U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Data Analysis Internship, Summer 2024
Every summer, The Bill Lane Center for the American West offers many opportunities for Stanford undergraduates (including graduating seniors and co-terms) to work with organizations throughout the West. Through these internships, students can explore careers in natural history, conservation, land use, museum curation, resource management, energy and more.
All internships are full-time for nine to ten weeks during the summer. They are fully funded by the Lane Center with stipends ranging from $7,500 to $10,000.
The Lane Center has placed hundreds of interns in positions across the West since 2005. It has developed strong relationships with host organizations and works hard to ensure interns have successful and enriching experiences.
For more information about the internship program, please visit the FAQs page, or email Education Manager Corinne Thomas.
Details about the summer 2023 cohort of student interns and their placements can be found here.
Student reflections about the internship experience can be found by visiting the Out West student blog and the Lane Center Instagram channel.
Stipend Information:
The Bill Lane Center will provide a base stipend of $7,500 with additional funding for student financial aid and location, if applicable, up to $10,000.
For master's students, the stipend is $10,000.
PLEASE NOTE for this internship: A security check required to receive a Common Access Card (CAC).
Interns must be U.S. citizens.
Description of the Agency and an Internship Overview:
The mission of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is to deliver vital engineering solutions, in collaboration with our partners, to secure our Nation, energize our economy, and reduce disaster risk. The mission of Flood Risk Management Planning Center of Expertise (USACE FRM-PCX) is to enhance USACE planning capability in flood risk management studies, strength technical competencies, and promote innovation and high-quality decision support.
As the Data Analysis Intern, Flood Risk Management Planning Center of Expertise (USACE FRM-PCX), you will be working in a team with the USACE Flood Risk Management Planning Center of Expertise. The FRM-PCX is responsible for the success of the nations inland flood risk management projects and works with teams all over the nation, including US Territories.
You will work closely with the FRM-PCX team and coordinate primarily with the FRM-PCX National Technical Specialist in Economics and Risk Analysis. Your supervisor will be the Chief of Planning and Policy for the USACE South Pacific Division and you will have the opportunity to interact with other members of the SPD Planning Team and discuss other interesting USACE mission areas.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is making the effort to enact meaningful change and build efficiencies into how it approaches flood risk management studies. The Flood Risk Management Planning Center of Expertise’s primary role is central to efforts to maximize USACE efficacy and serve the nation’s flood risk management needs.
This particular project would help the FRM-PCX, and the USACE FRM Business Line, identify factors that burden, or otherwise inhibit, USACE’s ability to execute FRM studies. This effort would require research, data review and analysis, and visualization techniques that would help the FRM-PCX present these key issues in an easy to communicate manner. The goal is to find areas that the USACE FRM-PCX, and USACE HQ, could take action to improve.
Anticipated Tasks:
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There are multiple ongoing FRM studies at any given time. The status of those studies, including where they are relative to their initial schedule and budget, will provide important insight into what factors may contribute to slow-downs and missed milestones. Gathering that information will be important for this effort.
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The FRM-PCX plans to initiate a review, to be completed prior to intern start date, of previously completed, and ongoing studies where appropriate, to gather information about different studies and whether or not they were ultimately constructed. The FRM-PCX will gather information by submitting a questionnaire to the FRM Community. The responses to the questionnaire will need to be organized by the intern and interpreted. The intern will be responsible for managing the data and finding any clear correlations within the data.
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Over the course of the summer, the intern would research existing internal databases to gather additional information not provided by ongoing studies or the interview schedule / survey.
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The intern will identify a data visualization tool that is, both, accessible and that meets the needs of this effort. That tool will be used to communicate the findings of the data inquiry and analysis to provide the USACE FRM-PCX with a detailed understanding of which factors impacts studies the most. This information will be leveraged to support additional efforts to mitigate the impacts of those factors on FRM studies.
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The FRM-PCX would benefit from an overview of the data visualization tool used so that the information can be updated and utilized in the future.
