BI 451 - Biology Professional Internship Capstone

Qualified students may be offered the opportunity to develop, with the aid of the Internship Facilitator of the Department, an internship experience relevant to their academic needs. Internships may be in-person, remote, or hybrid at the discretion of the internship supervisor and with the approval of the Internship Facilitator. Assessment will be based on a portfolio that includes the agency’s outcome assessment, the student’s objective and subjective journal, written reflections, professional skills assignments (e.g. computer skills, resume development), video and a primary-source referenced term/or in-person presentations, and a final reflection paper. The internship supervisor’s evaluations of the student intern’s performance will be discussed with the student and may be considered in the calculation of the student intern’s final grade in the course.

Students have participated in internships with allied health practitioners such as physical therapists and optometrists, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve, the Piscataquis Watershed Association, the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, Optima Health, New Hampshire Custom Brewers, the University of New Hampshire Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the Southern Maine Regional Genetics Service Program, the Foundation for Blood Research, Covino Environmental Associates, Catholic Medical Center, members of the Congress of the United States, and the Fitness Network, among many other organizations.

Internships may be paid or unpaid.

Four credits.

Prerequisite(s): Permission of the Internship Facilitator of the Biology Department, including meeting the following criteria:

Good academic standing (2.0 GPA); have completed 32 semester hours or have instructor permission; and ideally have completed coursework that relates to the work experience.
A completed Internship Agreement form (completed by the student and the student’s internship supervisor), approved by the Faculty Internship Facilitator
A minimum of 100 hours of internship work described as a feasible plan and work schedule in the Internship agreement form. The total work for the internship, including journaling and the academic project, must total between 170-190 hours of engaged activity to count for 4 credits. Students must not have any prior, planned commitments or activities that will prevent them from meeting the minimum internship work hours requirement.
For Winter semester only: students with one or more unresolved incompletes from the previous Fall semester are not eligible to take this course during Winter semester.