Marine conservation internships
For people who want more than a volunteer stay: a clear role, real responsibility, and daily work alongside our staff in southern Negros Oriental, Philippines.
See our internshipsRecording reef data on a survey dive
More than volunteering
Volunteers join our reef surveys and community work for 6 to 24 weeks. Interns take on more. You arrive with a clear role, whether that's training as a divemaster on our survey team, working towards PADI Instructor, running a research project under supervision, or getting our work into the media.
You live on base and work alongside our staff every day, and the longer you stay, the more we hand over to you.
Choose your internship
PADI Divemaster Intern
8-24 weeksLearn moreReach Divemaster level and join our survey team. Boost your CV with technical diving skills, and learn to teach. New to diving? Add four weeks for the entry courses first.
PADI Instructor Intern
6+ weeksLearn moreFor current PADI instructors, or divers who want to become one. Some candidates start as divemaster interns and grow into the role as instructor apprentices.
Research Intern
16+ weeksLearn moreAn independent research role under a supervisor. For postgraduates, or students enrolled in a BSc or MSc in oceanography, marine biology, conservation science or a related field.
Media Intern
6+ weeksLearn moreFor journalists and PR people with a record of getting stories published, and for photographers, filmmakers and designers. Diving is optional.
Science Officer Intern
24+ weeksLearn moreNot an academic research role. You are the field officer in charge of collecting and managing our survey data.
The science officer internship is now part of our scholarship programme for Filipino students. Read about it
What it costs
Pick an internship and slide to the number of weeks you'd like to stay. Stays run in steps of two weeks, and all prices are in US dollars.
12 weeks
Welcome back! We can't take this price any lower, though, as it's already at least 50% off the regular volunteer fee.
Staying longer than 12 weeks? For instructor internships, you usually sign up and pay for the first 12 weeks only, and we pencil the rest of your stay into our calendar. Around week 8, we sit down together, look at how things are going, and decide whether it makes sense to continue the internship past 12 weeks.
Your price
| Total | |
|---|---|
| Average per week |
Your stay in numbers
- meals
- nights of accommodation
- dives, approximately
- days of full private scuba gear
Dive numbers are solid estimates. We generally dive six days a week, and around 12-13 dives a week is realistic.
Every price covers three meals a day and dorm accommodation. With diving, it also covers your dives, dive gear and marine park fees. PADI certification fees are paid separately.
Add academic credit
Through our partner CGCS, your stay can count towards a UK diploma worth 16 UCAS points (USD 750) or 3 US semester credits from Hartwick College (USD 675).
From intern to staff
A good number of our staff started as interns. Often they went straight from an internship into a junior role, and on to senior positions from there.
You don't need to intern or volunteer before applying for a job with us, but a long stay is a good way to get to know each other.
Careers at MCPIntern
Learn the work
Junior staff
A paid role
Senior staff
Lead the work
Not sure which fits?
Tell us about your background and how long you can stay, and we'll help you choose.