High school agriculture internship and research fellowship
This high school agriculture internship lets students in Grades 9 to 12 study how food is grown and how farming affects the climate, with a mentor who guides each step. You run growing trials with compost at home or at school, learn to estimate the carbon footprint of a crop and write up your results as a research report.
For school students who take IB Biology, ESS or geography and are curious about soil, food and how farming is changing with the climate. Online, with field work near home and a parent or guardian present at every self-guided activity. The fellowship is paid because every student receives time and attention from senior researchers and leaders.
Why agriculture matters for sustainability
Farming needs a steady climate, and farming also adds to climate change. Flooded rice fields give off methane, and fields treated with nitrogen fertiliser give off nitrous oxide. Soil that holds more organic matter, for example from compost, stores more water and carbon. As heat and rainfall shift, farmers have to change what they grow and when. Agricultural scientists help them choose methods that protect harvests and cut emissions.
In zero waste housing societies, Earth5R’s drum composters, designed from reused industrial containers, turn wet waste into compost. Earth5R has also run rooftop plantations with women in informal settlements and green school projects. One flagship FIELDWORK project, with a NASA and Columbia University scientist, studies climate change and basmati rice across the Gangetic Plain. As a fellow you study soil, compost and crops near your home, with a mentor guiding your method.
This work links to the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 2, Zero hunger and Goal 13, Climate action.
Available projects in this high school agriculture internship
Each project fits around school work and takes place near home. Your mentor shapes the final project with you.
Compost and plant growth
Grow the same plants in pots with and without compost from a home or society composter, and compare growth, water holding and soil texture over several weeks.
Growing food in small spaces
Study growing on balconies, terraces or in your school garden, including plants in upcycled containers, and record what grows well and how much water and compost it needs.
Carbon footprint of a crop
Learn the basics of carbon accounting by estimating the emissions of a crop such as rice from published figures, and compare methods such as flooding fields and fertiliser use.
Rice and a changing climate
Take a question from the flagship project on climate change and basmati rice, and study public rainfall and temperature records for one district alongside published research on rice.
What you do in the field
- Set up a simple growing trial at home or at school
- Record plant growth and soil with dated photos
- Talk to family members, gardeners or growers about their methods
- Estimate emissions with published figures in a spreadsheet
- Read public weather records and published research
- Present your results in a research conversation and answer questions
Skills you build
On a high school agriculture internship, you collect your own data near home with a parent or guardian, using the Earth5R app and data forms. Earth5R checks the data on its platform before it goes into your project report.
How a high school agriculture internship fits your school programme
For IB, IGCSE, CBSE and ICSE students. Your school decides what counts towards its own requirements.
IB CAS
Setting up a compost-fed school garden and tracking what it grows can form a CAS project with a service element. Your CAS coordinator decides whether it qualifies.
Extended Essay and IA
A growing trial gives you a clear question, a fair test and your own data. It can support a biology or ESS Extended Essay or IA, and your supervisor decides.
MYP, IGCSE and CBSE projects
A compost or growing trial can fit the MYP Personal Project and the project work in IGCSE, CBSE and ICSE biology or geography, if your school approves it.
University applications
A verified record of a trial you ran and a carbon estimate you worked out gives you a specific example to discuss in a personal statement.
How the high school agriculture internship works
Every student moves through four phases. Your mentor checks each phase before you move on, and sessions pause during board exams.
Observe and Map
Go into the field near home, with a parent or guardian, and collect primary data for your project in Agriculture and Food Systems.
Frame and Design
Find the root cause in your data and frame a problem worth solving, with your mentor.
Model
Build a working model, analysis or design for your solution, and test it.
Build and Deploy
Put your solution to work, measure the result and publish a verified record on earth5r.org.
Along the way you take part in research conversations with professors at MIT, Oxford, Cambridge, LSE and other universities, and ask your own questions. See how FIELDWORK works.
Where this can take you
University courses this leads to
- BSc in Agriculture or Agricultural Science
- BSc in Plant Sciences
- BSc in Food Science or Food Systems
- BSc in Environmental Science
- BSc in Soil Science or Agronomy
Careers in this field
- Agronomist or soil scientist
- Sustainable farming adviser
- Agricultural climate analyst
- Food systems researcher
- Sustainability analyst at a food company
Universities to aim for in Agriculture and Food Systems
Agriculture and food science admissions tutors look for students who have tested an idea in soil or with growers and can explain their results with numbers. A high school agriculture internship with FIELDWORK gives you a trial you ran, a report your mentor reviewed and a profile that admissions teams can check. Students use a high school agriculture internship to build a record of real work for applications to universities like these.
Wageningen University & Research
Netherlands · Bachelor’s in International Land and Water Management
Wageningen’s three-year Bachelor’s in International Land and Water Management is taught in English. First-year subjects include soil and water, agronomy and hydraulics, and the second year covers irrigation and erosion control. Students finish with an internship and a research project abroad.
University of California, Davis (UC Davis)
USA · College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CA&ES)
The College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at UC Davis groups its undergraduate majors around climate change, feeding communities and social impact. Its initiatives include Controlled Environment Agriculture and Soil Health, and its departments research agriculture, the environment and human sciences.
