High school civil engineering internship and research fellowship
This high school civil engineering internship lets students in Grades 9 to 12 study how their area copes with rain and waste, with a mentor who reviews each method. You survey drains, waterlogging or building debris at school or near home, map what you find and design low-cost fixes that a school or housing society could use.
For school students who take IB Physics, Maths or Geography, or IGCSE and CBSE Physics, and want to design fixes for real problems in their city. 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 civil engineering matters for sustainability
Every city depends on drains, roads and buildings that someone designed. A heavy monsoon storm tests all of them at once. If a drain is too small or blocked with waste, water backs up into streets and homes. Civil engineers measure how much water a place has to carry away, then design drains, paving and storage that can cope.
Earth5R’s river cleanups on the Mithi in Mumbai, the Mula Mutha in Pune and the Yamuna in Delhi deal with waste that has already reached the water. Fellows look one step earlier, at the drains and open ground near home. You record each problem spot on the Earth5R app with a photo and a location, and your mentor reviews the fixes you design.
This work links to the UN Sustainable Development Goals: Goal 11, Sustainable cities and communities and Goal 6, Clean water and sanitation.
Available projects in this high school civil engineering internship
Each project fits around school work and takes place near home. Your mentor shapes the final project with you.
Campus drainage audit
With permission, map every drain, gutter and downpipe on your school campus or in your housing society, photograph blockages with the Earth5R app and design low-cost fixes for the worst points.
Waterlogging map
Ask family and neighbours where water collects after heavy rain, map their answers and propose fixes such as soak pits, permeable paving or a regular drain cleaning plan.
Rainwater harvesting for your school
Measure your school’s roof area from building plans or satellite images, estimate how much rainwater it could collect in a monsoon and design a simple storage plan.
Where does renovation debris go?
Interview family and neighbours who have renovated a home about what happened to the debris, then design a simple plan to reuse broken tiles, bricks or concrete.
What you do in the field
- Walk your school or society grounds and record each drain on the Earth5R app
- Measure drain sizes, roof areas and slopes with simple tools
- Estimate rainfall runoff with a standard formula
- Ask residents where water collects and how often
- Draw site plans and cross-sections of your proposed fix
- Present your design in a research conversation and explain its cost
Skills you build
On a high school civil engineering 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 civil engineering internship fits your school programme
For IB, IGCSE, CBSE and ICSE students. Your school decides what counts towards its own requirements.
IB CAS
Sharing a drainage plan with your school or housing society before the monsoon can support a CAS project with a service element. Your CAS coordinator decides what fits.
Extended Essay and IA
A question on runoff, rainwater harvesting or drain size, answered with data you measured, can fit a Physics, Maths or Geography Extended Essay or IA. Your supervisor approves the topic.
MYP, IGCSE and CBSE projects
A campus drainage survey with a site plan and a costed fix can fit the MYP Personal Project and project work in IGCSE, CBSE and ICSE geography or physics.
University applications
A survey you carried out and a design your mentor reviewed give you a specific project to describe in a civil engineering personal statement or interview.
How the high school civil engineering 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 Civil Engineering.
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
- BEng or BS in Civil Engineering
- BEng in Civil and Environmental Engineering
- BEng in Structural Engineering
- BEng in Water and Environmental Engineering
- BSc in Architecture or Urban Planning
Careers in this field
- Municipal civil engineer
- Flood risk engineer
- Structural engineer
- Water resources engineer
- Infrastructure consultant
Universities to aim for in Civil Engineering
Civil engineering admissions tutors look for students who have studied a real site and used simple numbers to suggest a fix. A high school civil engineering internship with FIELDWORK gives you a survey you carried out, a design your mentor reviewed and a verified record on earth5r.org. Students use a high school civil engineering internship to build a record of real work for applications to universities like these.
University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley)
USA · Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
Berkeley’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering offers a B.S. in Civil Engineering and a newer B.S. in Environmental Engineering. Civil engineering students can build depth in a focus area, and graduate study includes a programme area called Energy, Civil Infrastructure and Climate.
USA · Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
Stanford CEE offers four undergraduate degrees, including a BS in Civil Engineering and a BS in Environmental Systems Engineering, where students can focus on sustainable coastal, freshwater, energy or urban systems. Another, Atmosphere/Energy, studies how energy use affects air pollution, climate and weather.
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)
USA · Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE), The Grainger College of Engineering
Illinois CEE offers a BS in Civil Engineering and a BS in Environmental Engineering. Civil engineering students choose a primary field, such as Water Resources Engineering and Science, Structural Engineering, or Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure Systems.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
USA · Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)
MIT CEE’s undergraduate major in civil and environmental engineering has tracks in Mechanics and Materials, Environment, and Energy, Transportation, and Societal Systems. The Environment track covers hydrology and resilience to climate change. The department also lists a Bachelor of Science in Climate System Science and Engineering.
UK · Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Imperial’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering teaches a four-year MEng in Civil Engineering, with an option to add a year abroad. First-year students attend a residential surveying camp. The department’s research themes include Engineering net zero and beyond and Sustainable Natural Environment.
UK · Engineering, BA (Hons) and MEng, Department of Engineering
Cambridge teaches engineering as one course, with a BA (Hons) after three years and an MEng after four. Students study core engineering first, including an integrated design project, and can specialise from the third year in areas such as Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering.
Switzerland · Bachelor in Civil Engineering, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering (D-BAUG)
ETH’s Bachelor in Civil Engineering is taught mostly in German. After a first year of maths, mechanics, computer science, chemistry and geology, students study hydraulics, hydrology, structures, geotechnical engineering and transport. The degree ends with structural design project work and a bachelor’s thesis.
Delft University of Technology (TU Delft)
Netherlands · Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences (CEG)
TU Delft’s Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences offers a bachelor’s in Civil Engineering, which is taught in Dutch, and one in Earth, Climate and Technology, which is taught in English. Its research themes include the availability of clean water, climate change and the energy transition.
National University of Singapore (NUS)
Singapore · Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, College of Design and Engineering
NUS Civil and Environmental Engineering offers a Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering and one in Environmental and Sustainability Engineering. Its research clusters include Climate Change Mitigation and Resilient Infrastructures, and its centres include the Centre for Water Research and the Centre for Hazards Research.
Canada · BASc in Civil Engineering, Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering
Toronto’s Department of Civil & Mineral Engineering offers a four-year BASc in Civil Engineering covering structures, hydraulics and hydrology, water treatment and transport. Students attend a two-week survey camp, finish with a capstone design project and can add a Professional Experience Year internship.
This list is for guidance. These universities offer undergraduate study in Civil Engineering. 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 civil engineering internship: common questions
Do I need advanced maths for this high school civil engineering internship?
No. School maths is enough to start. Your mentor shows you simple standard methods for estimating runoff and drain sizes, and you build up from measurements you take yourself.
Will my child go on busy roads or building sites?
No. Surveys take place on your school campus, in your housing society or in nearby public places, with a parent or guardian present at every self-guided activity. Students never visit construction sites.
What tools do I need?
A measuring tape, a notebook and a phone with the Earth5R app are enough for most surveys. Calculations go in a spreadsheet, and site plans can be drawn on graph paper or in simple drawing software.
Is the high school civil engineering 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 civil engineering 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 Civil Engineering internship fellowship for university students.
Apply for a FIELDWORK fellowship in Civil Engineering
This high school civil engineering 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.
