Internships

We encourage internships that involve significant work with an environmental or sustainability focus to apply your course work and introduce you to available career paths. Find more internships through the College of Agriculture, Life & Environmental Science Career Center.

How to find an internship

University resources

  1. Watch university email listservs and follow organizations' websites for internship openings.
  2. Visit the CALES Career Center to schedule an appointment with an internship coordinator and search for featured internships.

Job boards

  1. Create and regularly update LinkedIn and Handshake accounts to apply for internships. 
  2. Connect with employees who work at organizations you'd like to intern with 
    1. Provide copies of your updated resume
    2. Use personal documents from ENVS 195A if you enrolled your freshman year

  1. Download and submit the forms below (Application and Assumption of Risk)
  2. Review the Internship Syllabus (below)
  3. Contact your academic advisor to enroll in ENVS 393/493 for credit (paid and unpaid internships accepted)

 

You will prepare a presentation on your internship experience to share in ENVS 393/493. Your 15 minute PowerPoint presentation followed by five minutes for questions will be scheduled during fall semester and will be open to all students in the Environmental Science and the Sustainable Plant Systems majors, and your internship supervisor.

You must submit your presentation one week in advance, and you will have the option to be featured on our website. Presentation topics typically include:

  • Summarize your internship experience
  • Include tangible examples of contributions you made to the organization:
  • Reports, maps, graphs, organizational materials
soil study in lab

Students for Sustainability

This was my first semester being a part of Students for Sustainability and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I have learned so much throughout the semester and gained many important connections. It is amazing to work with people that share the same passions as you.

I was a member of the Greeks Think Green committee, which focuses on implementing composting and recycling in all of the Greek houses on campus. We have convinced several sororities to implement recycling in their houses and we are still working on implementing composting in each house.

– Courtney Pijanowski, Environmental Science

National Science Foundation (The Diversity Project)

For my internship program I worked with the Diversity Project, an NSF-funded program that trains undergraduate students from diverse backgrounds in marine science. I began in California learning about marine science Ph.D. programs and also got my AAUS scientific SCUBA diving certification on Catalina Island.

I traveled to Mo’orea, French Polynesia and conducted biodiversity research at the Gump South Pacific research Station and presented my finding back in California.

– Julianna Jolly Renzi, Environmental Science

woman in shallow water reaching down to test water resource
people gathered around a crop field

Tucson Electric Power (TEP)

I interned with Tucson Electric Power in their Environmental Services Department. Working with TEP was a great education experience. I assisted various programs under three main categories; air quality, water quality, and waste management. Throughout my internship I obtained an industry perspective of environmental regulations.

One of the best parts about interning with TEP is the dynamic nature of the internship. One day I might be putting together reports for regulatory agencies, and the next I may be out in the field accruing samples or disposing of hazardous wastes. I also appreciated the level of autonomy provided to the interns. When responsibilities were assigned, the intern is trusted by their colleagues to adequately complete the assigned work and meet deadlines.

– Pedro Reynoso, Environmental Science