Climate & Community Institute

Work With Us

The Climate and Community Institute is recruiting Junior Research Fellows for 2025!

The Climate and Community Institute is a rapidly growing climate justice think tank; we work with policymakers, social movements, and academics to conduct research and develop policy that will drive transformative investments in decarbonization and just transitions. Part of our mission is to elevate the work of junior researchers and build the network of scholars and activists who will influence policy over the coming decades. Our junior research fellowship program brings together a cohort of 8-10 graduate students to work with leading researchers, communications professionals, and designers on a range of climate justice topics as part of a supportive community of like-minded fellows.

Applications are due by March 3, 2025, we will begin to contact finalists by March 25, 2025, and successful applicants will be notified by April 11, 2025.

For informal queries, please contact admin@climateandcommunity.org

The Fellows:

CCI works on projects concerning just transitions for workers and communities, energy sector reform, international political economy and climate, labor and climate, housing justice, state-level climate policy, and decarbonizing transportation, among many others. Students with experience and interest in any aspect of Green New Deal-inspired climate policy are welcome to apply. We are a fast moving research team- the specific projects available during the junior fellowship are not yet fully defined, but we especially encourage applications from graduate students working on topics including:

Housing and communities

A just and transformative approach to home insurance in the climate crisis
Advancing green social housing at the state-level
Green industrial policy for housing supply chains
Progressive housing policy in post-disaster contexts
Intersection of immigration, the climate crisis, and housing policy

Energy and industrial policy

Fossil fuel nationalization as a managed wind-down strategy
Making an ecological case against the emerging AI-military nexus
Heavy industry reimagined
A just transition for workers in the military industrial complex
Transformative industrial policy approaches to the Wildfire Crisis in the US West

Education and care work

Home care workers and the climate crisis
School labor and retrofits, particularly as part of common good bargaining campaigns

Transportation & Mining

A just North American mineral recycling system
Demographics of non-drivers in the US and perceptions of transportation choices.
Shifting transportation funding from highways to transit
Transit safety and alternatives to policing
Labor solidarity across transportation supply chains

Global Systems and Policy

Global South Green Industrial Policy
US Trade Policy, China, and Decarbonization
The international financial architecture and biodiversity loss
The socio-climatic impacts of US overseas bases

Communications and design

Developing and cohering a visual identity for CCI across our website and publications
Creating professional-quality templates for publications
Producing illustrations and graphics to represent climate futures and policies

Multi-project data and visualization support

Quantitative support for multiple projects through a variety of modeling and analysis approaches, including jobs estimates and other economic impacts of public investments
Developing a style guide for data visualizations

In all cases, applicants must have a demonstrated commitment to racial and social justice.

Applications are welcome from potential fellows with any substantive focus, but it may be the case that even if you are a great fit for our overarching objectives, we may not have a project that suits your expertise.

Fellows should fulfill the following requirements:

Fellows are currently enrolled in a graduate academic program, ranging from incoming MA students to PhD candidates. Students from any academic discipline are welcome to apply.
Fellows are located in the United States and have valid work authorization (including international students who can participate through valid CPT or OPT programs)–we are not able to support work visas.
Fellows have relevant topical knowledge and a demonstrable commitment to racial, gender, environmental, and economic justice.
Fellows have strong research skills, organizing or activist experience, the ability to work well in a team, and can manage their time independently.

The Work:

Each fellow will work closely with a CCI staff member as part of a team on a project that aligns with their topical interests and research skills. Our fellowships are not do-nothing or coffee fetching internships–the work that fellows produce over the summer will meaningfully contribute to CCI publications. Potential activities range from desk research and policy analysis, to quantitative and spatial analysis, to interviews and qualitative investigation. The specific tasks for each fellow will be determined through discussion with the CCI staff member leading that particular project and the Research Director.

The Logistics:

CCI is committed to centering racial justice in all of our work, and we actively encourage students from underrepresented or marginalized communities to apply.
The Fellowship runs from 8-10 weeks from late May to early September, 2025. Specific dates will vary depending on student availability.
Fellows are expected to work 20 hours a week over the course of the fellowship with a flexible work schedule. We ask that you be available for all-Fellows meetings and meetings with your research project team.
CCI is a high road employer: we pay $50/hour. Fellows will be hired as temporary employees of the Tides Center, our fiscal sponsor.
The fellowship is 100% remote and no travel is required nor anticipated.

To Apply:

Please complete the application at https://bit.ly/ccijrfellows by March 3, 2025. Questions can be directed to admin@climateandcommunity.org. Shortlisted applicants will be notified by March 21, 2025 with decisions made by April 11, 2025.