Internships

Step One: Find a Suitable Internship

1. Consider the environmental field, such as consulting, education, compliance, sustainability, parks, water management, or agriculture (among others).
2. Use the same type of search you would use for finding a regular job on the Internet. Or try to use local contact where you will be living during the internship, or in Waco.

Common Waco opportunities:

• TCEQ (Texas Commission on Environmental Quality) - Please contact Dr. George Cobb, ENV Department Chair, or your academic advisor for further information and contact information.
• Lake Waco Wetlands - Nora Schell: (254) 848-9654
• Miller Springs Nature Center Contact: Dr. Charles Newsom
• World Hunger Relief - click on "How You Can Help" for more information or opportunities.
• Waco Water Utility Services
• Cameron Park Zoo - click on Volunteer for more information
• Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce
• Urban REAP - Please contact: urbanreapdirector@missionwaco.org for internships in Aquaponics Research, Garden & Compost Program, and Education & Community Programming. Students must be Federal Work Study (FWS) eligible to apply.

Texas Options:

• Mickey Leland Environmental Internship with TCEQ. Check website for details and application deadlines.
• Sanderson Farms - To learn more about internships at Sanderson Farms, please download this brochure
• Texas Parks & Wildlife Internship Program. Check website for details and application deadlines or contact Joe Beach:(512) 389-4485
• Brazos River Authority -Internship Information/Application Check website for more information.
• City and other regional governments and serving legislators
• Consulting firms; gas and oil companies; deer ranches; seasonal work in restoration for energy companies.

National Options:

• The Federal Government - Pathways Program . More information on the program and eligibility can be found here.
• BP Global.
• Environmental education - many camps and outdoor centers, try Googling: "environmental education internship"
• Federal or state summer jobs: USDA Student Intern Program; EPA Student Internships
• Some agencies have special programs including the US Geological Survey, Department of Defense, Department of Energy, and the National Park Service, as well as internships at the Science Undergraduate Laboratory National Laboratories (SULI). Many of our students have interned with the U.S. Public Health Service in the JRCOSTEP program.
• Use National environmental jobs boards and search "internship". Examples: Ecojobs.com; CampusAccess.com;
• Check with Environmental NGOs, such as the Audubon Society; Greenpeace; Reef Check
• Pay as you go international internships (primarily research) - though some of these are not long enough and may require extra arrangements. Examples include: Earthwatch; School for Field Studies, and a number of study abroad programs.
• Missions Internship - though Christian organizations or a home denomination, use missions and international development as search terms, consider working an organization based in Texas, such as Mission Waco.
• Solar Turbines an energy solutions company whose specialty is Gas Turbine engines. Two internships for Environmental Science/EHS in San Diego are available for next summer.  Follow the link @ Intern - Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) (6363BR), Intern - Environmental (6501BR)
• The Urban Water Innovation Network - Application Deadline 1/25/19 Midnight (UWIN).
• USFWS - To view the complete list of positions currently available with FWS visit www.fws.gov/ humancapital/.  You may also view listings and links on Twitter at https://twitter.com/ USFWSJobs.

Additional Internship Opportunities

Step Two: Registering

1. Find a faculty advisor - someone who is available for the summer or appropriate term you are registering for. Doug Nesmith and Smith Getterman can act as faculty supervisors. Your internship advisor does not necessarily have to be your academic major advisor.
   • Download a copy of the appropriate internship handbook: Undergraduate and Graduate
   • Fill out the application form and bring it to the Environmental Science Department's front office to obtain the department chair's signature.
   • Make certain you have an on-the-job supervisor.

2. Register for course credit under your internship advisor's section number.

   • You should be registered the semester you start your internship, however, you may carry the credit over more than one semester - if you start in the summer, register for at least one summer credit.
   • Make certain when you register for a 'V' course (variable) that you indicate the correct number of semester hours, if more than, one for the term.
   • Take 4V93 for most agency and corporate internships, use 3V93 if working on campus or with community organizations or Baylor sustainability (ask your advisor for more advice on which course to take - there are two handbooks, one for each course).

   WARNING: Two common mistakes are to sign up for the wrong number of hours (usually 1 instead of 3), or under the wrong instructor.

3. If you will be out of town - Please make sure to make arrangements to contact your supervisor/advisor for weekly or bi-weekly report submissions. Please also provide emergency contact information.
4. Final Projects:
   • Should be approved by your faculty supervisor. Please make sure to discuss in advance.
   • Your final projects may include products of your work while serving as an intern, including educational displays, impact statements, Powerpoints for public education, field surveys, GIS maps, and other practical outcomes. You need to make clear arrangements concerning the format and amount of material for final submission.