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What is an internship?
An internship is an on-site work experience related to your major or your career interests. Internships offer the opportunity for a student to gain valuable, paid work experience. Most interns work full-time during the summer only, although some internships are available during the fall and spring semesters.As early as the summer after their freshman year, students can begin an internship with an employer. In addition to exposure to technical training, interns gain knowledge of an employer work environment, office etiquette and typical day-to-day challenges and projects.
Are employers interested in community college students? You bet they are!
These experiences offer short-term and long-term advantages. Students earn a salary, gain professional experience to complement their academic studies, and explore career interests within their majors. When they graduate and seek permanent employment, their industry experience gives them a competitive advantage. Often, students receive permanent job offers from employers for which they have interned.
What are Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs)?
Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REUs, also known as UREs, undergraduate research experiences) work to form a collaboration between a student and a faculty member; the faculty member mentors the student in the process of how research is done by professionals. The mentor will help the student identify an appropriate research methodology, identify a problem to investigate, guide the student through completing the project, and help share the student's discoveries with their peers.Undergraduate research is inquiry-based learning that involves practicing a discipline, not just being told about it. This helps students understand a particular topic or phenomenon in a field while simultaneously strengthening their comprehension of research and research methods.
Are these programs interested in community college students? You bet they are!
These experiences offer short-term and long-term advantages. Not only do students with research experience tend to engage more deeply with their major, they develop transferable skills with broad application in both research and in the workforce, such as problem solving, communication, critical thinking, and teamwork. And they look great on your resume!
Internships and research experiences are one of the best ways to increase your chances of employment after graduation!
How do I find an internship or an REU?
You need to use a variety of search strategies. Use the links below, Handshake, and even Indeed, Glassdoor, and LinkedIn to find internship listings. You can search your interests by keyword and/or major. You may also want to include "intern" or "internship" in your search. (Government jobs often use "seasonal" as well.). These programs are competitive, and require you to complete an application. The application deadlines, and the eligibility requirements vary. Most require at least one letter of recommendation.If you're looking for a summer internship, begin your search in the preceding fall semester. Most deadlines for summer programs will fall in January or February (with some in March or later).Local (or local-ish) opportunities for STEM majors
CREATE (Connecting Research and Education At TExas) is a partnership between ACC and UT-Austin that provides research opportunities and experience for ACC students.
Research Experiences for Undergraduates hosted by Texas A&M. Many of the summer research opportunities listed on this site are open to community college students!
Undergraduate research and extension experience in innovative agricultural technologies to support sustainable agricultural intensification hosted by Texas A&M. Includes a virtual 17-week research experience focused on Internet of Things (IoTs), Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), and Geospatial data analytics, and an 8-week in-person paid summer internship.
Summer Research Scholars Programs hosted by UT-Austin. Many of these programs are open to community college students!
Summer Research Opportunities listed by UT-Austin that are hosted by other institutions. Some of these programs are open to community college students.
UT Center for Dynamics and Control of Materials Research Experience for Undergraduates 2024 Summer Program.
Cold calling: you can always try contacting a professor directly to see if you can get involved in the research they're doing.
Search Eureka at UT to find faculty members that work on specific topics, or search for research assistantships that have been posted. Although ACC students can't make an account on Eureka, you can then contact the faculty directly.
Multidisciplinary Opportunities
Most of these organizations offer opportunities for a wide range of majors
Pathways to Science - this is my favorite place to find REUs.
If you need help finding a program that's a good fit, please feel free to email Liv Detrick at ldetrick@ibparticipation.org for assistance. Please include your level of study, disciplinary interests, and any other requirements you would like to consider.
You can also follow Pathways to Science on Facebook updates.
The National Science Foundation maintains a site for students to search for NSF-funded REU opportunities.
The National Science Foundation also maintains the Education and Training Application (ETAP) site, which also features some internships.
NASA's Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) program
Community College Internships (CCI) via the DOE
Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI) via DOE
Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) via the NSF: .
Community College Summer Enrichment Program (CCSEP) via NIH
Community College Innovation Challenge (CCIC) via American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and NSF
Internships at the American Academy for the Advancement of Science
Science, Technology, Engineering And Math Student Experiences Aboard Ships (STEMSEAS) provides ship-based, exploratory experiences for undergraduate students in many disciplines.
