Internships
(and Externships)
Whether you seek an internship or an externship you're looking for real-world work experience offered by an organization outside of the University for a limited period of time.
In several of our majors and graduate degrees an internship/externship is required for the degree. For all students, undergraduate and graduate alike, having practical experiences in your field is often the tipping point between getting the right job, getting into the right graduate program, or moving into a new position.
In the School for the Environment we distinguish between internships and externships with externships being based with one of the School for the Environment EnvSchool Connect alumni partners. Both experiences require you to work with an organization for a set period of time and both are coordinated and overseen by AASC@SFE.
Our Internship Partners
Mass Audubon protects 38,000 acres of land throughout Massachusetts, saving birds and other wildlife, and making nature accessible to all. The School for the Environment has worked closely with Mass Audubon to restore wetlands and to develop sustainable natural resource policies in the Commonwealth. We are pleased to be able to offer paid academic year and summer internships to School for the Environment students as well as UMass Boston students from across the campus. Internships are not limited to working in conservation. Student internships are available in areas of human resources, financial operations, fund-raising, outreach, informal environmental education and more. To learn more about the Mass Audubon internship program contact our undergraduate programs director.
The National Park Service, through our membership in the North Atlantic Coast Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit, supports paid summer internships for students. Based at either the Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area or Cape Cod National Seashore, student interns focus on supporting and advancing best practices to manage land and water resources and adapt to changes in the environment. Internship experiences include not only hands-on conservation research but also training in environmental education and public outreach. With the federal experience provided by this program, interns often continue for a second year through the Student Conservation Association. Together these experiences provide the experiences needed for a successful career in federal agencies such as the National Park Service. To learn more about the National Park Service Internship Program contact our undergraduate program coordinator.
Triumvirate Environmental (TEI) is a leading provider of enterprise waste management and environmental services to Healthcare, Education, Life Sciences, and Industrial markets. With Boston being the center of the universe when it comes to medical and biotech, experienced professionals in this sector are in high demand. With TEI we offer internships in the summer and during the academic year providing students with hands-on experience and professional development training to advance their career in environmental management and sustainability. In addition to being an internship partner, TEI funds our Triumverate Environmental Coop program and is a keystone partner in our Green Planet Living Learning Community. For more information about TEI internships contact our undergraduate program coordinator.
Supported through the Michael Stone Fund, Community Development majors are able to apply their knowledge to advocate for and enable affordable housing to low-income communities in Boston. The City of Boston has much to be proud of but its ranking as the most economically inequitable city in the U.S. is not one of them. Michael Stone, considered the guru on non-speculative housing and shelter poverty. Work done by internships ensures that the next generation of affordable housing scholars will be able to carry Michael's legacy into the future. For more information about this program contact Prof. Alan Wiig.
New England Aquarium and the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life are formal partners with the School for the Environment. Offering a number of internship and research opportunities, School for the Environment students can gain practical experience in animal husbandry, marine mammal ecology, veterinary science, and in communication and outreach as well as informal science education. Internships at the New England Aquarium are highly competitive. School for the Environment graduate and undergraduate students interested in pursuing an internship should contact Dr. John Mandelman to discuss application and to ensure visibility of your materials as they receive close to 1000 applications each year.
Living on Earth is Public Radio's Environmental News Magazine. LoE is produced from the School for the Environment and offers internship experiences to students from the School for the Environment and from majors such as communications and education. Interns gain hands on experience in the development and production of news stories and in the technologies used to produce and disseminate shows. Students interested in an internship with LoE should contact our undergraduate program coordinator.
Other Internship Opportunities
Students in the School for the Environment are in high demand across Massachusetts and coastal New England. Each semester and summer we receive numerous announcements for internships. Keeping up with all of these opportunities isn't easy. In addition to reading your UMass Boston email regularly, be sure to follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook as we often post internship information on these social media sites. And of course, check in with AASC@SFE staff frequently.
The University also serves as a hub of internship opportunities, many of which are aligned with School for the Environment student interests. Be sure to sign up at Beacon Careers Online to see all of the opportunities available.