Frequently Asked Questions About the Internship Option:

What is an internship?
An internship is an experience focused on learning about the structure and function of a natural resources organization or agency and how work is performed by a professional in that agency. The internship may or may not be paid--this depends on what you can arrange with the mentor or agency you work with. The key difference between simply being employed or being a volunteer and being an intern is that the internship requires you to learn a variety of skills related to a particular work area and to make a focused effort to learn about many different aspects of the agency. You will not spend your time doing only one sort of activity. This is a great opportunity to apply what you have learned in your coursework to real-world situations.

What sort of internships have other students done in this program? 

Here are some titles of past internship reports:

bulletA Summer at Taylor Ranch
bulletDevelopment of the Chipman Trail Interpretive Program
bulletMy Summer Internship at PCEI
bulletUnderstanding Research Methods: Protocarnivorous Plants
bulletAn Internship with the Idaho Fish & Game Department
bulletInternship with the Mississippi Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge
bulletInternship at the Rocky Mountain Research Station's Fire Sciences Laboratory in Missoula, Montana

What are the course requirements?
You will need to take 1 credit of For 480 (project planning), 2 credits of 485 (the actual internship), and 1 credit of 481 (project presentation). See Course Requirements for details.

How much work is required for the actual internship? 
To qualify for 2 credits of 485, a minimum of 3 weeks, full-time equivalent (120 hours), must be devoted to the internship.

Who are the people involved in the internship?
        Four people interact during the internship. You are one of these, of course. Your mentor is someone (sometimes of your choosing) under whom or with whom you will directly work during the internship. The mentor is perhaps the most important person in the process (other than you), because this person will spend the most time with you, and has the greatest control over the actual, day-to-day internship experience. Will you be ignored or nourished? Will you be a worker who is simply kept busy or someone who is allowed to discover the inner workings of the organization? To ensure a positive outcome, you need to develop a friendly and professional relationship with the mentor before and during the internship. Your undergraduate advisor (see below) or the 480 instructor can help you with this by explaining the objectives of the internship to the mentor and making it clear that the role is not without additional responsibilities. You, in turn, must remind the mentor about your objectives throughout the experience, be a helpful member of the mentor’s team, and maintain a positive attitude that will be a credit to you, the mentor, and the university.
        Your undergraduate advisor will serve as liaison between you and your mentor during the actual internship (For 485). During the internship you will register for two credits of For 485 with your advisor. To satisfy this part of the work, you will need to submit several assignments to your advisor while you are doing the internship. 
        The fourth person involved in your internship is the 480/481 instructor who will help you with identifying and initiating contacts with internship agencies, preparing a proposal for the internship (480), and a final report and poster presentation (481).

How do I get started?
bulletTalk to your advisor and/or the 480/481 instructor about timing and potential internships of interest to you.
bulletStart looking for an internship and a mentor.
bulletRegister for For 480. You have approximately a month at the beginning of this class to identify your project, but if you started on this earlier, so much the better.

How do I find an internship? See Internship Sources.

Other details:
 Some forms (attached) must be filled out and signed before the start of the internship.

bulletCommitment agreement
bullet 

Insurance. You are covered by University of Idaho liability insurance when you are engaged in any official portion of your curriculum, including work you do as part of your internship. Of course, liability insurance is not the same as medical, dental, and optical coverage, which can be purchased from a variety of sources. You should ask your mentor if special insurance coverage is required by the sponsoring agency. (We will need to check this with the UI attorney.)