Registration and approval for the internship is done with the IES Student Advisor prior to commencing it. The experience may be either paid or on a voluntary basis. It should be the equivalent of at least 3 months full-time employment.
Many students do their internships in the summer.
Off-campus internships are recommended in order for students to gain experience in the real world . The approval of internship plans is the responsibility of the Graduate Coordinators of IES and the home department. Internship Exemption Students with relevant environmental work experience, gained prior to starting the collaborative program, may be exempted from their internship requirement with approval from the IES Graduate Coordinator, and the home Departments Graduate Coordinator. If the exemption request is approved, this may reduce a students length of program. Since the inception of the Environmental Studies program in the 1970s, all students requiring internships have been successfully placed, or have successfully applied for an internship exemption based on previous relevant work experience.