks to increase the number of American Indian and Alaska Native students studying agriculture, food, natural resource sciences, and related disciplines. Eligible students are those that plan to attend and are enrolled, currently attend, or recently graduated from a Tribal College or University. The program provides full tuition, employment, housing or a living stipend, employee benefits, fees, and books each year for up to 4 years to selected students at one of 35 federally recognized Tribal Colleges and Universities and continuing at other higher education institutions. When the student has completed the scholarship requirements, including a paid internship, USDA may convert the student to a permanent USDA employee without
further competition.
Third-Party Internship Programs
USDA partners with a wide variety of organizations to provide students the opportunity to work with our 29 agencies and offices and gain practical experience in different fields. Each of these programs provide differing benefits for students. Recruitment and selection are completed by the host programs.
To learn more about other opportunities follow the link below.
The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) is a nonprofit organization that advocates on behalf of Hispanic-
Serving Institutions (HSIs) representing more than 500 member institutions across the United States. The HACU National Internship
Program places students in federal and corporate internships. USDA has partnered with the HACU for more than 28 years to
provide over 3,000 college students with paid spring, summer, or fall internships at various USDA offices in Washington, D.C. as
well as field offices. The program gives undergraduate and graduate students valuable professional experience in the federal sector.
Students are recruited based on academic performance, leadership, and community service. Future Leaders in Public Service
Internship Program.
TMCF supports students in the fields of science, technology, engineering, agricultural, mathematics, and business at Historically
Black Colleges and Universities. This program accepts undergraduate students with at least a sophomore standing, graduate, and
professional students. Applicants must maintain at least a 3.0 GPA with strong verbal and written communication skills.
USDA made a historic $262.5 million investment in 2023 in over 60 minority-serving institutions across the United States and Insular
Areas to recruit, train, and retain the next generation of leaders in food, agricultural, natural resources and human sciences
fields. A wide array of new scholarships, internships, and experiential learning opportunities are available through these colleges
and universities for K-12, high school students, two and four year undergraduate students, and graduate students.
Search Jobs
We encourage all interested individuals to apply for positions at USDA, including veterans, people with disabilities, and surplus or displaced Federal employees. The application process starts with creating profile on the USAJOBS website. Then, you can search for a specific job by keyword, agency, location, salary, occupation, etc.
Click the button below to jump start your search today!