GEOL386 is your avenue for receiving academic credit for experiential professional development experiences in geosciences, including internships in research laboratories and commercial firms.
There is no structured lecture class associated with GEOL386. Your practical experience, together with your reflection journals, meetings with your faculty advisor, timesheets, supervisor’s letter of evaluation, and final research paper comprise the academic requirements of GEOL386. Most students will complete their experiential learning activity, usually an internship, in the summer, then enroll in GEOL386 the following fall semester. However, it is possible for students to intern and take classes simultaneously during the academic year (spring or fall semester). You will be awarded 3 credits for this experience.
Deadlines for submitting proposals are typically the last day of class:
- Summer Internship/Experience - May 8. Credit to be awarded in fall
- Fall Internship/Experience - TBD. Credit to be awarded in fall
- Spring Internship/Experience - TBD. Credit to be awarded in spring
Please contact us in advance if you forsee a late proposal, e.g., your on-site supervisor is out of town during the first week of your internship. Proposals submitted after the start of the internship will be approved on a case-by-case basis only. Please include a carefully-prepared explanation of your situation together with your proposal.
Follow the steps below for guidance on earning GEOL386 credit:
1. Experiential Learning Overview
GEOL386 provides students in geosciences the opportunity to pursue a carefully monitored work experience that earns academic credit. An internship includes intentional learning goals and requires that you reflect on what you are doing. Ideally, it will help you make formal connections to concepts in your major; help clarify your professional goals; and deepen your preparation for employment and/or graduate studies. To that end, you will develop an exeriential learning proposal that meets the approval of the Geology undergraduate director and a supervisor in the university or at the sponsoring organization.
2. Find and secure an internship
Students are responsible for finding their own internships, however many resources are available to you. You may respond to notices the undergraduate ListServe, utilize resources/ links on the GEOL website, consult with Career Center resources, connect with Handshake, or approach organizations or laboratory PIs directly. An internship is possible in a wide range of settings: public sector, private companies, or research labs in the Department of Geology and elsewhere; and, it may be on- or off-campus; paid or unpaid. Consult with the Undergraduate Director and other faculty members about the types of internships appropriate to your academic/career interests.
3. Identify a faculty member to serve as your GEOL386 Instructor of Record.
It is your responsibility to seek out a faculty member to serve as your instructor of record for for GEOL386. Typically, if you are to be supervised by a member of the Geology faculty for your internship, that person would be your instructor of record. If you are to be working with a department, firm, or organization outside of Geology, however, you will need to recruit an instructor of record from the Geology faculty. This person may be a Geology faculty member who is familiar with your professional interests or, all else failing, the Geology Undergraduate Director. You must ask them if they will be willing to serve in this role. Identify this person early in the process! Note: make sure you are identifying a faculty member, and not a staff member.
4. Prepare your proposal
- Proposal Form & Coversheet, which contains:
- At least six academic and/or career objectives related to the content of the internship
- Description of work activities
- Proposed academic research topic AND a bibliography containing seven (7) examples of scholarly source materials for your term paper (including at least 3 peer-reviewed articles). Your research paper topic is of your choosing but should connect the content of your internship and have a clear connection to geosciences. It is a review paper on an academic topic connected to your internship, but needn't be specifically about what you did during your internship).
- Work commitment (including minimal weekly time commitment, total hours on-site, and the calendar interval during which work will be done.)
- Consent & Release Form
- all necessary signatures and contact information
Your GEOL386 Internship proposal must include:
5. Submit your proposal
- Send your completed proposal to your instructor of record and on-site supervisor for discussion and approval (and signatures).
- If you have an off-campus internship, you can email your proposal to your on-site supervisor and ask him/her to email the Undergraduate Director with the statement: "I have read (your name's) internship proposal; and I agree to supervise (your name) and complete an internship evaluation."
- Submit the completed and signed proposal to the Geology Undergraduate Director by e-mail.
- Assuming your proposal is approved by the Undergraduate Director, you will be given permission to register GEOL386 for three (3) credits and sent an email confirmation.
6. Complete the academic work for GEOL386
Remember: GEOL386 is not a structured lecture course. Students earn credit by completing their internship activity, by meeting at least 3 times with their instructor of record during the semester, and by completing all components of the Internship Packet:
- A 10-12 page academic research paper with an annotated bibliography. Your research paper topic is of your choosing and should connect the content of your internship with the content of your concentration (and not necessarily what you did during your internship experience).
- A record of hours worked, i.e., your “time sheets,” with days/hours clearly marked and totaled. You need at least 120 hours on-site to earn 3 academic credits.
- A reflection journal (guidelines HERE)
- An evaluation from your site supervisor.
- A newly-updated resume that now references your internship/experience.
Your instructor of record for GEOL386 may choose to use the GEOL386 GRADING SHEET to assign a final grade based on the high quality of your completed Internship Portfolio. A complete packet should be submitted in hard-copy format, in a folder, and include the following documents: your research paper and supporting documentation (weekly log, personal reflections, supervisor evaluation).
Your grade in GEOL386 is based on the instructor of record's assessment of your learning and performance in the internship.
Deadlines for submitting the complete Internship Packet to your faculty advisor:
- December 1 (if earning credit in the fall) -or-
- May 1 (if earning credit in the spring)
7. Say THANK YOU
Be sure to write a thank-you note to your on-site supervisor!
Best success!
John Merck