- Participating in an internship provides the student with first-hand experience working with an organization.
- This experience may help you refine or redefine your interests, both as they pertain to your continuing education and future professional goals.
- Internships also provide an opportunity for you to apply your education to benefit others.
What Can You Expect to Gain from an Internship?
The goal of our internship program is twofold:
- We strive to give the students "real world" experience and exposure to the operations of the internship organization and duties of its staff.
- We also strive to ensure that each student will be challenged in an academic or analytical capacity.
If you are not sure whether to take an internship or which one would be of the most interest to you or have any other questions, please do not hesitate to contact the ES Internship Coordinator, Marcia Findlay. She is available during office hours, Tuesdays and Thursdays 12 to 2 pm (Steffee Hall, B200.A). She can also be reached via email (mfindlay@allegheny.edu) or telephone (332-2725).
- By discussing your interests and potential internship goals, and providing further descriptions of the various internship organizations, the Internship Coordinator may help you determine what direction to take.
- The names of current students who have taken the internships are provided with each internship description (see either "Which Internship Would Be Best for Me?" or Internship Listings ), so you can ask them about their experience.
- Posters created by past interns will also provide an idea of the various internship organization activities and students' projects. They are provided in "Which Internship Would Be Best for Me?" and the prior semester's posters are posted on the bulletin board on the second floor of Steffee Hall at the top of the stairs, just outside the GIS laboratory.
- Students taking an internship for 4 credits are expected to work 10 hours per week for their internship organization (for a total of roughly 12 to 15 hours per week on average spent on the internship course).
- Students taking an internship for 2 credits are expected to work 5 hours per week for their internship organization (for a total of roughly 7 to 9 hours per week on average spent on the internship course).
- an independently-driven project and associated research, to be determined jointly by the student, supervisor, and faculty;
- three essays in which you reflect on your experiences;
- a brief descriptive log of your activities and hours, and;
- an 8.5 by 11-inch poster/web page in which you highlight your internship's mission and your activities.
The mainstay of the internship program is the internship project. Early in the semester, the scope of the project will be developed and agreed upon by the student and the Internship Supervisor, with additional input from the Allegheny internship faculty advisor and the internship coordinator, as needed. Usually, the project entails work that is of use to the internship organization. Your project does not need to be a strictly defined "research" paper. Past project have included:
- the design of educational programs
- the creation of publicity materials, such as brochures, web pages, newsletters, maps, GIS maps
- the creation of nature trails, or signage and informational packages for them
- the evaluation of existing programs implemented by the internship organization (e.g., recycling, purchasing, educational outreach, waste minimization, sustainable development, animal/plant management techniques, etc.)
You can expect to spend between 30 to 100 percent
of your "work" time for the internship working on your project (most interns
probably spend from 50 to 80 percent of their time working on their projects).
Why Choose an Internship? | "Which Internship Would be Best for Me?" |Internship listings | How to Register | Syllabus | Internship Home | ES Main Page