Internships, Cooperative Education Programs (Co-ops), and Special Topics are mechanisms for students to receive academic credit for activities outside of normal courses.

• Internships and Co-op Assignments are generally associated with supervision by non-university personnel, and Special Topics are special activities (usually research) directed by university personnel.

• The Internship course (WFS 4900) is directed by Dr. Combs, and all participating students must contact him before enrolling.

• Special Topics (BIOL 4990 and WFS 4990) are directed by all departmental faculty, and participating students must contact individual instructors before enrolling.

• The Co-op Program is directed by the Office of Career Services (Director Mr. Donald Foster) on the third floor of the University Center, and participating students must contact personnel in this office (telephone 372-3232).

• The Department of Biology has a policy of allowing a maximum of 6 hrs. combined credit for these activities, but special circumstances sometimes warrant slightly more credit.

• Students receive a grade (A-F) in the internship course or special topics courses, but they receive a satisfactory (S) or unsatisfactory (U) grade for the co-op course (1. hr. per semester)

• Internship credit is provided when students work for an agency or private company in an area associated with their academic program, and they wish to receive credit for these activities.

• Internships in the Department of Biology usually take one of two forms.

• Students work part-time for an agency on weekends, nights, or afternoons of an academic semester.

• Students work full-time for an agency during summers or a semester in which they are not enrolled in traditional classes.

• Some examples of recent internship assignments: personnel assistants in state parks, national parks, national wildlife refuges, and state wildlife management areas; zoo or aquarium curating assistants; veterinarian assistant; laboratory research assistant.

• Activities generally include some routine maintenance activities (e.g., picking up trash or cleaning cages), but most students are provided with unique opportunities to learn specialized professional skills and to interact with professionals and the general public.

• Internship assignments are usually volunteer work, but students sometimes receive "stipends" or college fee credit for their work.

• Students enrolled in WFS 4900 (3 hrs. credit) must:

• Work a minimum of 90 clock hours during the assignment (most students work far more than this during a given assignment).

• Keep a journal of all activities.

• Write a summary paper discussing the internship experience and how it help develop career goals.

• Grades are based on:

• Satisfactory completion of all requirements.

• Evaluation form completed by the supervisor.

• Advantages of participating in an internship:

• Experience

• Opportunity to refine career goals

• Personal contacts

• Financial rewards (rare in Biology and WFS)

• Students wishing to participate in this program must:

• Contact a potential supervisor (e.g., state park superintendent) and obtain written documentation that the person is willing to serve as an intern supervisor.

• Send a Resume to the potential supervisor: Online Help.

• Contact Dr. Combs for additional paperwork and call numbers associated with the course.

• Although many Tennessee Tech students contact local agency personnel, other formal mechanisms exist to acquire internship positions.

• Flyers posted on bulletin boards throughout campus buildings.

• Student Conservation Association (SCA): www.theSCA.org;  

• The Nature Conservancy

• Environmental Careers Organization (www.eco.org) and Minority Internships (http://www.umich.edu/~meldi.)

• Various web sites of federal or state agencies

        • Oak Ridge Institute of Science and Energy: http://www.orau.gov/orise/educ.htm

• National Park Service: www.nps.gov

• U.S. Forest Service: www.fs.fed.us

• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: www.fws.gov

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: www.epa.gov

• U.S. National Arboretum: http://fundingopps.cos.com/cgi-bin/getRec?id=53868

• Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency: http://www.state.tn.us/twra

• Tennessee Dept. of Health & Environment (State Parks): http://www.state.tn.us/environment/parks

 

• Co-op assignments are similar to internships except they are:

• Paid positions

• Recurring assignments (i.e., students work for the same agency or firm for several semesters)

• Students either work a semester and go to classes for a semester in a recurring pattern OR

• They work for a year and go to classes for a year in a recurring pattern (the best approach for our students because many of our classes are only offered once a year).

• Mechanisms to gain immediate employment after graduation (not always)

• Co-op positions almost always result in a delay in graduation, but the benefits generally far outweigh loss of time.

• The Co-op Program is directed elsewhere on campus, and students must contact the Co-op Office if they wish to participate and to learn what is required (e.g., assignment reports).

• Co-op positions in Biology and WFS are rare, and few students investigate the potential, but several of our students have recently entered this program (e.g., U.S. Army Corps of Engineer co-op positions).

• Additional information about the Co-op Program is available through the Tennessee Tech Catalog (p. 100 in the 2002 catalog).

• Special Topics are variable credit hour (1-4) courses taught on an individual basis by faculty members in the Department of Biology.

• Although topics are sometimes used to substitute for required courses that are in schedule conflict with other required courses (e.g., reading assignments in a special discipline), they most often are research topics.

• Research topics either involve direct one-on-one interaction between students and faculty members (e.g., topics in microbial lab procedures), or involvement in graduate research programs (e.g., the stream ecology sampling crew).

• Requirements to successfully complete a topics course are variable and outlined during an initial meeting between the student and the faculty member.

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