Internships
Open only to degree-seeking students in the undergraduate Biology and graduate Environmental Biology programs. Applications usually are due in mid-February. Responsibilities vary, but may include field surveys of threatened and endangered species, preparation of recovery plans, wetland conservation, and restoration ecology.
Open to both undergraduate and graduate students. These positions usually are associated with the SuperFund Division or the Field Group. Work centers around identification of hot spots in contaminated sites and remediation. Internships usually involve a mix of advanced technologies such as GIS, GPS, database management, and spatial statistics.
Open only to degree-seeking students in the Environmental Biology graduate program. These are usually summer positions, with applications due in early March. The intern may be stationed at several possible locations across the state, although Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie is common. Responsibilities of interns vary widely, but may include restoration activities, removal of non-native species, fire management, and floral and fauna surveys.
These usually are spring and summer positions focusing on restoration. Restoration activities involve removal of non-native species and fire management. Work may also focus on floral and fauna surveys.
Several positions are made available annually for undergraduate and graduate degree-seeking students only, with preference given to those students in the Environmental Biology graduate program. Positions are usually full-time and seasonal; however, intermittent and/or project dedicated positions are also possible as funding is obtained to fulfill park needs.
Additionally, several, 3-6 month Student Conservation Association contracts (with monthly stipends and educational grants) are offered for special projects as determined by the park. Application deadlines vary relative to project requirements and start dates. Recent intern responsibilities have included water quality testing, first-line eradication efforts for invasive species, GPS/GIS mapping of project areas, and prescribed burns.
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Zookeeper internships are available in a variety of animal areas. Zookeeper interns must commit to a minimum term of six weeks and a maximum term of 12 weeks, 40 hours per week. Zookeeper interns are involved in all aspects of animal breeding and management, including exhibit and enclosure maintenance, diet preparation and distribution, animal observation and documentation, animal handling, recordkeeping, and informal educational interactions with the visiting public.
These internships are available year round at both undergraduate and graduate levels. They focus on a variety of topics relating to energy. Environmental management includes work on managing and solving the nation's environmental problems and promoting environmental stewardship. Research in this area includes alternative energy systems, environmental risk and economic impact assessments, hazardous waste site analysis and remediation planning, electrometallurgical treatment to prepare spent nuclear fuel for disposal, and new technologies for decontaminating and decommissioning aging nuclear reactors.
