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Internship opportunities get students into the field, developing new skills and learning how to connect academics to potential careers.  The Department of Geography offers the opportunity to undertake internships off-campus in a variety of fields to prepare students for an exciting career opportunities in social services, resource conservation, mapping and more.

To undertake an internship, students, often in consultation with a faculty mentor*, identify a sponsoring organization and supervisor within that organization.  The student, supervisor and faculty mentor agree to a program of work and complete the department’s internship agreement form (Word).  Students are expected to complete 40 hours of work over the semester for each academic credit earned (typical 3-credit internships are 120 hours over the 15 week semester or summer period).  Internships completed during the academic year can earn credit as Geog 191: Internship. The College of Arts & Sciences also offers the option to complete summer internships and earn credit as AS 190B.  Considering one of these internship options? Speak to your advisor and check out the excellent internship resources for all students in the College of Arts & Sciences.

Previous Geography students have interned at Northern Cartographic, Population Media Center, US Senate offices, Burlington Housing Authority, Vermont Public Radio, The Nature Conservancy, the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources, and National Weather Service, to name a few.

Intern Spotlights

  • A multidisciplinary internship

    Lauren Maus ‘21 is a double major in geography and anthropology and she used both disciplinary lenses for her summer internship with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. Her principle role was updating websites for parks located in the state’s Southern Valley District. She traveled to each park to take photos, update website data and conduct on-site interviews with managers. “The internship combined aspects of physical geography, which I love, with a park service setting, where I was able to interact with visitors,” she said. “It’s given me the opportunity to enhance my interviewing skills as well as writing, photography, and knowledge of how a park is run.” It all fits into her ambition of becoming a journalist for National Geographic or a ranger for the national park system. “In a male dominated field it is sometimes difficult to find a foothold, but the Massachusetts state internship program provides a very welcoming and respect-oriented environment.” (This photo shows Maus on a past trip to Mt. Chimborazo in Ecuador).

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Glass Internship Program

This merit-based scholarship offers geography majors the opportunity to subsidize an internship experience. These scholarships are awarded each spring semester to students who have identified a sponsoring organization supervisor and faculty mentor.  To apply, students submit the following materials to geography@uvm.edu by the first Monday in  March each year: (1) a brief description (~ 250 words) of the proposed internship and how it fits within and moves forward the student’s interests and goals in Geography, (2) a copy of the student’s transcript, and (3) a completed copy of the Department’s internship agreement (Word). In addition, the student should request that a letter of support from one faculty member, agreeing to serve as the faculty mentor, be sent to geography@uvm.edu by the application deadline.