We recommend that BSS students participate in an internship, which helps you build skills, knowledge, experience, and professional connections. Internships provide an opportunity to try a desired career path, and an opportunity to learn how academic theory relates to real-world environments.
SPST 4910: Internship
SPST 4910 is the internship course for BSS students. Consult the SPST 4910 Internship Information Sheet for specific information like credit hours, course requirements, grading and cost.
Registering for SPST 4910
- Talk with your BSS advisor about how an internship fits in to your individualized degree program.
- Find an internship that is right for you.
- Obtain a copy of the internship description on company letterhead and complete the online internship application .
- Contact Rob Rennich to register for SPST 4910.
Past BSS Internship Experiences
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Butterfly Field Technician
“Working as a Butterfly Field Technician for the Iowa Multiple Species Inventory and Monitoring Program in Iowa helped me learn essential skills in the field and also forge connections with natural Resources conservation professionals.”-Hannah Kopp, BSS; Natural Resource Conservation -
Grant Writing Assistant
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Recreation Director Intern
Find an Internship
Identify what you hope to gain from an internship experience.
- Skills approach: student identifies a specific set of skills that s/he would like to develop
- Career approach: student intends to gain experience in a specific career field/company
- Can be a combination of both
- There are a variety of resources to help students identify skillsets needed for specific career paths as well as skillsets that are valuable in all fields (transferable).
- Schedule an appointment with a career coach via Handshake
- Talk with your BSS advisor
Identify what you have to offer an intern partner.
What strengths, skills, knowledge, abilities, and experiences could be valuable to an internship site? Examples include excellent written communication skills, CPR and other certifications, etc. (skills can be transferable or job specific). Think about what you have learned in your classes. Review syllabi from previous or current courses.
Internship search sites
- Handshake (Ohio University's job and internship search platform)
- Ohio Means Internships
- WayUp
- idealist
- Indeed
Design Your Own Internship Experience
If you have searched through all the traditional sites and found it difficult to identify opportunities that are meaningful and accessible to you, you might consider designing your own internship experience. Schedule an appointment with Internship Coordinator Rob Rennich to learn more.
Internship Descriptions
If you have located an internship site and a willing internship supervisor, but have no formal internship description, following are some links that should provde some guidance:
- NACE Center for Career Development and Talent Acquisition
This site provides a clear definition and criteria for defining what constitutes an internship experience as well as measures for determining whether the experience should be paid or unpaid. - U.S. Department of Labor Internship Fact Sheet
This fact sheet provides general information to help determine whether interns and students working for “for-profit” employers are entitled to minimum wages and overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).