Department of Environmental Science and Management

Internships

ESM students are encouraged to consider doing an internship sometime during their junior or senior year.  Internships are a wonderful way to gain practical skills and hands-on experience in the field as well as a way to cultivate professional contacts. 

To receive announcements about both internship and job opportunities, ESM majors can sign up to be on the ESM listserve. Please send a request to esmoffice@pdx.edu if you wish to subscribe.  In addition to the listserve announcements, the department offers periodic information sessions with representatives from agencies and organizations who are looking to place interns.

Below is a partial listing of places where ESM students have interned:

Internships for Credit

It is also possible for students to earn credit for their internship. To obtain credit, students must arrange for a full-time ESM faculty member to serve as their advisor. 

  • ESM 401 (Research Internship): In this internship, a student works closely with a faculty member on a research project to gain skills and experience in field work, lab work, and/or data analysis.
  • ESM 404 (Cooperative Education Internship): In this internship, a student works closely with an external organization to gain skills and experience in the area of environmental science and management.

 

Guidelines for Internships for Credit

 

ESM 401 - Research Internship: 

A supervised research experience where the student works in an on or off campus active research laboratory. Prerequisite: Prior approval by an ESM faculty. 

Course Objective: To provide an opportunity for a learning experience relevant to the student’s educational program, explore a field of interest, and build knowledge and skills to prepare for future employment opportunities.

ESM 404 - Cooperative Education Internship:

A supervised practicum where the student works in an environmental position in industry or government. Prerequisite: Prior approval by an ESM faculty.

Course Objective: To provide an opportunity for an off-campus learning experience relevant to the student’s educational program, explore a field of interest, and build knowledge and skills to prepare for future employment opportunities.

Procedures: 

  1. Identify a research internship in a PSU research lab or an internship opportunity with an external organization, and review the required documentation for research internships and external internships.
  2. For research internships, your supervisor may be the faculty PI in the lab or another lab member.  For external internships, you need a PSU faculty advisor to help you through the process.  You can ask an ESM faculty member you know, or reach out to the ESM Chair to serve as your faculty advisor.
  3. Once you have a faculty member who has agreed to grant you credits for the internship, notify your pathway advisor (Stephanie or Sang).
  4. Complete the necessary documentation with the help of your faculty advisor as needed, and agree on the number of credits you will earn for the experience. In general, 1 credit = 30 hours of work over a 10-week quarter; 4 credits = 120 hours of work or about 12 hours per week.  In some cases, you may work more than 120 hours, but the internship is capped at 4-credits. 
  5. Prior to registering for internship credits, you must complete the CITI Responsible Conduct of Research Training (instructions for how to register and complete the training course are found in the link).  Send your completion certificate to the ESM Office (esm_admin@pdx.edu).
  6. You can register ESM 404 credits through the University's electronic By-Arrangement System.   For further information about the e-By-Arrangement System, please see the By Arrangement page.
  7. Submit electronic copies of the following to the ESM office no later than the end of the first week of the quarter you are registering for credits (you can do this at the same time as you submit the CITI certificate; esm_admin@pdx.edu): 
    1. Research or External Internship Plan
    2. Narrative describing specific learning objectives and responsibilities for research and external internships.
  8. At the end of the term you submit to your faculty advisor: 
    1. A Final Report for research or external internships.
    2. Internship Supervisor Evaluation of Student Performance Form.
       

For further details that include participant responsibilities, reporting guidelines, research plan form, and supervisor evaluation forms, see ESM 401 Guidelines and ESM 404 Guidelines. Be advised that the guidance on how to complete the By Arrangement registration has not been updated yet, but the remainder of the documents is valid.