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Students in some of our programs must complete an internship, but for every student it is an opportunity to enhance your learning experiences by providing an opportunity to acquire new skills, develop professional contacts and gain first-hand knowledge of potential workplaces.

Internships can emphasize a variety of themes and projects. Past students have worked with counties on infrastructure inventories, in education and collections at museums, with environmental organizations on data collection and analysis, and with international nonprofits on microfinancing grants and UX design. 

Work with the internship coordinator from your program and your academic advisor to determine the best academic timing for your internship and to gather ideas for organizations and types of internship experiences that would best fit your goals.

The program internship coordinators have a number of internship contacts and sites gleaned from faculty connections, position announcements received by the department, and previous student internship experiences. Employer solicitations are normally shared via email. However, many students discover opportunities on their own initiative, in some cases by contacting organizations or other employers in their hometowns. When approaching a potential site, students should have a clear idea of what types of experiences they wish to gain from the internship, along with a concise resume of their qualifications.

In order to proceed, a documented offer from the employer is needed to help ensure that expectations are consistent for all parties and that they are adhered to. This may be addressed to the student or the departmental internship coordinator, on letterhead or in electronic format. This correspondence should identify the duties of the intern, the length of employment, and the rate of pay (if any). The offer will be attached to the Internship Approval Form and submitted to the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics for approval by the dean. Once approved, a student will be permitted to register. Students may begin working only after approval from the dean.

Deadlines:

• Fall Semester: 1st Monday in July
• Spring Semester: 2nd Monday in November
• Summer: 2nd Monday in April

The number of credit hours for which a student registers is dependent on 1) the number of work hours the internship is expected to provide and 2) the academic needs of the student.

Internship registration is in three-hour increments (up to a maximum of 12), and a minimum of 40 work hours is required to fulfill one credit hour. For example, a student must complete at least 120 work hours if three hours of internship credit are registered. Students must pay for internship credit hours just as in a regular course.