Environmental Technology Practicum - ET 330
COURSE SYLLABUS
Instructor:
Dr. Stephanie Jeffries
Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources
3113 Jordan Hall
Email (best way to reach me): steph_jeffries@ncsu.edu
Office phone: (919) 515-7994
Office hours: By appointment
Meeting Place:
The course will meet once at the start of the semester. All other assignments and
communication will take place over email. Please check your email at least once each day.
Course Description:
ET 330 prepares you for a career in environmental technology by giving you experience
developing your resume and searching for an internship, in addition to practicing professional
and technical skills in the workplace. Your internship MUST have a strong connection to your
coursework in environmental technology.
Objectives:
After completing this course, students will know how to:
1) Apply knowledge gained through course work to a professional environmental technology
setting.
2) Solve problems in the field, think critically, communicate and work with others.
3) Make future course work choices and applications more salient to the students’ chosen
career objectives in environmental technology.
4) Allow the student to identify and pursue a satisfying and useful future career path.
Logistics:
Your internship must be approved by your adviser or me before you begin. All required
paperwork should be submitted electronically by email or in person by the deadlines indicated
in the class schedule. If you have any issues or concerns during the course of your internship,
please contact me. Likewise, your supervisor is welcome to contact me with any questions or
concerns.
Assignments (all are required for a grade of S):
Resume/Initial meeting: You will first schedule a meeting with me to discuss your search for an
internship (or, if you’ve completed it or it’s underway, we’ll discuss it), and you must bring 2
hard copies of your resume for review. I will send out a Google Doc for sign-up—please sign up
right away.
Internship Information: Before your internship begins, please complete and submit the
Internship Information form. This includes a complete job description, which you should
prepare with the help of your supervisor. This serves as a written agreement with your
employer about your job responsibilities. This description should make it clear that you are
doing entry-level professional work in the environmental technology field. Submit this form to
me for approval of your internship before you begin work.
Career Fair: You should attend one or more career fairs every year you are at NC State. Dress
professionally (business casual) and bring polished copies of your resume. In the fall semester,
attend the FER Career Fair. In the spring, you may choose to attend either the Engineering
Career Fair or the CALS Career Fair. Dates are on the schedule.
Evaluation: The chance to get feedback on your work is invaluable. It helps you to know what
you are doing well in addition to the skills or areas you need to improve. Please ask your
supervisor to complete the form well in advance, and then schedule time to meet to discuss the
evaluation. You’ll both sign the evaluation form and then submit it.
Final Reflection: This is a short paper that should analyze and discuss your internship
experience. The paper should a) describe your internship, b) outline your responsibilities, c)
assess what you learned (good and bad), d) critique the position, noting its strengths and
weaknesses, and e) discuss where you’ll go from here, career-wise.
Expectations:
This course is straightforward, and it not difficult to earn a passing grade (see Grading, below).
Since the focus is professional development for juniors and seniors, you can expect me to treat
you as entry-level professionals. I will work hard to teach you how to successfully land a great
internship and challenge you to make the most of your internship experience, including
translating that experience into career skills that you can market for your next job. I am happy
to meet with you to work on resume updates, cover letters, and general job search advice.
In turn, I expect high-quality work that is handed in on time, as well as timely and professional
communication. I expect you to put your best effort into the class and your internship, and I
expect you to be responsible, respectful, and resourceful in both your internship and in class. If
I receive an assignment that is poor quality, I will return it to you to redo. If I receive
communication from you that lacks a salutation, closing or professional courtesy, I may not
respond.
Why this emphasis? Employers frequently mention that today’s college graduates lack these
professional skills.
Grading:
S/U grading. Your performance in this course will be reported as S (satisfactory grade for
credit-only course and given when course work is equivalent to C- or better) or U (no credit
grade for credit-only course). The grade for a credit-only course will have no effect on the your
grade point average. However, the course and its grade will be counted in the cumulative hours
attempted. All assignments (Resume, Internship Information, Evaluation, and Final Reflection)
must be completed to earn a grade of S.
Important Dates:
Please see the due dates for the current semester in a separate document. You are responsible
for meeting all deadlines.