Reach out to faculty at nearby universities for opportunities. You may not get many responses, but it might be worth a try
Engineering Opportunities
UT Center for Dynamics and Control of Materials: National Science Foundation Materials Science and Engineering Research Center (MRSEC) REU hosted by UT-Austin's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Summer Undergraduate Research Internship (SURI) hosted by UT-Austin's Department of Petroleum and Geosystems Engineering
National Nanotechnology Coordinated Infrastructure (NNCI) Summer Texas Nanofabrication Facility REU program hosted by UT-Austin's Microelectronics Research Center
Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) Research Experience for Undergraduates Summer Program
Geoscience Opportunities
The American Geosciences Institute (AGI) provides internship opportunities within AGI’s programs. Most of their internship programs are appropriate for upper-level undergraduates and graduate students, but some are open to lower-level undergraduates.
Mickey Leland Environmental Internship Program – a full-time, paid summer internship placement program with the TCEQ, other state agencies, or in the private sector.
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality – offers other paid internships at the TCEQ headquarters in Austin or on the Texas State University – San Marcos campus.
Texas Parks & Wildlife Student Internship Program offers internships during the summer months. Their Internship Program is very competitive for all positions including both paid and unpaid opportunities. Internships are posted and hired on a rolling basis. Experience is important when applying to these internships. To gain experience, you may want to consider volunteering, or applying for seasonal, temporary, or part-time positions. Apply online at TPWD’s Current Postings webpage. Please note that in applying for TPWD positions, decisions are made based on your completed online application and not based on your resume.
Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internship – offered through the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science, places students in paid internships in Science and Engineering at any of several Department of Energy facilities.
NASA's DEVELOP Program is a unique student internship program that addresses environmental and public policy issues through interdisciplinary research projects that apply the lens of NASA Earth observations to community concerns around the globe. Bridging the gap between NASA Earth Science and society, DEVELOP builds capacity in both participants and partner organizations to better prepare them to address the challenges that face our society and future generations.
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center – sometimes offers internships and special projects in a wide range of skills sets, including vegetation surveys, education, horticulture, ecological design, communications, and more.
Fund for the Public Interest – offers paid positions on its campaign staff where you will work towards a more sustainable and more democratic course by canvassing for organizations like the Human Rights Campaign, Environment America, and the Sierra Club.
Spreadsheet of environmental jobs and job boards (some local, some not)
Volunteer opportunities:
Environment for the Americas has many internships in conservation
Physics Opportunities
General Search Tools
Zintellect - Zintellect provides listings of internships, experiential learning opportunities, academic fellowships and scholarships funded by government and private sector organizations. These programs are administered by ORAU and the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE). Visitors to the site may view available opportunities by selecting the Opportunity Catalog.
Applicants may view opportunities available in Zintellect by selecting the Opportunity Catalog. Zintellect has an advanced search feature that allows applicants to view only the opportunities that fit their needs and preferences. Applicants may search by keyword, academic level, discipline, organization and program, etc.
USA Government Jobs - This is where all jobs with any US federal agency will be found. Use the filters "intern" or "seasonal".
ACC Career Services Job Board
Handshake features jobs offered by local employers to ACC students, and is FREE! Log in using your ACC student ID and password.
Warning: Employment Scams
Students are frequent targets of employment scams. Job scams can take many forms, but in general, scammers are pursuing:
They are trying to gain access to a job seeker’s bank account so they can withdraw money from it. A legitimate employer should never ask for your bank information until you’ve gone through the entire hiring process and accepted a formal written job offer, and they should never ask for your credit card information.
They are trying to get a job seeker’s social security number and other personal information, which they will use to commit identity theft. A legitimate employer should not ask for sensitive personal information like your Social Security Number until you’ve accepted a formal job offer.
They are trying to pull a fake check scam in which they send the job-seeker a fake check and ask for reimbursement once the "check" has been deposited. In fact, there have even been scammers pretending to be ACC representatives! A legitimate employer should never ask you to pay an upfront cost for any reason, nor should they send an employee a check before their first day of work.
Lastly, a hiring manager should send you emails from their business address, not from a personal account on Gmail or some other provider. Reputable companies have their own email address domains.
ACC's Career Services folks have a bunch more information here.
Just remember — if it seems to good to be true, it probably is!
Do you need to create an Academic Resume?
An Academic Resume emphasizes your academic accomplishments and your involvement while in school because it is understood that most students don't have any professional experience yet. There is really no limit to how long your academic resume can be. Professional resumes, on the other hand, emphasize and summarize your professional skills and experiences; they are typically limited to one page, unless you have extensive professional experience. In that case, you can expand to two pages, but that's generally frowned upon.
ACC's Transfer Services has a short guide to Academic Resumes.
ACC's Career Services also offers a guide to professional resumes that may help you plan and organize for your Academic Resume.
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