Biology Internships
- Explore Handshake for internships, jobs, or volunteer opportunities. This system is free to Ohio University students.
- Get Credit for an Internship
- Also see Undergraduate Research Opportunities
- Department Internship Coordinator: Dr. Willem Roosenburg
Are Internships Required? Where Do Students Do Internship Work?
We highly recommend all students in all tracks complete an internship to gain real-world field experiences. An internship is a requirement for the Wildlife and Conservation track and Marine, Freshwater, Environmental Biology track.
Students complete internships in national parks, pharmaceutical companies, research labs, food industries, etc. The Career Network hosts a career and internship fair every semester. This is a good opportunity to network with employers and find internships based on your areas of interest.
Get Credit for an Internship
BIOS 4910 is a course that is designed to encourage students to obtain some career-related work experience prior to completing their degree. Most students conduct their internships during the summer and take the internship course in the fall. Contact Internship Coordinator, Dr. Willem Roosenburg, about registering for course credit.
It is the student's responsibility to find and obtain an internship with minimal guidance from his or her faculty adviser. The adviser does need to approve the internship and determine if it meets the criteria of a valid career experience. This is based solely on a discussion between the student and adviser.
Steps for the Internship—students should:
- Describe the internship to their academic adviser and have them acknowledge that it merits an internship relative to their major. It must be an experience that provides students with insight into their aspiring career once they complete your degree.
- Obtain the internship form from the Department Internship Coordinator: Dr. Willem Roosenburg (roosenbu@ohio.edu). Complete the internship form, including all signatures and return an electronic copy to Dr. Roosenburg. Hold onto the form!
- Complete the internship (minimum 120 hours), keep a journal of experiences and make sure hours are documented. Students' journals can be in any format but eventually will need to be submitted in a digital format. The journal should have a minimum of weekly entries and describe the tasks and experiences students had during their internship. It must also clearly document their hours!
- Sign up for internship credit (2 credit hours BIOS 4910) the semester after completing the experience; only last semester seniors will be allowed to register during the semester they are completing the internship. To sign up for the course please send an email to roosenbu@ohio.edu that states that the student completed his or her internship, contains name and PID, and he will register you for the course.
- Before the end of the semester that the student is registered, send Dr. Roosenburg a digital copy (doc or pdf) of the journal with the file name (Last name_first name_Internship_Journal) and the form (Last name_first name_Internship_Form). No journal – no grade. Less than 120 hours and a student will receive an incomplete! Students will get credit for the course, there is no letter grade.
That is all there is to it—and have fun while learning!
Clinical Laboratory Science and Medical Technology
Students in any biological sciences major track may choose to enter a clinical laboratory sciences internship provide they have taken Microbiology (BIOS 3210), Immunology (BIOS 4860, 4865), and Human Physiology (BIOS 3450). The internship year in a licensed clinical facility qualifies a student to take the American Society of Clinical Pathologists registry exam to become a registered medical technologist. (See Medical Laboratory Science or Medical Technology.)
Neuroscience Summer Research
The neuroscience program also provides stipends and support for summer research between the junior and senior year.