GEO 5900 INTERNSHIP (1-3 credits).

Prerequisite: Consent of GEO Internship Coordinator and Faculty Advisor.
Student internships and work experience in geoscience related jobs. This cooperative education program is available to GEO majors.

PURPOSE:

1. To provide undergraduate students with opportunities to gain work experience and work on real geologic problems and applications.Ý
2. To provide internship hosts (companies or organizations) with some student help (gratis) on geologic work.Ý

PARTICIPANTS:

CAREER SERVICES:

Jim White, Assistant Director
University of Utah Career Services
585-5065
jwhite@saff.utah.edu

Individual, registered Geology and Geophysics (GEO) undergrads. Program may also be expanded to include some top high school students interested in the Earth Sciences and/or incoming undergraduate students to the University of Utah.

INTERNSHIP SPONSOR:

Designated representative from the company or firm who will host the student and supervise/oversee the student's work. Will be the person the student directly reports to for assignments, and will outline the basic student responsibilities and expectations on the agreement form. Host will complete evaluation and feedback form(s) for the student, to be sent to the Internship Coordinator.

INTERNSHIP ORGANIZATION:

The Internship should be structured to coincide with the semester time frame. Up to three credit hours may be counted toward an elective requirement in GEO degree programs.

Students work gratis for the experience and University credits (GEO 5900). Sponsors may compensate students for job related expenses such as travel.

CREDIT HOURS:

1 semester credit hour: 5 hrs/week = 75 hrs. per semester
2 semester credit hours: 10 hrs/week = 150 hrs. per semester
3 semester credit hours: 15 hrs/week = 225 hrs per semester

Students will receive letter grades for GEO 5900 based on the sponsor evaluation forms and on the final student write-up due at the end of the semester. Thus, GEO 5900 can be counted towards graduation credits. Grade will be assigned by GEO Internship Coordinator. 

REQUIREMENTS:

Students interested in a potential internship should complete the following steps:

1. Fill out Student Internship Interest Form as far in advance as possible, but no later than two weeks prior to the end of the semester prior to the semester for which the internship is sought. Return form to the Faculty Advisor.
2. Download and read Student Information Packet or pick it up from the GEO office from Judy Martinez.  Follow the instructions which will include contact arrangements, setting up goals, having evaluations from the sponsor, and submitting a final student write-up/summary in order to receive a grade for the course.
3. Sign up at Career Services and submit resume with list of at least 2 references (e.g., previous supervisors, and/or faculty members) and completed interest form. Make appointment with: Jim White, Co-op and Career Advisor, University of Utah Career Services, 350 SSB, 801-585-5065, jwhite@saff.utah.edu.
4. Make appointment with the Faculty Advisor to get matched up with potential internship sponsors.
5. Contact the potential Internship sponsor(s) you have been assigned to. When you have come to an agreement and make appropriate work arrangements with the sponsor, immediately notify the Faculty Advisor and Jim White.
6. Resister for the appropriate credit hours for GEO 5900 (1, 2, or 3 credit hours) within the first two weeks of the semester. You must be a declared GEO major to be eligible.

WHAT IS AVAILABLE AND HOW IT WORKS:

Approximately one month before the end of the semester the Faculty Advisor will contact potential sponsors to ascertain the availability of internship opportunities for the following semester. Students interested in an internship should fill out the Student Internship Interest Form as far in advance as possible. The Faculty Advisor or a potential Sponsor will contact the student when a suitable opportunity develops. Students should register for GEO 5900 after they have been matched up with a sponsor. Be prepared for the eventuality that a suitable internship may not become available.

INTERNSHIP AGREEMENTS:

Agreement forms, indicating internship goals and credit hours, between the student, faculty advisor, and the internship host (company representative) must be signed prior to students starting work. There will also be a standard liability form to be completed by all the involved parties. At the end of an internship, both student and host will be asked to fill out a brief feedback survey to help us evaluate the success of the experience and to guide us on how we can improve internships for the future. The internship coordinator facilitates matching students to available internships. Note: In a given semester some internships may go unfilled or the demand by students may exceed the number of available internships.

FUNDING:

If possible, we request internship sponsors consider a $100 tax-deductible donation per student credit hour which will be used to support the internship program. If sponsors have additional monies to pay students, however modest, they can pay the student directly or via a tax-deductible donation to the Department of Geology and Geophysics.

GUIDELINES TO STUDENTS:

One of the most important requirements is a willingness to be taught and a desire to learn. Students must adopt a strong and healthy work ethic, being prompt, on-time, courteous, and helpful. Listen and be communicative! If there is something that needs clarification, ask questions early on so you can avoid stumbling down what might be a wrong path. Remember that you are a representative of our Department and your performance can affect whether or not a host might decide to continue participating in the internship program. If you find out things aren't working out as you had hoped, or there are any personality conflicts, please notify the Faculty Advisor right away so we might offer solutions or find you some other placement.

GUIDELINES TO INTERNSHIP SPONSOR:

The Sponsor Information Packet contains all the instruction and forms the sponsor will need. Because students are working gratis, and this is intended to be a profitable learning experience (not just free labor), please set up a do-able project so that the students can have some closure to their projects within the specified credit hours and corresponding work time.

POTENTIAL SPONSORS:

EGI
Utah Geological Survey
Dept. of Natural Resources
BLM
U.S. Dept Forestry
U.S. Geological Survey
U. S. National Park Service
County Geologist's office
Utah Oil Gas and Mining
Utah Division of Environmental Quality
Museum of Natural History
Hansen Planetarium
Nature Conservancy
Kennecott
Utah State Parks and Recreation
Ceramatec
Secor
Flying J Oil and Gas
Sinclair Oil
Pioneer Oil and Gas
Pacific Corp
AGRA
TerraTek
Kleinfelder
Dames and Moore
Evans and Sutherland
Ford, Bacon and Davis
Local Consultants