Internships & Cooperative Work Experiences

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Home >> Undergraduate Program >> Internships & Cooperative Work Experiences
Internships & Cooperative Work Experiences
• Introduction • Prerequisites • Work • Internship Hours • Grades • GEOG 480 and 481 Assignments • Form
Introduction
			Practical experience can be a very important part of your undergraduate program. It is even more valuable when you can get academic credit for your experience. GEOG 480 - Internship in Geography, is the course that you register for in order to get practical experience as an unpaid intern. If you have an opportunity for a paid position in a company or governmental agency that relates to your major, then you can register for GEOG 481 - Cooperative Work Experience in Geography. The paid position must be relevant to your major, i.e., most likely it is related to environmental planning or to cartography and GIS, not sales staff at Famous Barr Department Store.

"The Geography Department at SIU helped me to land an internship in my field which launched my career as a GIS professional." --Phil Graff, Bachelor of Science, Geography, 2001 "My learning experience from the internship is something that could not be replicated in a classroom. The most beneficial experience a college student can gain is from going beyond the classroom discussions and textbooks, and putting the hard-earned knowledge to good use, preferably before their graduation date." --Valerie Rasp, Keep Carbondale Beautiful Spring 2005 Intern "My experience with Carbondale's Planning Division has been vital to the development of my understanding of how the fundamentals of geography are applied beyond the academic world. This experience also gave me a better understanding of the role of geography in community planning and outlined the types of careers that are applicable to the skills that I have developed." --Kristen Rhodes, City of Carbondale Planning Services Division Spring 2005 Intern "Lucky for me I got to see all of my work get put to use during the severe storm event of 22 April 2005." --Wayne Sira, National Weather Service Spring 2005 Intern

Some Geography internship sites are: Cache River Wetlands Joint Venture City of Carbondale Planning Keep Carbondale Beautiful (recycling) USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service The Nature Conservancy Giant City State Park US Fish and Wildlife Service City of St Charles GIS Intern
"Brook did an excellent job! She worked well the staff and children. She ran creative programs that the children enjoyed and she was flexible with the needs of the club and our children. Thank you for sending her our way! She has made a difference!" -- Sunshine Dzierzynski Wilson, Program Director, Boys and Girls Club of Carbondale

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Prerequisites
Must be a Geography major Must have at least 2.7 grade point average (GPA)
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Work
Internships are non-paid. Students earn credit hours that count toward their degree. Interns use geographic skills to work in environmental management jobs, projects vary by internship and by semester. Based on their current projects, supervisors determine appropriate tasks for interns.
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Internship Hours
Most internships are for 3 credit hours; students work 9 hours per week during the Fall/Spring semester. During the summer semester, a 3 credit hour internship requires working 18 hours per week. Internships follow the semester schedule; they begin the week that classes begin and end the week that classes end (the week prior to finals). Interns’ specific work schedules are set in consultation with their agency supervisor. For Geog 480, 3 credits count as a 400-level course toward your Geography major.
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Grades
Grades are based on: attending and working appropriate scheduled hours. completion of internship work assignments or projects. assessment by agency supervisor. completion of internship report and resume. assessment by faculty internship advisor.
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GEOG 480 and 481 Assignments
5 page final report is due the Friday before finals week. This report must: describe the activities/projects accomplished during the internship. note what student contributed to the internship site. state what student learned from the internship work. indicate employment possibilities in this specific area. explain geography’s contribution to this field. Develop a one-page resume. (Go to Career Services in B204 Woody Hall (tel: 453-2391) for assistance.) Students must turn in copies of their report and resume to both the faculty internship advisor and the agency supervisor. Due on the last day of the semester (i.e., the Friday before final exam week). Geography 481 follows the same guidelines, except that credit hours are as follows: Fall/Spring Semester, 6 credit hours = 20 hours/week; 12 credit hours = 40 hours/week. Summer Semester, 6 credit hours = 40 hours/week of work.
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Form
Internship Application Form (pdf) This is a paid internship work experience, arranged by the student. For more information on internships, contact Dr. Duram at duram@siu.edu.
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