Climate Resilience Policy and Technical Analysis Fellowship with OneShoreline, Summer 2026
Overview
With lengthy shorelines along San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean, San Mateo County has more people and property at risk from sea level rise than any other county in California. This is why the San Mateo County Flood and Sea Level Rise Resiliency District, also known as OneShoreline, was established by State legislation in 2020 as the first independent government agency in California to work across jurisdictional boundaries to plan for, and build resilience to, climate change.
To develop transformative solutions capable of addressing the scale of the climate crisis, OneShoreline takes a holistic approach:
- Geography – OneShoreline is the vehicle through which San Mateo County and its 20 cities can align efforts across jurisdictional lines and within the context of an entire watershed or regional shoreline;
- Threats – OneShoreline focuses on the individual and combined impacts of water-related, climate-driven hazards (sea level and groundwater rise, extreme storms, coastal erosion, and drought);
- Objectives – OneShoreline prioritizes integrating environmental benefits and recreational opportunities into flood protection projects.
Through this fellowship, a student will gain real-world experience in both the policy and technical dimensions of building climate resilience. The Fellow will become acquainted with climate resilience efforts in San Mateo County and the broader Bay Area, and they will have opportunities to connect with other agencies and stakeholders in public policy, engineering, urban planning, and environmental fields.
About the Fellowship
A Summer 2026 Fellow will work with OneShoreline to explore policy and/or technical questions as the agency advances regional projects related to sea level and groundwater rise, extreme storms, coastal erosion, and drought. At the end of the fellowship, the Fellow will present their findings to OneShoreline’s Board of Directors, composed of city and county elected officials.
Previous fellowship and student projects with OneShoreline include:
- Developing a draft communications protocol for OneShoreline’s Flood Early Warning System, grounded in the latest research on disaster risk communications.
- Creating ArcGIS StoryMaps to introduce OneShoreline’s projects to the general public.
- Evaluating water supply portfolios and drought resilience of cities in San Mateo County.
- Assessing liquefaction risk to flood protection infrastructure along the shoreline.
- Developing an online, community-based flood map and analyzing community perspectives, including examples of green gentrification.
- Analyzing the cost burden of flood insurance for flood-prone communities in San Mateo County.
- Conducting analyses that contributed to the development of OneShoreline’s Planning Policy Guidance.
For the Summer 2026 fellowship, OneShoreline is especially interested in projects focused on these topics:
- Analyzing recent housing policies in California and mapping the intersections of new housing developments and areas with high climate risks, particularly flooding and wildfires.
- Developing strategies for improving the availability of, and access to, insurance products in communities with elevated climate risks.
- Assessing the economic feasibility of constructing recycled water facilities in San Mateo County to enhance drought resilience.
- Creating materials that improve understanding of flooding and/or drought risks in San Mateo County by integrating recent hydrologic and hydraulic studies for specific watersheds and considering the effects of existing or planned flood protection and water recycling infrastructure.
- Improving OneShoreline’s database of flooding hotspots, which documents past flood locations, and potentially incorporating a citizen science portal that allows residents to report flooding during storm events.
Given OneShoreline’s broad mandates and diverse projects, applicants are also encouraged to propose their own project ideas that align with their interests and contribute to OneShoreline’s work.
Qualifications:
- Preference for a PhD or Law graduate student.
- Independent worker; comfortable taking initiative and seeking out resources.
- Strong team-worker and collaborator.
- Excellent communication skills in English (the language of the fellowship), including in presentations and writing.
- For a policy-focused fellowship, the applicant should be familiar with policy issues related to climate change adaptation and comfortable thinking creatively and communicating effectively about these issues.
- For a technical-focused fellowship, the applicant should have strong analytical skills and experience with relevant software (e.g., ArcGIS, HEC-RAS, R, MATLAB, Python).
Program Details
PCJ in the Bay fellowships are Cardinal Quarter opportunities through the Haas Center for Public Service. This is a full-time (35-40 hours/week), 10-week opportunity during Summer 2026, starting no later than July 6, 2026. Doctoral students with a 50% summer assistantship may be eligible to work part-time (16 hours/week). All fellows are required to work with their community partners for ten consecutive weeks.
Please note that students can apply for no more than three different PCJ fellowship opportunities during a single application round.
Eligibility & Requirements
Please review our program policies for complete eligibility requirements.
Graduate and doctoral students of all academic disciplines are encouraged to apply. Priority will be given to students who have completed fewer than two previous Cardinal Quarter opportunities.
In order to be eligible for a Haas Center-sponsored Cardinal Quarter summer opportunity, graduate level students must be enrolled at least in spring quarter.
Students are required to be in good academic standing. The requirements for good academic standing include: 1) Earn at least 9 units of credit in a single quarter. 2) Earn at least 36 units over the most recent three quarters 3) Maintain a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 2.0 or above.
Additional Fellowship Requirements
This opportunity is associated with Partnerships for Climate Justice in the Bay Area (PCJ in the Bay), an initiative to build equitable climate change solutions by supporting partnerships between Stanford students, faculty and Bay Area community leaders. Fellows will be a part of a cohort of other PCJ in the Bay summer fellows placed at sites across the Bay Area.
Additional requirements include
Spring 2026:
- Complete a pre-program assessment survey.
- Attend the spring retreat with cohort peers (date TBD).
- Complete an online program orientation.
- Participate in an in-person Principles of Ethical and Effective Service workshop at the Haas Center.
- Identify and meet with an academic mentor (Stanford faculty or staff) at least once.
- Design a personal learning plan and share the learning plan with your site supervisor and academic mentor.
- Complete all required pre-orientation forms.
Summer 2026:
- Attend all PCJ in the Bay Fellows cohort activities (more information will be shared about these events in spring quarter).
- Submit a final report documenting your work and a reflection on your learning.
- Correspond with fellowship donor(s) as requested by fellowships program staff.
- Complete a post-program assessment survey.
Fall 2026:
- Meet with your academic mentor to discuss your fellowship experience at least once.
- Participate in outreach activities to share the experience and help publicize the program.
Stipend Information
Students in a 2-year Masters program will receive a stipend of $9,500. Students who have begun their coterm programs (i.e., paying graduate tuition) will also receive a stipend of $9,500. Doctoral students on a 50% assistantship can work up to 16 hours/week and will receive up to $4,500 for a part-time fellowship. Doctoral students without a summer assistantship can work full-time and will receive a stipend of $11,000.
Selection Process
Complete applications are screened, finalists interviewed, and fellows selected by the host organizations staff with the intention to award fellowships prior to spring break. Applicants should respond promptly (within 48 hours) via email to a fellowship offer, or the offer will be rescinded. Once an applicant accepts a fellowship offer, the student should promptly notify all other Stanford and non-Stanford programs to which they have applied that they have accepted another offer and to withdraw their candidacy.
Frequently Asked Questions for PCJ Summer 2026 Fellowships
