Students

The Hutton Program 2025 applications will open November 22nd, 2024.

Check back for updates!

Applications will be due by January 19th, 2025 at 11:59PM PST.

For more information, visit our FAQs page.

Eligibility:

Students who live and have residency in the United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Canada are eligible to apply. The program is open to all current high school students in the classes of 2025 and 2026 regardless of race, creed, or gender. Applicants must be at least 16 by the end of the application period, January 19th, 2025. We highly encourage students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds in the fisheries profession to submit applications to the Hutton Program. Past participants of the Hutton Program are not eligible to submit an application. 

Students are selected by the members of the Hutton Review and Selection Committee. Once students are selected into the program, they are then paired with a mentor, a fisheries and aquatic sciences professional, located within a 30-45 minute commute of the student’s home. We draw upon our extensive network of fisheries professionals to match selected students with mentors regardless of their geographic location. 

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS:

Students must complete all required fields in all five sections of the application for your application to be considered complete. Applicants who submit incomplete applications will not be considered for selection.

1. Online application
2. Responses to the three mandatory essay questions
3. Hutton Student Reference Form (completed by a teacher, supervisor, coach, community member, or other affiliation that is not a peer or family)
   1. Student Reference Form 
      • Please download and send it to your reference. Completed references can be uploaded by the student on the online application or emailed to [email protected]. 
4. Student’s most recent transcript. If the student does not have direct access to their transcript, their school administrator email can be entered into the online application and the administrator can upload the transcript directly to the student’s application. 

All applicants will be able to edit their application UNTIL it is submitted. Once the applicant has submitted their application, you are unable to make any changes.

SUBMITTING A STUDENT REFERENCE FORM:

Applicants will be required to download and send the Student Reference Form to someone to complete as a reference for them. Please have your recommender email it to [email protected] NO LATER than January 16th, 2024. References can also be uploaded by the student to their online application. Students are responsible for following up with their reference to make sure materials are submitted on time. 

SUBMITTING STUDENT TRANSCRIPTS: 

High school transcripts may be submitted via:

• Upload directly to the application portal (preferred) 
• Email to [email protected] 

Unofficial transcripts will be accepted, but official transcripts are preferred. 

Program Stipulations:

While AFS staff works with our countless connections to place each Hutton Scholar with a suitable mentor for the summer, if you are selected into the program and AFS staff cannot match you with a suitable mentor, we are unable to offer you an internship position. We encourage both students and mentors to recruit participants for the program to ensure each accepted student will be matched with a mentor.

In some internships, it may become necessary for students to spend time overnight at a distant site with their mentors. Parental permission must be obtained by the mentor in advance of the trip, preferably with blanket permission for the entire summer.

AFS provides liability insurance for students and mentors who participate. Forms and instructions are provided to the mentor.

NOTE: 

Applicants are unable to submit an application without uploading a file to the transcripts and/or Student Reference Form fields. Please upload a Word Document to each respective field that states who the document will arrive from (Name and Email).

For questions about the online application or application process, please contact [email protected] 

A Day in the Life of a Hutton Scholar

A day in the life of a Hutton Scholar can be busy and adventurous. As you’ll see on our social media and pictures on our website, these students work in various environments and ecosystems which make their jobs dynamic. Though they cover many different topics, you’ll see that the common factor is nature!

Many of our scholars spend most of their time outside conducting habitat and population research, water analyses, and even working with dune restoration. Other students spend time in the lab working with fish populations in fish hatcheries. Some students even have the opportunity to work with fellow scholars in different states whose research intertwines with their own. Water connects all and whether you’re interested in streams, oceans or lakes, there are opportunities for you to learn and experience topics in fish sciences and conservation wherever you live!