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Other opportunities include: participating in significant project milestones and meetings; participating in leadership forums; assisting with developing and delivering training, depending on time available; attending site visits to project and/or District field office locations; and participating in any recreational/organization day activities or other office related informal social gatherings.
Internship Work Environment:
It is an in-person internship at the South Pacific Division office since it is important to interact with FRM-PCX staff but a hybrid arrangement is possible of no more than one day per week.
There will be some travel to other facilities within the South Pacific Division possible to meet with members of the team. There is limited, if any, outdoor / field work.
The intern will be working in a team with the FRM-PCX, most directly with the National Technical Specialist (NTS) in Economics & Risk Analysis who will serve as their mentor.
The intern will also coordinate as needed with the Deputy Director of the FRM-PCX and the Hydrology and Hydraulics NTS.
The intern will meet regularly with the Director of the FRM-PCX, their supervisor. They will be expected to accomplish work on their own after discussing with the team. They will have an open line of communication with the team as needed.
Transportation: It is not necessary to have a car; public transportation options are available in San Francisco.
Housing is not provided.
Location: San Francisco, California.
Bill Lane Center internships are part of Cardinal Quarter opportunities and students from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. The opportunities are full-time (35-40 hours a week) for 9-10 consecutive weeks during the summer.
Specific start and end dates can be coordinated directly with the supervisor.
All undergraduates of any year, including graduating seniors, are eligible. Graduating seniors are eligible only if they are graduating in spring quarter. Students who have already graduated, e.g., fall or winter quarter of this academic year are not eligible.
Coterms are eligible only if they hold undergraduate status.
For more application advice, please visit the BLC’s FAQs page.
Please note:
- Students are not permitted to engage in another full-time internship, job, or volunteer opportunity (whether funded by Stanford or otherwise) during this full-time, summer internship.
- Student athletes should confirm the impact of any awarded stipend on their athletic eligibility by contacting the Compliance Services Office prior to committing to an internship.
- New Stipend Policy per the U.S. Department of Education: A stipend is considered a resource and it may have an impact on a student’s financial aid. To comply with US Department of Education regulations, student payments, awards, prizes, and gifts that are made available to the student because they are a Stanford student, must be reported to the Financial Aid Office. The Financial Aid Office is responsible for the disbursement of stipend funds to undergraduates. For more information, please visit the Financial Aid Office's webpage about the student stipend policy.
Application Guidelines for this Internship:
PLEASE NOTE for this internship: A security check required to receive a Common Access Card (CAC).
Interns must be U.S. citizens.
Any students that meet the primary qualifications of this internship are encouraged to apply.
Juniors and Seniors may benefit the most from engaging an agency like USACE and gaining real world experience.
This is a multi-disciplinary opportunity and while some majors may be more aligned with the proposal than others, any interested students should consider applying.
The intern must be comfortable representing the service mission of USACE with integrity.
Required Skills:
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Data visualization skills: the ability to synthesize groups of data, identify key signals in the data and communicate those findings visually in a manner that is easy to comprehend and communicate.
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Research skills: with sufficient guidance and direction, the ability to work independently and provide tangible results.
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Communication skills – written, verbal and visual – to help convey complex information and key messages in a way that is understandable to a wide variety of audiences with a special emphasis on communicating important information visually.
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A good attitude: enthusiasm for learning and trying new things, and a willingness to ask for help when needed.
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Familiarity with basic statistical concepts.
Desired Skills:
- Some understanding of regression analysis and previous data management, or data visualization activities.
Selection of applicants:
Complete applications are screened and finalists are contacted for a first-round interview with staff from the Bill Lane Center for the American West.
The top candidates for the position are then forwarded to the organization for second-round interviews with their potential supervisor and other staff.
Host organizations will then notify the Lane Center of their preferred candidate and that applicant will receive an internship offer from the Bill Lane Center by email.
The applicant is expected to respond promptly (within 48 hours) via email to the offer or the offer will be rescinded.
Once an applicant accepts an offer, they are required to promptly notify all other Stanford and non-Stanford programs to which they have applied that they have accepted another offer and withdraw their candidacy from those other opportunities.