Graduate Assistant (Sea Grant Fellow)

Posting number: 2026-01483

Department: University of Hawai'i at Hilo

Division: College of Natural and Health Sciences - Biology

Job classification: GRADUATE ASSISTANT, 11-MO

Posting type: Open

Categories: Sciences

Summary

Title: Graduate Assistant (Sea Grant Fellow)

Position Number: GA11
Hiring Unit: College of Health & Natural Sciences, Biology
Location: UH-Hilo
Date Posted: July 14, 2026
Closing Date: September 1, 2026; first review date on or about July 29, 2026

Salary Information: GA11-15  $2,429/mo  $ 29,148/annual
Monthly Type: 11 Month
Full Time/Part Time: Full Time - Part Time Equivalency - 50%
Temporary/Permanent: Temporary - Not to Exceed: July 31, 2028

Other Conditions: Appointment to begin approximately August 2026, pending availability of funding. One graduate assistantship is available for a student to work as a Hawai‘i Sea Grant Fellow. The fellowship includes support for two years (2nd year pending satisfactory academic

performance), including a Graduate Assistantship (salary plus fringe benefits) and a full tuition remission.

Position Overview:

The University of Hawai'i at Hilo (UH Hilo) is a public liberal arts and sciences university on the Island of Hawai'i, recognized for its integration of cultural immersion and place-based research that leverages the island's extraordinary geological, biological, and cultural diversity. A comprehensive, regional campus within the ten-campus University of Hawai'i System, UH Hilo offers high-quality undergraduate and select postgraduate education, with distinctive strengths in areas such as marine science, geology, astronomy, and Hawaiian language revitalization, while advancing research, scholarship, and creative activity that support community needs, environmental stewardship, Indigenous knowledge systems, and workforce development for the State of Hawai'i.

The Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (VCAA) provides academic leadership and administrative oversight for the university's instructional, research, and academic support units. Within the VCAA portfolio, the UH Hilo Research Office supports faculty, staff, and students in the development, administration, and stewardship of externally funded research and scholarly activity, ensuring compliance with University of Hawaii, RCUH, state, federal, and sponsor requirements.

The College of Natural and Health Sciences (CNHS) is one of the two largest colleges at UH Hilo, home to 9 departments, 14 undergraduate and graduate degree programs, and over 60 full-time faculty. CNHS provides an innovative, career-focused scientific education based in the culture, rich diversity, and natural environment of Hawai`i. The college prepares students for success in local, state, regional, and global careers. It teaches basic scientific and mathematical principles and applications that inform future citizens, scientists, managers, and leaders using modern methods and Hawai`i Island's living laboratory.

The Hawai'i Sea Grant Graduate Fellowship Program provides skills training to graduate students preparing to become scientists and coastal and ocean resource managers through opportunities to engage in outreach, science communication, and informal education.

The goal of this program is to develop well-rounded scientists versed not only in research, but also outreach and science communication. Full-time graduate students working toward advanced degrees related to the marine or coastal sciences receive a paid graduate research assistantship position. Graduate fellows are expected to make good progress toward their degrees, remain in good academic standing, and participate in research that provides them with thesis material. Additionally, graduate fellows conduct education and outreach activities to disseminate their work to a variety of stakeholders, including the general public, scientists, resource agencies, and other local decision-makers.

This fellow selected for this position will be working on a project on Hawai`i Island examining contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) at locations of known wastewater pollution. The fellow will gain a variety of training by working on this project. They will: 1) help design field sampling plans, 2) oversee collection and processing of samples, 3) coordinate and oversee undergraduate students assisting in the field and laboratory, 3) extract samples for CEC analysis, 5) assist with data management and analysis for the project, 6) assist with writing project reports and peer-reviewed journal articles, 7) present results at local and international meetings, and 8) develop professional relatio