Internship opportunities broaden the repertoire of students and enhance their abilities to enter jobs or post-graduate programs upon graduation not only because they gain valuable experience in their disciplines of study but also because they make important connections with people their field. Our students in Biology have interned for a variety of organizations including the Boston Aquarium, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Colorado Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Land Management, the Grand River Mosquito Control District, Community Hospital, St. Mary's Hospital, the Saccomanno Research Institute, the Marillac Clinic, Comfort Dental, the City of Grand Junction Water Treatment Plant, the Museum of the West, the Audubon Society, the Animal Medical Clinic and the Eureka! McConnel Science Museum.
Finding Internship Opportunities
Biology majors and minors can learn about internship opportunities by:
- Contacting the Biology Department Internship Coordinator, Dr. Margot Becktell.
- Utilizing the CMU Career Services Office.
- Registering for and using Handshake, an online resource that helps connect CMU students with employers for internships.
- Approaching the organization or business with whom they want to intern directly.
Earning College Credit for Internships
Registering for Internship (BIOL 499)
Whether they are paid or unpaid, students can earn academic credit for these experiences. In order to earn the academic credit, students need to work with the Biology Department Internship Coordinator or with a faculty member in Biology of their choice to initiate the paperwork necessary to earn college credit for the work. Students earn college credit for the internship by registering for BIOL 499; this is a variable-credit, upper-division course that can be taken for anywhere between two and ten credits. Each credit is equivalent to 45 hours of work as an intern. Up to TEN credits of BIOL 499 can count toward the upper-division requirements for the Bachelor's Degree in Biological Sciences.
For Employers
If you are an employer or organization who would like an intern who is majoring or minoring in Biology, please contact the Biology Department Internship Coordinator or CMU Career Services. Career Services can work to connect you with our biology students through e-mails and through notifications on Handshake, our online platform that connects employers with students. As an employer or organization, once you have registered on Handshake, you can post internships and jobs on the platform to recruit CMU students.
Student Successes
Danace Arthur : Danace interned with the National Audubon Society in Grand Junction, Colorado to survey small mammals at the Nature Center near Connected Lakes State Park.
Elise Barnett: Completed two internships with the USDA/Forest Service where she conducted field work that included electrofishing, collecting aquatic macroinvertebrate samples, and surveyed for breeding and occupancy of amphibians in the White River National Forest.
Estephen Cordova: Estephen interned at the Palisade Insectary; as an intern he conducted experiments of invasive weeds.
Kristine Crippen: Kristine interned at the Division of Wildlife in Grand Junction, CO.
Sydney Dolloff-Holt: Sydney spent a summer working for Grofresh, a local aquaponics facility that uses state of the art technology to produce fresh vegetables with a smaller ecological footprint.
Zach Fitzner: Zach was a research intern in the Bahamas, collecting data on ground-nesting parrots. He also worked in Equatorial Guinea on a research project on sea turtles.
Alexis Holmes: Alexis worked as an historical forensics intern at the Museum of the West in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Steve Linsley: Steve interned at the City of Grand Junction Water Treatment Plant; as an intern, he worked on becoming certified to examine water for Giardia and Cryptosporidium.
Matthew Marvin: Matthew interned at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI). After graduation, he took on a full-time position as a CBI agent.
Pam Mobley: Pam interned at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI). She now works for the CBI.
Raven Patrick: Raven completed an internship with the Kanai Soil and Water Conservation District in Alaska where she took part in a field research project aimed at understanding what cover crops would be appropriate choices for farmers in and around Kanai, Alaska.
Austin Seay: Austin interned at the Boston Aquarium; as an intern, he worked with the aquarium's penguin population. After graduating, Mr. Seay took on a position at a Marine Institute in the Caribbean working to educate students on marine life through snorkeling and diving expeditions.
Madelynn Smatla: Madelynn worked as an intern at the Amigo Animal Clinic in Grand Junction where she gained valuable skills to help in her pursuit of a degree in veterinary medicine.
Denise Venzel: Denise interned in the Crime Lab of the Mesa County Sheriff's Department in Grand Junction, Colorado.
Chevy White: Chevy shadowed a PA at the Pediatric Neurology Clinic on the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora Colorado and also served as a camp counselor for two summer camps sponsored by the Epilepsy Foundation.
Nicole White: Nicole interned at the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI). After graduation, she took on a full-time position as an analyst at CBI.