Environmental Science Integrating Activity Requirement

Approved October 2003

The Environmental Science Major requires all students to do some form of Integrating Activity. This requirement is for a minimum of  ½  credit, and may be fulfilled by Research (ENVS 419, 425, or 499) or through ENVS 405 – Internship in Environmental Science. ENVS 405 is a 1 credit integrated internship arranged through the Internship Office. (Students may elect to receive only ½ credit for the internship if they would have to pay additional tuition for 1 credit)  With prior approval of the Program Director and the ENVS faculty, students my also meet the integrating requirement through an approved Independent Study (ENVS 399). This last option allows both volunteer and paid summer experiences to be used to satisfy the requirement. Normally, ENVS 399 will not be accepted for this requirement until students have completed ENVS 275. The duties must involve some aspect of environmental science. That could be collecting data, analyzing data, field research, laboratory research, library research, or analysis of documents relevant to an environmental issue. They may also involve communicating information on environmental issues to students, government officials, or NGO's. (The duties should be substantive, not clerical)

Guidelines for obtaining major credit for ENVS 399 – Independent Study

 1. Internships must be approved by the ENVS faculty before they are begun. Students should submit a brief description of the internship (job, etc) and planned duties. The supervisor must be identified and should provide a letter indicating that you have the stated position.

 2. During the internship you should keep a journal of your activities in which you record your observations and activities and comment on them. This is not a laboratory notebook with all the technical details but rather a place to note your general activities and reflect on them.

3. At the end of the internship you should obtain a letter from your supervisor that briefly outlines the scope of your actual work in terms of time and duties.

 4. You should write a report (typically 7-10 pages) in which you reflect on what you have learned and done in the internship. The journal you have kept should help in constructing this paper.

 5. The letter of completion from the supervisor, written report, and journal will be submitted to the faculty for final approval.

 6. The Environmental Science faculty will sponsor an annual social hour in which students who have completed their internships during the last year will make poster presentations of what they did to the other majors, the faculty, and other interested students.