MES Internships

MES students are strongly encouraged to complete an internship after their first year in core classes in conjunction with their thesis, especially if they do not have prior professional-level experience in environmental work.  An internship is a learning experience designed to aid students in achieving specific academic and professional objectives. 

There are several ways to find an internship:

• Apply for an already-established internship at Evergreen or with a company, nonprofit, or government agency.  Please see the jobs page, our online internship spreadsheet (go to View>List make it searchable), or the MES Weekly blog for internship search engines and postings.  Local internships will also be emailed out to current students as we hear about them.
• Some fellowships have an internship component associated with them. See the MES List of Outside Fellowships for some possibilities.
• Check with the Community Based Learning and Action Center (Sem II E2125) and/or go to my.evergreen.edu to enter the Community Opportunities Database (CODa) to help you find an internship organization.
• Create your own internship by working with an organization in which you are interested.  Be sure to point the organization toward Evergreen's Internship Information for Organizations page if you go this route. Check out our Local Organizations List for ideas or this helpful list from South Sound Green Pages.
• Finally, consider volunteering.  United Way has a great resource for local volunteer opportunities.

How to get paid for an internship:

• Some internships pay a stipend - make sure to look closely at position descriptions.  If your internship doesn't, you might be able to negotiate reimbursement for your travel to and from the internship site or possibly receive other benefits.
• Some internships are also paid fellowships.  See the MES List of Outside Fellowships for some possibilities.
• If your internship involves research, consider applying for a grant.
• Just because it doesn't pay doesn't mean it isn't valuable!  Many MES students have been offered jobs after interning at an organization, so some internships are worth the lack of stipend. Internships are great resume builders, so make sure you choose an internship that will position you to do well in your future career, regardless of pay!

MES internship guidelines:

Internships may be paid or unpaid, and can be taken for credit if desired (or required).  Students earn two credits for 10 hours per week and four credits for 20 or more hours per week. Note that only eight credits maximum can go toward thesis/independent contract work and that only a maximum of four credits can be earned at a time.  Please read the "Internships" section of the MES Handbook for internship-related policies as well as information on how to register for internship credits.  You can also take a look at Evergreen's undergraduate internship page for tips on how to write an internship contract.