USA · College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS)
Cornell’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences offers undergraduate degrees and majors through a curriculum that students can shape to their interests. Its research and teaching cover agriculture, plants, animals, food, climate change, the environment and global development.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
USA · College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences (ACES)
The College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences at Illinois offers undergraduate degrees and certificates, among them the Agribusiness and Sustainable Food Production Economics Certificate. Its research falls into four areas, including Agriculture & Environment, and aims to keep food and fuel supply chains sustainable.
Switzerland · Agricultural Sciences programme, Department of Environmental Systems Science (D-USYS)
ETH’s Bachelor’s in Agricultural Sciences, run by the Department of Environmental Systems Science, focuses on current questions in agriculture and food production. It takes at least three years and includes a compulsory 10-week internship. Bachelor’s teaching at ETH is mainly in German.
UK · School of Agriculture, Policy and Development
Reading’s School of Agriculture, Policy and Development teaches undergraduates and offers a placement year. Its five departments include Crop Science and Sustainable Land Management, and research covers sustainable food production, food security and climate change adaptation. Facilities include arable and dairy farms.
Australia · Bachelor of Agricultural Science
UQ’s three-year Bachelor of Agricultural Science is taught at the Gatton campus, with majors in Animal Science and Crop Science. Core courses include Sustainable Agricultural & Animal Systems. Crop Science students study soil health and learn to manage climate risks, and the majors include an industry placement.
University of British Columbia (UBC)
Canada · Sustainable Agriculture and Environment, Bachelor of Science in Applied Biology, Faculty of Land and Food Systems
UBC’s Sustainable Agriculture and Environment programme leads to a four-year Bachelor of Science in Applied Biology from the Faculty of Land and Food Systems. Students learn to produce food while protecting soil, water and air, with practical learning at the Centre for Sustainable Food Systems at UBC Farm.
New Zealand · Bachelor of Agricultural Science
Lincoln’s Bachelor of Agricultural Science covers the science behind farming, animal and plant production, and soil and nutrient management. Students learn to apply sustainability strategies and see how they affect the whole food chain, from the farm to the consumer.
This list is for guidance. These universities offer undergraduate study in Agriculture and Food Systems. Earth5R has no admissions arrangement with them, and admission decisions rest with each university. Students get help researching universities, scholarships and applications, depending on the programme.
What your fellowship fee pays for
An internship fellowship at Earth5R is time and attention from senior researchers and leaders. Each part below takes staff time and resources that we set aside for every fellow.
Live mentoring with experts
One-to-one mentoring in most fellowships, with regular check-ins on your project.
Dialogues with global researchers
Academics from international universities and renowned scientists, who answer your questions and discuss your work.
Support in the field
Guidance while you collect data and work on your project in the field.
References for your next step
References when you apply for jobs, higher studies and research programmes.
Your work, hosted for life
Your work and data stay on Earth5R’s website and servers for life, where universities and employers can check them.
Time from senior people
Each fellow receives time and attention from senior researchers and leaders, set aside for them.
Fee details available on request.
Choose your fellowship
The Multi-Year Fellowship can run from Grade 9 to Grade 12, with more scope each year.
The fee pays for live mentoring, dialogues with global researchers, support in the field, references and lifelong hosting of your work. Fee details available on request.
High school agriculture internship: common questions
Do we need a farm or garden at home for this high school agriculture internship?
No. Pots on a balcony, a window sill or a school garden are enough for most trials. If you live near farms, you can add interviews with growers, with a parent present. Your mentor helps you choose a project that fits where you live.
What is carbon accounting in farming?
It’s a way to estimate the greenhouse gases a farm or crop gives off and stores, using published figures. You learn the basics, apply them to one crop or method and explain what the numbers can and can’t tell you.
Can I join if I live in a city?
Yes. Compost trials, container growing, school gardens and desk research on crops all work in a city flat. You can also study food waste in your building or the produce sold at a local market, with a parent present.
Is the high school agriculture internship paid?
Yes. FIELDWORK is a paid, mentored programme. The fee pays for live mentoring, dialogues with global researchers, support in the field, references and lifelong hosting of your work. Fee details are available on request.
Can my child do this high school agriculture internship online?
Yes. Mentoring sessions run online, and field work takes place near where you live.
Is a parent or guardian present during field work?
Yes. A parent or guardian is present at every self-guided field activity. Online sessions are for students.
Does FIELDWORK pause during board exams?
Yes. Sessions pause during board exams, so the fellowship fits around school work.
What do students get at the end?
A certificate, a letter of recommendation, a project report and a verified profile on earth5r.org, where universities can check the work.
Related subjects for school students
Already at university? See the Agriculture and Food Systems internship fellowship for university students.
Apply for a FIELDWORK fellowship in Agriculture and Food Systems
This high school agriculture internship is for students in Grades 9 to 12. Work on a live Earth5R project with a mentor, take part in research conversations with global researchers, and build a verified record of your work. Fee details available on request.
