DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
BEEGHLY 104
ENVS-491/691 Internship Syllabus
Please contact the ENVS Office (x1750, environmental@american.edu) to make an appointment with the
internship faculty advisor.
Course Objectives:
• Enhance your experience in a working environment through:
• Increase understanding of the organization and of the factors influencing organizational behavior;
• Complete a work product that contributes significantly to the internship organization or to the field
in which you would like to work and to your own resume;
• Develop personal, interpersonal, and technical skills you need to succeed in the career you choose.
Requirements:
• You need to meet with the faculty advisor at least one week before you begin the internship to
discuss what you plan to accomplish in the time you have at the site. In preparation, be prepared to
provide the following information about the internship:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Name and Address of Company or Organization (include web address if available):
Company Description (please include general information about company mission, size, number of employees, etc)
Contact/Supervisor Name, title and contact information:
Internship Title:
Internship Qualifications:
Internship Description (clerical or administrative work such as making copies, running errands, answering phones
and entering data cannot be more than 10% of the internship):
7. Wage/Salary:
8. Days/hours per week:
9. Duration of internship (dates)
10. Please list work samples will the student have to add to his or her portfolio at the end the internship:
•
You may enroll for 1–6 credit hours. Please note that only 3 ch are required for the ENVS major.
One credit hour requires that you work for 8 hours/week for 12 weeks; two credits hours require 10
hours/week for 12 weeks; 3 credit hours require 15 hours/week for 12 weeks and 6 credit hours
require 20–24 hours/week for 12 weeks.
•
Written assignments (see below). As this course has no exams, submitting your assignments on time
is critical. Value of your assignment will be decrease by 10% per day that it is late.
Assignments & Grading:
Note that all assignments are due on Friday at 5 PM of the week indicated (below). Once registered for an
internship, you will be enrolled in a Blackboard course to which will post your assignments to either
Blackboard or the Digital Drop Box (see below). Your assignments will thus be available to other students
who are enrolled in internships for that semester. Please make sure that you have your name and assignment
number on top of each assignment. The only exception is the employer evaluation which must be emailed
or faxed to the faculty advisor.
Version: 8/5/11
1 of 2
Assignment
Points (%)
1. Internship Goals
5
2. Typical Day
5
3. Organizational Analysis
10
4. Proposal for Substantive Research Paper
10
5. Substantive Research Paper
25
6. Employer Evaluation
30
7. Presentation
15
Due Date
1st Week
2rd Week
4th Week
6th Week
Last Week*
Last Week*
Final Week
Posted To:
Blackboard
Blackboard
Blackboard
Blackboard
Digital Dropbox
Electronic
In-Class
* Last week of regular classes for the semester
Detailed Description of Assignments:
Please carefully read the instructions for each of the assignments, paying attention to when they are due and
how they should be submitted.
Assignment 1: Internship Goals (5%) - Due End of 1st Week (Blackboard)
In this assignment, briefly describe the organization (main mission), discuss why you chose to undertake this
internship and, note what you hope to gain from your experience. This should be about half a page of text
(300-400 words). Post the text directly to the board rather than posting a document.
Assignment 2: Description of Your Work (5%) - Due End of 2nd Week (Blackboard)
Describe a typical day at work indicating how you work fits into on-going work and how the work fits into
the work of the organization (300-400 words). Post the text directly to the board.
Assignment 3: Organizational Analysis (10%) - Due End of 4th Week (Blackboard)
Provide a detailed analysis of your internship organization addressing the following:
• a brief history of the organization - why, when, how it began;
• the organization’s goals and major policy or science efforts;
• the internal structure of the organization – by diagram and description;
• descriptions of the clientele or constituents and explanations of their relationships with the
organization;
• a discussion of your relationship with the office, i.e. duties, responsibilities, opportunities.
Assignment 4: Proposal for Substantive Research Paper (10%) - Due 6th Week of Internship (Blackboard)
Outline your idea for a final research paper (see below). You should discuss possible topics with your
internship supervisor as soon as you can. This paper will relate directly to some aspect of your work and
may include research done on the job, but must include outside research as well. Ideally, the product should
be of use to your supervisor as well.
Assignment 5: Substantive Research Paper (25%) - Due Last Week of Classes (Dropbox & Blackboard)
Your final paper should be 5-7 pages (not including appendices, etc), single spaced, 12 pt font, with 1 inch
margins. Your paper should have an executive summary or an abstract (half page or less) as well as a
reference section. In addition to posting the whole paper to Bb, please post just the paper title and executive
summary to the discussion board.
Assignment 6: Employer Evaluation (30%) - Due Last Week of Classes (will be carried out by Career Office)
Assignment 7: Presentation (15%) - Last Week of Classes
You will give a 12 minute presentation on a major accomplishment from your internship.
Version: 8/5/11
2 of 2