INTERNSHIPS
Because of our proximity to the Mississippi River, several major federal and state resource management facilities are located within 5 miles of campus. These facilities are excellent internship sites for our students. The number and quality of these internships is one of the strongest aspects of our environmental science programs. Internships are a cooperative endeavor between the UW-La Crosse Office of Career Services, an environmental science faculty member (usually the student's academic advisor), and agency scientists at the internship site. While our students gain valuable experience, they also perform useful tasks that expand the research capabilities of the cooperating scientists. Skills and experiences obtained by student interns are valued by employers and are helpful for gaining admittance into graduate programs. Internships also enable students to network with professionals in the discipline.
Both paid and unpaid internships are available during the school year. Because of increased research activities during the summer, a large proportion of the summer internships are full time, paid positions. Our local internship sites include
Mississippi River Regional Planning Commission
National Weather Service
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources
Wisconsin Department of Transportation
La Crosse County Health Department
La Crosse County Land Information Office
Hixon Forest Nature Center
Dairyland Power Cooperative
Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, U.S. Geological Survey - this is an especially active internship site
Davy Laboratories
La Crosse Fish Health Center, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
La Crosse Fishery Resources Office, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
In addition, summer internship experiences are also available outside of the La Crosse area. Examples include the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (state-wide), the Shedd Aquarium (Chicago, IL), Student Conservation Corps (Glacier National Park), Smithsonian Institute (Washington, D.C.), and private industry.