Environmental Studies

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Internship Program

Working hand in hand

Every year, hundreds of UCSC student interns and volunteers do important work in the community that surrounds them

"Over the past four quarters, for example, nearly 700 UCSC environmental studies interns have contributed close to 60,000 hours of work to nonprofits, businesses, and government in the Santa Cruz area."

--ENVS Interns in the limelight - UCSC Newsroom - by Peggy Townsend

The Environmental Studies Internship Office is located in 491, Interdisciplinary Sciences Building. The office is open to all students wishing to pursue a valuable experience that places them in the field.

Our Placements

UCSC Environmental Studies Students intern for a variety of local, state, national and international organizations. These organizations and businesses include educational, agricultural, non-profit, for-profit, government and non-government internship positions. Many of our more than 130 internships can be found on our Available Internships page.

Internships and your education

Internships allow students to apply the concepts and theories they learn about in academic settings to workplace settings. As an intern, you can see how people relate with one another, test out the theories learned in classes, and observe the inner workings of the work environment in a myriad of different fields and disciplines. Work done outside the classroom brings new depth and meaning to the work done inside the classroom, and enlightens the student to the importance of their academic work. Internships can be as much about finding out what you really like as encountering what it is you do not like.

Help you define your interests

Many students look at internships as a way to confirm their interest in a given field or discipline. An internship is a way to "taste" a type of work before you've committed to graduate school or working in a full-time position. Internship experiences can help you hone in on your area(s) of interest and focus on the type of work for which you are best suited for and work that you find most interesting.

The Environmental Studies Internship Office is committed to providing students with the necessary resources for finding the best placement for each student.

Interested? You can start the process by communicating directly with the agency, or emailing our office to set up an appointment. We placed students in more than 400 internships this past year. And, perhaps we have one waiting for you too!

If you would like to participate in an internship next quarter, send an email to the Internship Coordinator.

Office Hours:

Drop-In Office Hours: Monday, Tues., Thurs. 10am-12pm, or call for an appointment.