Research Experience for Undergraduates

2026 Summer REU Program

This REU site at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) in Portland, Maine, trains undergraduate students to contribute to the emerging need for a transdisciplinary approach to solving challenges in changing social-ecological coastal/marine systems. The program is integrated with ongoing research at GMRI and supports six students per summer. Each student works with one of eight potential mentors from our Science team. Students also participate in seminars and workshops hosted by mentors and staff throughout the summer, where they learn about the structure and function of the Gulf of Maine ecosystem, the socio-economic environment in the region, our education and outreach programs (with a strong emphasis on community science), and current resource management and environmental policy paradigms. The centerpiece of the experience is the development of an independent, hypothesis-driven research project aimed at improving our understanding of the Gulf of Maine as a coupled natural and human system in a marine region experiencing both significant warming and natural variability. Students also learn about the diverse education and career paths our staff and collaborators have pursued (including graduate school/career counseling), hone their scientific communication skills, and present their major research findings at a half-day symposium at GMRI. This opportunity includes a stipend ($600/week for 10 weeks), housing, a meal allowance ($100/week for 10 weeks), and travel support.

Important Dates:

Applications are open from December 17, 2025 until February 1, 2026. Applicants will be notified of decisions between March 1–15, 2026. The REU will run between June 1 and August 7, 2026. Students must be available for the entire 10 weeks to take part in the program.

Understanding the impacts that climate change has on our coupled natural and human systems is a major challenge of our time. The Gulf of Maine is warming faster than 96% of the global ocean, meaning GMRI is strategically positioned to conduct cutting-edge research on this issue. This includes documenting and monitoring change, as well as predicting and mitigating future impacts of climate change on ecosystems and the people who depend on them. We welcome undergraduate students to take part in our work and contribute to our understanding of climate change and its impacts on our coastal and marine ecosystems, communities, and industries.

We pair students with GMRI researchers engaged in a range of climate, ecosystem, fisheries, oceanographic, economic, social science, science-of-learning, cognitive science, and interdisciplinary studies. Students then have the chance to work with their mentors to design and conduct an intensive 10-week independent research project. Projects often involve field sampling, laboratory experiments, data compilation and analysis, computational simulations, policy analysis or any range of top tier research methods that help them address their research questions. At the end of the summer, students present their findings at an in-house symposium using analysis and communications skills honed throughout the summer.

Throughout the summer students are also exposed to the range of initiatives ongoing at GMRI, including those within our education, community, climate center, and ventures programs, and they will receive career and graduate school advice. This opportunity includes a stipend ($600/week for 10 weeks), housing, a meal allowance and travel support.