Earth and Environment Internships

This page includes instructions for department internships. For additional opportunities, visit CASE News - Department Opportunities.

An internship is a form of experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional setting. Students in the Department of Earth and Environment may get academic credit for an internship by registering for one of five courses listed in the table below. AGG 4941, EVR 4941, GLY 4947, and MET 4941 are generally for off-campus internships whereas ISC 4940 is for on-campus internships, usually for work in a research laboratory under the supervision of a faculty advisor.

Internship Procedures

1. Identify a sponsor who will agree to host the internship and provide supervision of the student for the duration of the internship.
2. Completely fill out the Internship Application Form including names and signatures of the internship sponsor or faculty research advisor and the attached Release and Assumption of Risk form. Submit the completed forms to the appropriate internship coordinator (from Table 1 above) before the first day of classes.
3. If the internship is international, the student must register with the Office of Study Abroad.
4. The internship coordinator will review your application and will determine if it meets the criteria and appropriate number of credits as specified above. Once approved, the internship coordinator will enroll you in the course.
5. At the end of the internship, complete your internship deliverable as specified in Part D of the application (e.g. report, design, presentation, maps, analyses, video, website, etc) before the last day of classes of the term.

Learning Outcomes

Internships offer students the opportunity to gain practical/applied experience and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career paths. In addition, internships give employers the opportunity to guide and evaluate talent.

Internship Criteria

To ensure that an experience is educational, and thus eligible to be considered a legitimate internship, all the following criteria must be met:

• The experience must be an extension of the classroom: a learning experience that provides for applying the knowledge gained in the classroom. It must not be simply to advance the operations of the employer or be the work that a regular employee would routinely perform.
• Internship credits cannot be awarded for performance of one’s regular job. An internship is a temporary position of fixed duration with a defined beginning and end established prior to the outset.
• The skills or knowledge learned in the internship must be transferable to other employment settings.
• The internship must have the following elements:
  • A job description with desired qualifications.
  • A set of clearly defined learning objectives/goals related to the professional goals of the student’s academic coursework.
  • Supervision by a professional with expertise and the educational and/or professional background in the field of the experience.
  • Routine feedback to the intern by the experienced supervisor.
  • Resources, equipment, and facilities provided by the host employer that support learning objectives/goals.

Internships can be paid or unpaid, but the experiences must be strictly educational in nature and must be for the benefit of the intern, not solely the business. In most cases, unpaid internships will require you to register for an internship course in order for the employer to be in accordance with Federal labor law. Internships have the added advantage that they can count towards a program requirement but the credits will not count towards any excess credits.

Textbook and Assigned Readings

No textbook is required for this course. Readings may be assigned by the internship sponsor, in which case access to the reading materials will be provided by the sponsor.

Internship Course Expectations

Students are expected to:

1. Display professional conduct at all times
2. Adhere to the FIU Student Code of Conduct
3. Follow all policies and procedures of the internship setting
4. Seek guidance and assistance when needed
5. Meet with the internship supervisor for individual and group supervision as required
6. Fulfill the requirements of the internship contract and complete all course requirements

Course Credit and Grading

All internship courses can be taken for 0 to 6 credits in a given semester, and may be repeated in subsequent semesters up to a maximum of 6 credits. Each credit awarded must correspond to at least 40 hours of work over the duration of the internship. For example, a 10-week-long, 3- credit internship should average at least 12 hours per week of work. You can always register for fewer credits than indicated by the hours worked but never more. For example, for the 10-week, 12 hour/week internship described above, you may choose to register for 0-3 credits but not for more than 3 credits.

Zero-credit internships allow students to register for the internship course while avoiding paying tuition for the course. However, to have the internship count towards an academic requirement, the internship must be taken for credit, usually 2 or 3 credits. Consult your program requirements or advisor to determine the specific course and the appropriate number of credits.

All internship courses are graded on a Pass/Fail basis. A passing grade will be awarded upon completion of all deliverables specified in Part D of the application.